Planning Support Subject Matter Expert

Saic; Waipahu (HI); On-site; USD 160,001 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Defense Contractor seeks an Operational Planning & Posture SME in Waipahu, Hawaii. This role demands advanced planning expertise to advise government leads, set standards, and enhance decision-making quality for high-stakes initiatives. Candidates should have a Master's degree with extensive experience in joint planning support. The expected salary range is $160,001 - $200,000, commensurate with experience. This position is vital for maintaining the coherence and quality of diverse planning outputs.

Qualifications

• Masters and thirteen years or more experience; PhD or JD and ten years or more experience.
• 10+ years deep experience supporting joint/service planning and senior-leader decision support.
• Demonstrated mastery of JPEC planning forums and staffing dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Define planning-support standards for branch-wide use.
• Advise government leads on complex planning-support approaches.
• Perform senior technical review of high-visibility briefs.

Skills

Deliberate planning support

Analytic framing

Writing/editing expertise

Influencing without authority

Quality assurance mindset

Education

Masters or PhD/JD

Intermediate military education

Job description

Description

The Operational Planning & Posture SME is the branch’s technical/functional authority for deliberate planning support and posture-related planning integration. The role defines and sustains planning-support rigor—standards, quality gates, and expert advisory—so high-visibility products remain coherent, defensible, and aligned with guidance across the Joint Planning and Execution Community (JPEC). Unlike the Senior role, the SME does not own daily suspense tracking/battle rhythm execution; the SME intervenes where complexity, risk, or ambiguity threatens outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Define planning-support standards (templates, quality gates, staffing checklists, traceability expectations, version-control conventions) for branch-wide use
• Advise government leads on complex planning-support approaches (staffing strategy, integration paths, decision points, adjudication methods)
• Perform senior technical review of high-visibility briefs, information papers, and final planning documents to ensure clarity, consistency, and decision-readiness
• Resolve the hardest integration problems (conflicting guidance, misaligned assumptions, incomplete inputs) and recommend defensible tradeoffs and mitigation paths
• Translate policy/guidance into actionable planning inputs and posture initiative implications (as directed by government leads)
• Strengthen Operational Planning Team (OPT)/working group outcomes by shaping narratives, analytical framing, and decision-quality criteria (not meeting administration)
• Coach Senior and junior staff on advanced staff writing, editorial judgment, and staffing discipline through targeted reviews and exemplars
• Assess systemic bottlenecks and recommend repeatable improvements to reduce rework and improve first-pass acceptance (without taking over daily execution)

Qualifications

• Masters and thirteen years or more experience; PhD or JD and ten (10) years or more experience.
• Career level and intermediate level military education(Expeditionary Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College (other service equivalents))
• 10+ years deep experience supporting joint/service planning and senior-leader decision support, including production and critical review of staff products
• Demonstrated mastery of JPEC planning forums and staffing dynamics (e.g., OPTs, joint planning groups (JPGs))
• Knowledge and application experience in the Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP) and Joint Planning Process (JPP)
• Expert capability drafting/editing planning products and enforcing consistency, traceability, and formatting discipline
• Ability to comply with government workplace requirements and obtain/maintain any required access/eligibility

Strongly Preferred

• Intermediate or top-level operational planning education (e.g., JAWS/SAMS/MAWS/SAASS/Service and Joint War Colleges or Fellowships
• Senior PME (e.g., CGSC/ILE, USMC CSC, Naval/War College equivalents)
• Prior experience with USINDOPACOM, MARFORPAC, HQMC, a combatant command, Service component, or MEF HQ
• Doctoral degree in a relevant field

Skills & Competencies

• Deep functional expertise in deliberate planning support and posture planning integration
• Advanced analytic framing and problem-solving under ambiguity
• Expert-level writing/editing and product coherence management
• Influence without authority; credible advisory presence with senior stakeholders
• Standards-setting, coaching, and quality assurance mindset

Autonomy, Decision Authority & Accountability

• Owns technical/functional standards and review thresholds for planning-support quality (government leads retain final approval authority)
• Decides when to elevate quality risks and require additional review cycles for high-visibility products
• Accountable for reducing defects, preventing misalignment with guidance, and improving first-pass acceptance of key deliverables

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.