Washington Operations Director

AeroVironment • Arlington, VA

5d

About The Position

The Washington Operations Director will develop, coordinate and implement business development and government relations strategies to acquire, maintain and increase U.S. Government and International support for AeroVironment (AV) programs. They will work in support of cross-functional teams who are responsible for the identification and strategy of capturing new business and executing current business.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is required in a related field or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• 12 - 15 years of relevant experience in aerospace, national defense activities
• 5 + years experience working congressional activities
• Demonstrated understanding of the Department of Defense resource allocation process
• Demonstrated understanding of congressional oversight process
• Demonstrated expert knowledge of government proposal and program requirements
• Demonstrated knowledge of international procurements
• Demonstrated understanding of regulatory requirements for US government programs, as well as international sales
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance.
• ITAR Requirement: This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree, MBA or MS is preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated experience working with cross-functional teams; ability to develop and maintain internal and external trusting, professional relationships
• Able to perform in a rapidly growing organization with rapidly changing requirements and sales targets
• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives; delivers message to Garcia daily (“A Message to Garcia,” Elbert Hubbard’s essay on initiative, first publication 1899)
• Uses vision to think beyond the immediate situation, explore multiple potential paths, and adapt decision-making style based on the situational circumstances
• Inspires, motivates, and empowers people to deliver organizational goals, while also delivering value back to employees
• Brings organizational values to life using personality, uniqueness, and the creation of a shared vision
• Champions the process of change and promotes a culture of quick adaptation while helping others deal with the effects of change
• Takes ownership and responsibility for assigned tasks
• Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company
• Focuses on teamwork and puts the success of the team above one's own interests

Responsibilities

• Represents AeroVironment to the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. Government
• Coordinates and supports AV U.S. Government and International customer interaction in Washington D.C.
• Develops and maintains relationships with Members of Congress, congressional committees and personal staff members; identifies and coordinate opportunities for AV leadership interaction with Congress
• Develops and maintains relationships with Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and State; identifies and coordinates opportunities for AV leadership interaction with these Departments
• Plans and implements AV business development and congressional engagement strategies; manages resources and consultant lobbyists; fully complies with lobby laws, lobby disclosure and assists with Political Action Committee management (filing PAC reports and statements, depositing & dispersing funds, authorizing expenditures, advocating for contributions)
• Monitors and assures AV awareness of annual U.S. Government funding requests and Department of Defense reprogramming requests
• Provides annual U.S. Government Program and Budget Justification documents to AV leadership and Business Development team
• Monitors and provides AeroVironment with Congressional Mark Up results of annual U.S. Government Budget Requests; assures U.S. Government-funded AV programs are fully funded by the congress and secures additional congressional funding for select AV programs
• Represents AV interests to Aerospace, National Defense and International professional organizations
• Regularly interacts with senior management or executive levels
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.
• For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level