Senior Director, Strategic Engagement & Partnerships

Odyssey is a rapidly evolving mid-market government contractor delivering advanced technology, engineering, and mission solutions to the U.S. Department of War. As we transition from a Small Business to a competitive Full & Open prime contractor, we are investing in leaders who can help shape the next era of our growth. 

We value curiosity, accountability, collaboration, and integrity. We expect our leaders to model those values every day. 

Our culture is grounded our core values: Respect for our people, customers, and partners; Ambition to grow, innovate, and compete at the highest levels; and Commitment to mission success and unwavering support of the Warfighter.  

Odyssey seeks an experienced Director of Strategic Engagement and Partnerships to lead and scale our Strategic Engagement function. This individual will propel the stewardship of Odyssey’s relationship ecosystem with teaming partners, customers and stakeholders in support of our businesses that serve the Department of War and other Governmental agencies. This is a builder role: the ideal candidate has grown partnership functions from tactical activities into repeatable, data-informed strategic relationship-building capabilities that improve win rates and market position.

This is an externally facing role designed to engage Odyssey’s Business Development and Capture teams with key government stakeholders.  The role is an individual contributor with support from Marketing and Business Development.  The ideal candidate will already bring government contracting executive presence, a vast network of C-Suite relationships, and a solid thought leadership history to the table.  Must be known as an industry dot-connector and door opener in federal government, contracting community, and key program influencers. 

The ideal candidate is self-motivated and energetic with a strong understanding of DoW acquisition, competitive positioning, and long-term relationship development. A key attribute is an ability to communicate Odyssey’s strengths to partners and customers while maximizing engagement opportunities that drive overall corporate success in a Full & Open competitive environment.

Duties include, but not limited to: 

 Leadership & Team Development 

• Coach teams to identify customer engagement opportunities, identify pain points, and leverage the Odyssey enterprise to solve customers’ toughest problems.
• Define Strategic Engagement KPIs (e.g., partner pipeline coverage, JV cycle time, event-to-meeting conversion, etc.) and report against them to executive leadership.

Business Development Empowerment 

• Work with BD & Capture Managers to build a bench of vetted business partners mapped against upcoming pursuits, rather than sourcing reactively deal-by-deal.
• Contribute to Odyssey’s overarching teaming and partnership strategy that’s aligned to growth plans across DoW components.
• Implement methods to evaluate relationship quality customers and industry partners. Help identify areas where we must increase relationship building efforts and work to develop strategies to build those connections.

• Team with multiple functions to maximize CRM tools and processes with a focus on gathering and considering key insight to serve our customers and drive growth.

Strategic Growth & Market Expansion

• Identify companies who Odyssey can partner with to respond to emerging mission needs, technology trends, and competitive shifts across the DoW landscape. 
• Expand Odyssey’s presence beyond legacy client sets by opening new doors and cultivating new relationships.
• Develop & implement a framework for exploratory conversations with prospective teaming partners to assess strategic fit, map capabilities, past performance strengths and cultural alignment. This will include a process for routing qualified partners to the appropriate capture managers, functional leads, or operational directors for deeper engagement.
• Lead or oversee JV suitability evaluations and negotiations, working closely with Legal/Contracts on JV agreement structuring, SBA compliance (mentor-protégé considerations, ostensible subcontractor rule, affiliation risk), and long-term partner governance.

Synchronizing External Presence

• Synchronize your team’s efforts with BD and Capture Managers to identify and establish engagement opportunities that support pipeline development.
• Support corporate strategy development, including market segmentation, investment priorities, and planning for future strategic partnerships with other companies, FFRDCs or academic institutions.

Citizenship: Must be a US citizen

Minimum Required Qualifications:

Clearance: Secret or eligible

Education: Bachelor’s degree

Years of Experience: 10+ years in business development, strategic partnerships/alliances, capture management, or teaming roles within the GovCon/defense industry, including at least 3–5 years in a leadership or director-level capacity.

Preferred Qualifications:

Clearance: Top Secret or eligible

Education: Master’s degree or equivalent experience

Years of experience: 15 years professional experience with 10+ years of experience in Business Development, Capture, or related roles with a government contractor, systems integrator, or DoW-focused technology, engineering or services firm.

Technical Skills:

• Understanding of DoW acquisition processes, contracting methods, procurement pathways, and competitive marketplace dynamics.
• Demonstrated success building and managing relationships that lead to high value prime contract wins.
• Experience with or ability to learn how to use CRM tools and the Microsoft suite of products (especially Teams, Sharepoint, PowerPoint and Outlook).
• Demonstrated experience structuring and evaluating joint ventures, including working knowledge of SBA regulations (8(a), mentor-protégé, JV compliance). Direct experience standing up or managing a JV is strongly preferred.

Interpersonal Skills:

• Leading, mentoring, or coaching professionals with a people-first approach.
• Proven ability to build long-term customer relationships that translate into strategic opportunities.
• Strong business acumen, emotional intelligence, and communication skills with the energy to match.
• Ability to prioritize and delegate, not only for yourself, but for your team.
• Ability and willingness to travel as needed to key industry events and corporate locations. 
• Approachable & friendly presence combined with strong judgment in early-stage partner conversations. Able to assess strategic fit and organizational chemistry, not just capability overlap, and the ability to tactfully say no to partnerships that don’t fit Odyssey’s culture or strategic goals.
• Established personal network across the defense industrial base — primes, mid-tier competitors, and small businesses — along with credibility to open doors at the executive level.

Additional Information:

Location:  Remote

Travel:  Up to 25% 

Remote, Onsite, or Hybrid:  Remote/Hybrid, with heavy preference to candidates located near the National Capital Region.

#LI-MP1

Odyssey is a world-class technical, engineering, and integration company serving the warfighting ecosystem with airborne integration, ISR, C2, and warfighter readiness capabilities. Odyssey meets the military’s operational needs by integrating layered defense systems from equipment, technology, and services to data, information, and business operations. We streamline defense acquisition and sustainment, engineering the technical battlefield with domain-specific proficiency to ensure lethality. Odyssey is dedicated to excellent contract execution, peak organizational performance, and fostering a workplace built on employee care.

Odyssey is proud to live out our core values of commitment, ambition, and respect in our work and communities through OdysseyCares, a philanthropic group focused on giving back through direct donations, an employer match program, and volunteering events.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Final compensation for this position will be determined by various factors such as the Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant work experience, specific skills and competencies, geographic location, education, and certifications.

This position is filled through continuous recruitment and will remain open until a sufficient pool of applications has been received.
Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, Tricare supplement, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, employee assistance program, learning and development benefit, paid time off, and holidays.

Odyssey Benefits