Sr Director of Federal Contracts

Description & Requirements

The Federal Contracts & Subcontracts organization is seeking a Senior Director of Federal Contracts to lead the Department of Defense (DoD) & National Security contracts team. The Senior Director of DoD & National Security Contracts will provide strategic leadership to a team of contracts professionals who are responsible for a diverse portfolio of DoD & National Security proposals and contracts. Reporting to the Sr Vice President of Federal Contracts & Subcontracts, the Senior Director will serve as a key advisor to executive leadership while leading a high-performing contracts team in support of mission-critical DoD & National Security customers. This role is responsible for driving contracting strategies that support corporate growth objectives, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations, mitigating risk, and building a strong, scalable contracts infrastructure.

Come join Maximus and be an integral member of the Federal Business involved with shaping the contracting strategy for high-profile DoD and national security programs. This exciting Leadership role will have direct influence on organizational policy, growth, and compliance infrastructure, along with being part of a collaborative and mission-driven environment committed to supporting U.S. national security.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressively responsible experience in contracts management, including at least 10 years within the DoD or national security contracting environment.
• Robust experience working in the Department of Defense industry and at other Federal contractors.
• Strong track record of developing and executing contracting strategies for complex, multimillion-dollar government programs.
• Extensive experience in the United States Federal Government Contracting industry, including subject matter expertise of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) including FAR Part 12, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and other government/agency procurement regulations
• Strong experience in implementing contract management and negotiation strategy best practices
• In-depth experience with risk and opportunity identification, including ability to clearly identify risk elements in business transactions, develop contractual mitigation strategies, and communicate to the program execution and/or proposal development teams.
• Demonstrated success in managing large US Government Prime contracts or subcontracts for Major System Acquisitions, competitive acquisition procedures, and non-FAR agreements such as OTAs and CRADAs
• Demonstrated leadership in building and mentoring contracts teams, including succession planning and organizational development.
• Experience leading large, senior-level contracting teams in a high-pressure, compliance-driven environment.
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and executive presence skills, with the ability to influence policy and decision-making at senior levels.
• Experience managing across multiple business lines, functions, or divisions in a complex government contracting environment.
• Proven ability to conduct risk assessments, gap analyses, and compliance reviews for multimillion-dollar DoD and national security contracts.
• Advanced negotiation skills to lead high-stakes agreements with federal agencies, subcontractors, and external partners.

Additional Qualifications

• U.S. citizen with an active security clearance or the ability to obtain a security clearance

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: - Oversee contracting services to a broad base of clients within various Government sectors. - Work with senior leadership to develop and pursue contracting strategies that support growth goals. - Oversee review of solicitations, proposals and contract actions processed for the company prior to signature or negotiation, and ensure that all factors have been considered, with a focus on risk analysis, and all necessary information has been provided. - Create and implement contract policies, procedures, and other business and contractual or compliance matters affecting the business unit. - Oversee and monitor negotiation of contractual agreements on terms and conditions that are in the best interest of the company and its client. - Supervise contracting team, providing leadership and career development opportunities.

• Oversee and manage all contract activities across DoD and national security portfolios, ensuring compliance with federal laws, regulations, and company policies.
• Partner with senior leadership to develop and execute contracting strategies that align with growth, risk management, and operational goals.
• Lead and review solicitations, proposals, and contractual actions prior to signature or negotiation; ensure risk assessments and compliance reviews are complete.
• Direct the negotiation of contracts, subcontracts, and modifications to achieve favorable terms and conditions for the company and its clients.
• Develop and implement contracts policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and best practices to strengthen compliance, operational efficiency, and scalability.
• Provide strategic leadership to senior managers, fostering succession planning, talent development, and a culture of excellence across the contracting organization.
• Conduct gap analysis and risk assessments to proactively identify vulnerabilities and implement mitigation strategies.
• Partner with internal and external stakeholders, including executive leadership, program teams, legal, finance, and clients, to navigate critical and complex negotiations.
• Influence contract policy and compliance strategy at both the organizational and program level, contributing to long-term business strategy and federal contracting infrastructure growth.
• Represent the company in high-stakes discussions with DoD clients and national security partners, demonstrating deep expertise in government contracting and regulatory compliance.
• Deep understanding of the DoD and federal contracting landscape, including mission priorities, funding mechanisms, and national security dynamics.
• Experience with large, complex, multi-year DoD programs across multiple functions and business lines.
• Awareness of industry trends, competition, and opportunities within the defense contracting environment.

Additional Key Functional areas for this Role include:

Strategic Contracting & Business Acumen

• Ability to design, implement, and execute contracting strategies that balance compliance, risk, and business growth.
• Strong commercial acumen to structure favorable terms, manage high-value portfolios, and influence organizational policy.
• Skilled in creating and enforcing policies, SOPs, and controls that ensure organizational adherence to complex regulations.
• Adept at identifying vulnerabilities and implementing mitigation strategies to protect the organization.

Negotiation & Leadership

• Ability to navigate sensitive, complex matters with diplomacy and authority.
• Strong executive presence to represent the company in critical discussions with DoD leadership and national security partners.
• Commitment to succession planning, career development, and building organizational capability.
• Ability to inspire a culture of accountability, excellence, and collaboration.

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Skilled in working across legal, finance, program delivery, and executive leadership to align contracting outcomes with organizational goals.
• Adept at bridging functional silos to ensure integrated, scalable, and compliant solutions.
• Ability to influence decisions at the enterprise level through strategic collaboration.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills tailored to executive, client, and technical audiences.

Minimum Requirements


- Direct and control the activities of one or more functional areas, divisions, product groups or service areas through senior managers who have overall responsibility for the successful operation of those assigned areas. - Consistently work with abstract ideas or situations across functional areas of the business. - Through assessment of intangible variables, identify and evaluate fundamental issues, providing strategy and direction for major functional areas. - Require in-depth knowledge of the functional area, business strategies, and the company's goals. - Interact internally and externally with executive level management, requiring negotiation of extremely critical matters. - Influence policymaking. - Reports to VP level.

EEO Statement


Maximus is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected characteristics.

Pay Transparency


Maximus compensation is based on various factors including but not limited to job location, a candidate's education, training, experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value analysis including seniority and merit systems, as well as internal pay alignment. Annual salary is just one component of Maximus's total compensation package. Other rewards may include short- and long-term incentives as well as program-specific awards. Additionally, Maximus provides a variety of benefits to employees, including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, a retirement savings plan, paid holidays and paid time off. Compensation ranges may differ based on contract value but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience. An applicant's salary history will not be used in determining compensation. Maximus will comply with regulatory minimum wage rates and exempt salary thresholds in all instances.

Minimum Salary


$

171,530.00

Maximum Salary


$

232,070.00