Vice President of Capture and Growth

Why do you need to choose between doing important work and having a fulfilling life? At Ardent, we have both. Ardent employees are committed to solving our customers’ most difficult problems—and we are committed to the well-being, personal goals, and professional development of our employees. We are “All In.” We put forth our strongest effort possible to get the mission accomplished and we do it together. We respect the skills and experience you bring to the Ardent team. And we provide a rewarding environment to help you succeed.

We offer highly competitive benefits, professional development opportunities, and an exceptional culture that embraces flexibility, innovation, collaboration, and career growth. A collective service mindset underpins our work, and a shared camaraderie to serve clients, colleagues, and our communities sets us apart. Our full commitment to being "All In" for our employees and our clients is not just our approach, it is our standard. If this sounds like the perfect fit for you, choose Ardent and make a difference with us.

Ardent is seeking a Vice President of Capture and Growth to join our team.

This is a hybrid/on-site position requiring 2-3 days on-site at our Vienna, VA, Headquarters.

Position Description:

Ardent is seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President of Capture and Growth to lead our federal business development and capture efforts. This key position will be responsible for driving growth through the pursuit and capture of large ($50-100M+) federal IT contracts in areas including geospatial intelligence, digital transformation, DevSecOps, cloud computing, application development, and artificial intelligence/machine learning. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience leading capture teams and winning major federal procurements in the DOD, FedCiv, and Intelligence areas and bring a strategic mindset, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment pursuing large, complex federal opportunities. A positive, teamwork driven attitude will be critical for success. At Ardent you will have the support from a world-class proposal shop and program delivery team that encompasses technical writers, Ph.D. level technology experts, subject matter experts, in-house graphics design, and proposal management expertise.

In addition, we offer a competitive base salary commensurate with years of experience and the potential of up to a 20-30% bonus based on wins and other performance measures that contribute to the growth of Ardent’s enterprise value. The upside of this position is limitless and because of this key factor it will be highly competitive. Only those that have the desire and drive to out-hustle their competition and go above and beyond are encouraged to apply!

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Lead and oversee all aspects of the capture process for strategic federal opportunities, from early market positioning through proposal development and submission with a focus on the unrestricted procurement space.
• Develop and execute capture strategies to position the company for success in high-priority pursuits.
• Build and manage relationships with key federal agency decision-makers and industry partners.
• Assemble and lead cross-functional capture teams, including technical SMEs, pricing, contracts, and proposal development staff.
• Conduct rigorous opportunity qualification and develop data-driven win strategies.
• Oversee competitive assessments, pricing strategies, teaming arrangements, and solution development.
• Lead capture and proposal review sessions including Blue, Pink, Red, and Gold Team reviews.
• Provide hands-on leadership for the company's most strategic pursuits ($50-100M+).
• Mentor and develop junior capture and business development staff.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to shape the company's federal growth strategy.
• Achieve annual bookings and revenue growth targets.

Requirements:

• 10+ years of capture and business development experience selling IT professional services to federal agencies for DoD, FedCiv, and/or Intel agencies.
• Proven track record leading capture efforts and winning $50-100M+ federal IT services contracts.
• Deep understanding of federal procurement processes, including FAR, DFAR, source selection, etc.
• Extensive experience with major federal IT modernization and digital transformation initiatives.
• A strong network of relationships across federal civilian and defense/intelligence agencies.
• Expert knowledge of the federal IT services competitive landscape.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing capture teams.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with ability to articulate complex solutions.
• Bachelors or Masters degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field is preferred.

Due to the nature of the work we support, all candidates in consideration for this role must be willing to undergo the government-issued background investigation process.

Ardent is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.