Government Opportunity Specialist

Company: Lighthouse
Location: Washington
Posted on: November 8, 2024

Job Description:

POSITION: Government Opportunity SpecialistREPORTS TO: Director of SalesSTATUS: Full Time, ExemptJOB CLASSIFICATION: Specialist IIWORK ARRANGEMENT: RemoteLOCATION: Washington DC areaSALARY RANGE: $80,000*Blind/visually impaired strongly encouraged to apply.About the LightHouseFounded in San Francisco in 1902, the LightHouse's vision is a world where blind and low vision people flourish, and its mission is to promote independence, community, and equity created by and with blind and low vision people.LightHouse Values

• Blindness Positivity: We take pride in our ability to navigate our lives as blind and low vision people.
• Disability Justice: We recognize the inherent worth of every person and commit to advancing equity and interdependency.
• Inclusion: We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to belong and live to their full potential, encompassing their identities, backgrounds, and abilities.
• Excellence: We provide the highest-quality services and products, and we continuously learn, improve, and innovate.
• Empowerment: We encourage self-determination, independence, and autonomy.
• Compassion: We make efforts to understand one another, and we treat every person with dignity and respect.OVERVIEWThe LightHouse Government Opportunity Specialist will drive large, complex opportunities with our Government customers, ensuring they are possible, profitable, and align with our mission and strategic plan. Main duties will include finding federal and local government opportunities, responding to and shepherding timely replies, per sales targets, and routinely reporting progress to Director of Sales and social enterprise leaders.QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Associates degree or equivalent in business administration, nonprofit management, public policy, political economy, or similar, plus 3-5 years grant writing, public policy, or consulting experience.
  • Bachelor's degree in the above academic fields preferred but not required, plus 2-3 years prior grant writing, public policy, or consulting experience.
  • System experience includes: one or more CRM systems, Microsoft suite.
  • Preferred system or platform experience includes: System for Award Management (SAM.gov), AbilityOne.gov, EDI software.
  • Preferred experience includes Federal and California State laws applicable to contracts and procurement; Federal Acquisition Regulations; purchasing principles such as the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC); public contracting principles, including proposal preparation, contract negotiation, contract law, and finance.JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
    • Review RFPs to assess feasibility and alignment with strategic objectives and LightHouse mission.
    • Track the entire RFP process from initial review to final submission, ensuring all requirements and deadlines are met.
    • Accurately log all opportunity-related updates, activities, and communications into the company CRM to maintain comprehensive and up-to-date records.
    • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to draft compelling and compliant proposals tailored to government requirements.
    • Work closely with social enterprise leaders to understand industry trends, products, and services.
    • Maintain a strong understanding of the technical aspects of LightHouse products and services to communicate their value to government clients effectively.
    • Conduct research to gain insights into potential clients, competitors, and industry trends to inform opportunity strategy.
    • Stay informed about changes in government procurement policies, regulations, and funding priorities to adapt sales strategies accordingly.
    • Ensure all sales activities comply with relevant government regulations and procurement policies.
    • Identify and mitigate risks associated with government contracts, ensuring compliance, and minimizing financial exposure.
    • Collaborate with Director of Sales and Finance to develop pricing models for government sales, ensuring alignment with financial goals and compliance with governmental budget constraints.
    • Prepare the pricing estimates for inclusion in proposals.
    • Respond to internal and external queries on drafted and submitted proposals.
    • Serve as key liaison to NIB for new product and service opportunities.
    • Identify leads with government contacts and agencies.
    • Maintain strong relationships with government agencies and other key stakeholders to facilitate deal acquisition and execution.
    • Develop meaningful measurement and reporting processes to track compliance and sales targets.
    • Develop, expand, and maintain opportunities that deliver revenue growth while working toward social enterprise goals of smart sustainability.
    • Represent the company at government-focused events, conferences, and trade shows to build brand awareness and generate leads.
    • Participate in staff meetings, training sessions, and ongoing professional development opportunities to maximize effectiveness as a leader.IDEAL CANDIDATE
      • Demonstrated experience interpreting policies, regulations, and laws.
      • Good problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, and good written and oral communication skills.
      • Proven experience in sales, opportunity management or similar role, with a focus on government sales.
      • Ability to exercise a high degree of initiative and flexibility.
      • Demonstrated ability to engage leads through consistent follow-up and relationship-building.
      • Drive to approach all work in a thorough and conscientious manner.
      • Strong team player who can manage input from and work cohesively with multiple stakeholders.
      • Experience selling consultative services, recommending solutions to potential customers.
      • Demonstrates a comfort in bridging technical and non-technical conversations.
      • Solid experience working with a diverse range of services.
      • Effectively communicates with peers, senior leadership, and executive team.
      • Excellent research skills with the ability to clearly communicate, especially in proposals.
      • Nonprofit experience in providing products or services to the federal government.
      • Solid experience either fulfilling or seeking sub-contract opportunities.
      • Excels when working on a team with a collaboration-first approach.
      • Works effectively with pending deadlines and remains calm in stressful situations.
      • Enjoys working in a fast-paced, highly diversified environment.
      • Able to communicate effectively in English, verbal and written.
      • Talent for efficiently and effectively expressing information to individuals and groups.
      • Able to consider the audience and nature of the information and adjust communication accordingly.
      • Willingness to perform other related duties as assigned.PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
        • Ability to sit/stand at a desk and perform computer-intensive work for extended periods daily.
        • Ability to operate standard office equipment.
        • Ability to independently travel to all LightHouse campuses and throughout the community as needed.WORKING CONDITIONS:LightHouse is an equal opportunity employer. LightHouse policy and the law prohibit discrimination and harassment based on an individual's race, ancestry, religion or religious creed, color, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws. Our policy and the law prohibit co-workers, third parties, supervisors, and managers from engaging in such conduct.LightHouse personnel are employed on an at-will basis. Employment at-will means that the employment relationship may be terminated, with or without cause and with or without advance notice at any time by the employee or the Agency.We strive to maintain a scent-free environment and a drug-free workplace. Employees are expected to behave in accordance with these objectives.All employees at LightHouse are hired for an indefinite and unspecified duration and consequently, no employee is guaranteed employment for a specified length of time. Employment is at the mutual consent of the employee and LightHouse. Accordingly, either the employee or LightHouse can terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause.HOW TO APPLY:Please submit a r--sum-- as a Word attachment (no PDFs please), along with the completed employment application to HR@lighthouse-sf.org, including the job title in the subject line.To fill out the application, please enable editing in the document. We will not consider videos or hyperlinks to online profiles. Due to time constraints, we will only respond to complete submissions in which there is serious interest.
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Keywords: Lighthouse, Silver Spring , Government Opportunity Specialist, Government & Protective Services , Washington, Maryland