Chief Program Officer Jobs in Silver Spring, MD (NOW HIRING)

The Strategic Initiatives Officer – Senior, serves as a principal advisor to senior executive leadership, responsible for driving the development and execution of the organization's most critical strategic initiatives. This role directs enterprise-wide efforts to define and implement new strategies, realign complex processes, and ensure the successful integration of major projects across the agency and with key external partners. The Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer acts as a primary subject matter expert, leading change management, influencing executive-level decisions, and ensuring that strategic goals translate into measurable operational success.

• Serve as the lead advisor to Directorate-level leadership on all strategic planning, process re-engineering, and mission-critical initiatives.
• Direct the formulation, tracking, and implementation of the organization's strategic plan, vision, and high-level roadmaps.
• Lead and facilitate high-level engagements with senior leaders, cross-functional teams, and external partners (including IC, DoD, and international entities) to deconflict priorities and synchronize strategic efforts.
• Anticipate and identify strategic challenges, opportunities, and risks; develop and recommend innovative solutions and mitigation strategies to senior leadership.
• Oversee the development of enterprise-level governance frameworks, operational structures, and performance metrics to guide and assess strategic initiatives.
• Represent the organization and its leadership in senior-level forums, briefings, and negotiations related to strategic partnerships, policy implementation, and resource allocation.
• Direct the analysis of complex policy (e.g., commercial space, foreign disclosure) and provide expert recommendations to navigate its impact on strategic objectives.
• Champion the adoption of best practices and drive a culture of continuous improvement across the enterprise.
• Prepare and deliver executive-level reports, briefings, and talking points for audiences including senior agency leadership and congressional stakeholders.

Requirements

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence, Business Administration, International Affairs, Public Policy, or a related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of demonstrated experience in strategic planning, program management, or policy development within the Intelligence Community or Department of Defense. In lieu of a Master’s degree, 15+ years. In lieu of a Bachelor's degree, 20+ years.
• Proven experience leading large-scale organizational change initiatives and process re-engineering efforts from conception to implementation.
• Demonstrated experience providing direct strategic counsel to, and building productive relationships with, senior executive-level leaders.
• Expert-level knowledge of project management principles and demonstrated experience managing a portfolio of complex, cross-functional projects.
• Extensive experience in analyzing, drafting, and implementing high-level policy and strategic guidance.
• Experience leading strategic-level organizational performance assessments.
• Experience drafting and developing strategic guidance.

Desired Skills:

• Demonstrated experience leading strategic-level organizational performance assessments and translating findings into actionable improvements.
• Proven ability to lead and facilitate negotiations with foreign partners and manage multinational engagement strategies.
• Expertise in analyzing and interpreting space policy documents and remote sensing regulations to provide recommendations to senior leadership.
• Demonstrated experience developing and delivering strategic communications and formal responses for congressional inquiries or other high-level taskers.
• A track record of successfully mentoring and developing junior officers and leading high-performing teams.

Benefits

Essential Network Security (ENS) Solutions, LLC is a service-disabled veteran owned, highly regarded IT consulting and management firm. ENS consults for the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) providing innovative solutions in the core competency area of Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM), Software Development, Cyber and Network Security, System Engineering, Program/Project Management, IT support, Solutions, and Services that yield enduring results. Our strong technical and management experts have been able to maintain a standard of excellence in their relationships while delivering innovative, scalable and collaborative infrastructure to our clients.

Why ENS?

• Free Platinum-Level Medical/Dental/Vision coverage, 100% paid for by ENS
• 401k Contribution from Day 1
• PTO + 11 Paid Federal Holidays
• Long & Short Term Disability Insurance
• Group Term Life Insurance
• Tuition, Certification & Professional Development Assistance
• Workers’ Compensation
• Relocation Assistance

Candidate AI Usage Policy

AI tools are an important part of daily work at ENS Solutions, and we are committed to their responsible and ethical use. To ensure a fair and equitable candidate evaluation based on individual skills, knowledge, and experience, candidates are not permitted to use artificial intelligence or other assistive tools during interviews, whether in person or virtual, unless explicit permission has been granted in advance.