Senior Director, Proposal Operations

KBR, Inc.•Colorado Springs, CO

18h•$208,000 - $266,000•Remote

About The Position

KBR provides high-end engineering and advanced technology solutions to our customers in the intelligence and national security communities. In this position, your work will have a profound impact on the country’s most critical role – protecting our national security. The Senior Director of Proposal Operations leads and oversees proposal execution across all customer‑aligned proposal teams within Mission Tech. This role is accountable for the enterprise proposal operating model, ensuring the consistent delivery of compliant, high‑quality, and competitive proposals that meet customer requirements and align with corporate growth objectives. The Senior Director establishes and enforces standards, governance, and best practices across the entire pursuit lifecycle while fostering a culture of inclusivity, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement. This leader partners closely with the Strategic Growth Office, Account Management, Capture, Pricing, Contracts, and Subject Matter Experts to ensure solution alignment, compliance, and disciplined execution. The role requires strong organizational change management capability to scale processes, tools, and technology across Proposal Operations. The Senior Director will engage selectively and directly during critical phases of strategic pursuits, including in‑person participation when required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, engineering, or a related technical field required; advanced degree preferred.
20+ years of professional experience, including a minimum of 5 years in people and/or organizational leadership roles; prior business development or growth operations leadership experience strongly preferred.
15+ years of experience leading and overseeing complex, high‑value proposal efforts across diverse customers and markets, including federal, defense, and commercial sectors.
Demonstrated experience operating at scale, overseeing multiple concurrent pursuits and proposal teams within a matrixed organization.
Proven proficiency with agile delivery models, digital proposal tools, and emerging technologies, including AI‑enabled solutions for proposal development and knowledge management.
Strong executive leadership, coaching, and mentoring capabilities with the ability to build, develop, and sustain high‑performing teams.
Deep expertise in proposal governance, compliance, scheduling, quality assurance, and submission readiness across unclassified and classified environments.
Exceptional communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to operate credibly at the executive level and across diverse functional teams.
Demonstrated success leading organizational change initiatives, implementing new processes and tools, and fostering a collaborative, continuous‑improvement culture.
Must be eligible for Top Secret/SCI clearance and able to maintain clearance as required for access to classified information.

Nice To Haves

Industry‑recognized proposal certifications preferred, including APMP (Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional), Shipley Proposal Management, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Own and enforce the enterprise proposal operating model, including standardized processes, templates, schedules, and review protocols across Proposal Operations.
Establish and enforce submission‑readiness and compliance protocols across all environments, including classified pursuits.
Oversee adoption and disciplined use of proposal tools and systems, including the Pursuit Management Center (PMC), Growth’s proposal development tool.
Define and enforce protocols for pursuit archival, knowledge capture, and integration of data into the True Resource Exchange (TRE), Growth’s knowledge management system.
Lead Proposal Operations under a unified RACI model, ensuring clear accountability, authority, and role alignment across teams.
Mentor and develop proposal coordinators, proposal managers, and proposal publications professionals; ensure role expectations are met through training, coaching, and corrective action as needed.
Implement workforce strategies such as rotations, shadowing, and surge planning to improve resilience, scalability, and work‑life balance.
Reduce End Game churn by enforcing milestone‑based execution, outcome-driven reviews, and disciplined engagement protocols.
Own labor forecasting and proposal operations budget accountability in coordination with Growth leadership.
Establish and standardize content development practices, including model content, graphics, and past performance, ensuring reuse, accuracy, and data integrity.
Provide executive‑level oversight of proposal quality, compliance, and consistency, ensuring all deliverables align with customer requirements and win strategies.
Partner with the Strategic Growth Office, Account Management, Capture Management, Pricing, Contracts, and SMEs to ensure solution alignment and compliance throughout the pursuit lifecycle.
Strengthen and clarify the working relationship between Capture Managers and Proposal Managers by defining roles, responsibilities, decision authority, and accountability.
Eliminate artificial handoffs between Middle Game and End Game activities by fostering integrated, cross‑functional pursuit teams.
Serve as a key liaison between Proposal Operations and the Vice President of Proposal & Growth Operations Excellence.
Establish and track proposal performance metrics, including cycle time, compliance, submission readiness, and operational efficiency.
Provide meaningful, data‑driven insights and reporting to leadership to inform decision‑making and continuous improvement.
Ensure proposal operations performance aligns with enterprise growth priorities and resource optimization goals.
Champion a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous improvement across Proposal Operations.
Lead change management initiatives to implement scalable processes, tools, and governance across all proposal teams.
Drive adoption of agile practices, digital tools, and AI/LLM‑enabled capabilities that enhance proposal quality, speed, and consistency.
Promote training and innovation to ensure teams effectively leverage the Growth digital ecosystem.
Engage directly in key strategic pursuits as required, including participation in major reviews, executive briefings, and submission milestones.
Provide targeted leadership and oversight during critical proposal phases to mitigate risk, ensure quality, and support successful outcomes without assuming day-to-day proposal management responsibilities.