Senior Director, Proposal Operations and Capture Excellence

About Us: AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 6,000 people across over 60 sites in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago, Illinois area, AAR supports commercial and government customers in more than 100 countries through four operating segments: Parts Supply, Integrated Solutions, Repair and Engineering and Expeditionary Services. AAR's purpose is to empower people to build innovative aerospace solutions today so you can safely reach your destination tomorrow. The company's mission is to go above and beyond to provide value-driven aerospace aftermarket solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers worldwide. AAR constantly searches for the right thing to do for its customers, employees, partners and for society.

Senior Director, Proposal Operations and Capture Excellence

Description

The Senior Director of Proposal and Capture Excellence leads the full proposal organization and drives the processes, tools, and operational discipline that enable high-quality, compliant, and competitive bids. This role oversees the proposal management team, establishes enterprise-wide proposal standards, and ensures consistent execution across all color teams and submissions. In parallel, this leader is responsible for Capture Excellence – including SharePoint management, competitive intelligence support, strategy support, and integration with proposal development. This role ensures quality and repeatable success in the pursuit lifecycle.

What you will be responsible for:

• Lead the full proposal operations organization and oversee management through the proposal management lead or proposal managers.
• Ensure high-quality, compliant, and compelling proposal submissions.
• Establish and enforce proposal standards, processes, timelines, and expectations across color teams.
• Own all proposal processes, SOPs, templates, checklists, and style guides.
• Continuously improve proposal workflows to increase efficiency, compliance, and win probability.
• Support capture with strategy development, gate reviews, and readiness processes as a secondary (but key) responsibility.
• Drive operational discipline to ensure proposal and capture teams have the tools, data, and processes needed to execute effectively.
• Support executive reporting and strategic reviews for active pursuits.

Qualifications

What you will need to be successful in this role:

• Bachelor's Degree from four-year College or university, or eight (8) years related experience
• 10 – 15 years leading proposals or capture within Government contracting.
• Deep knowledge of Shipley and federal acquisition lifecycle (RFPs, evaluation criteria, compliance, etc.)
• Strong understanding of proposal collaboration platforms (AI tools, SharePoint)
• Experience managing large, complex proposal efforts and color team reviews.

Year One Critical Success Factors:

• Establish and roll out a unified, enterprise-wide proposal operations framework including processes, SOPs, templates, checklists, and governance practices.
• Drive consistent adherence to standardized color team reviews, compliance checks, and proposal development workflows.
• Coach, mentor, and up-skill the proposal management team to ensure consistent execution of standardized processes, including expectations, deliverables, and quality criteria.
• Influence leaders, capture managers, and proposal managers to adopt standardized expectations.

The rewards of your career at AAR go far beyond just your salary:

• Competitive salary and bonus package
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Generous paid time off program
• Professional development and career advancement opportunities

Physical Demands/Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to sit, stand, bend, reach and move about the facility.
• The environmental characteristic for this position is an office setting.
• Candidates should be able to adapt to a traditional business environment.
• This position is eligible to work remote in Atlanta, GA.

AAR provides accommodation in accordance with applicable laws through all stages of the hiring process. If you require accommodation for any part of the application and/or hiring process, please advise Human Resources.

LI-PI1

Job: Defense

Primary Location: United States-Georgia-Atlanta

Schedule: Full-time

Overtime Status: Exempt

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

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