Senior Advisor for Acquisition Workforce Development

MDW Associates; Fort Belvoir (VA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Part time

Job summary

MDW Associates in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, seeks a part-time Senior Advisor for Acquisition Workforce Development to strengthen onboarding, training, retention, and knowledge transfer within a large NGA-focused program.

The role requires a decade of experience, DoD/IC exposure, and collaboration with recruiting, HR, security, and quality teams. This hybrid position emphasizes leadership and continuous improvement across the contractor workforce.

Qualifications

• Ten+ years in workforce development, training program management, or related field.
• Experience supporting large DoD/Intelligence Community or federal services programs.
• Experience managing training, certification, or professional development requirements for a large workforce.
• Experience conducting training needs assessments and implementing corrective actions.
• Ability to translate workforce data into management priorities and metrics.
• Experience coordinating across program leadership, HR, security, and partner orgs.
• Strong written and verbal communication for senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Develop workforce readiness and training approaches aligned with program requirements.
• Create competency profiles linking positions with required experience and training.
• Assess training needs and recommend development actions.
• Monitor training and readiness milestones and identify gaps early.
• Develop workforce metrics and dashboards on onboarding, retention, and coverage.
• Advise leadership on workforce risks and mitigation opportunities.
• Coordinate with recruiting and HR to improve onboarding and retention strategies.
• Develop cross-training and succession plans for critical functions.
• Track corrective training actions with quality and functional leads.
• Provide inputs to management reviews and program-management products.

Skills

Workforce development

Program management

Organizational readiness

Human capital

Briefing skills

Communication

Data interpretation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

MDW Associates is seeking an experienced part-timeSenior Advisor for Acquisition Workforce Development in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to support MDW's management of a large professional services program for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Reporting to the Contractor Program Manager, the Advisor will strengthen workforce readiness, onboarding, professional development, retention, knowledge transfer, and succession planning across MDW and teammate personnel. The Advisor will work with program leadership, recruiting, human resources, security, quality, and functional leads to translate position requirements into practical workforce development actions and provide early visibility into skill gaps and workforce risk.

This is a Part-Time hybrid management position requiring periodic onsite engagement in the Fort Belvoir, Virginia area. The Advisor will operate under the direction of the Contractor Program Manager and will support the contractor workforce rather than direct Government personnel or establish Government training requirements.

The Senior Advisor for Acquisition Workforce Development may perform a combination of some or all of the following duties:

• Develop and maintain a workforce readiness and training approach aligned with program requirements, position qualifications, and performance objectives.
• Create and maintain competency profiles that connect program positions with required experience, technical skills, professional knowledge, and training needs.
• Conduct training-needs and skill-gap assessments and recommend practical development, cross-training, mentoring, certification, or other corrective actions.
• Monitor required contractor training, professional development activities, and workforce readiness milestones; identify missed or emerging requirements before they affect performance.
• Develop concise workforce metrics and dashboards covering onboarding progress, training completion, skill gaps, time to productivity, retention risk, and qualified backup coverage.
• Advise the Contractor Program Manager on workforce risks, trends, mitigation actions, and opportunities to improve employee engagement and retention.
• Coordinate with MDW recruiting and human resources personnel to improve position profiles, candidate screening, onboarding, career development, and retention strategies.
• Develop cross-training and succession strategies for critical functions and support continuity during vacancies, employee turnover, or changes in mission priorities.
• Partner with quality personnel and functional leads to determine when performance issues reflect knowledge or skill gaps and to track associated corrective training actions.
• Provide workforce-readiness inputs to management reviews, risk registers, transition activities, status reports, and other program-management products.
• Maintain appropriate training and workforce-development records and protect employee and program information in accordance with applicable policies.
• Remain informed of relevant Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, NGA, and Defense Acquisition University workforce policies and training resources.

Required Experience/Skills:

• Ten or more years of relevant experience in workforce development, training program management, organizational readiness, program management, human capital, or a closely related field.
• Experience supporting a large Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, or other Federal professional services organization or program.
• Demonstrated experience managing training, certification, or professional-development requirements for a large and diverse workforce.
• Experience conducting training-needs assessments, identifying critical skill gaps, and implementing measurable corrective or development actions.
• Ability to translate position requirements and workforce data into clear management recommendations, priorities, and performance measures.
• Experience coordinating across program leadership, employees, recruiting, human resources, security, quality, and partner organizations.
• Strong organizational, analytical, written communication, and briefing skills, including the ability to communicate with senior leaders and employees at different career levels.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, and SharePoint, or comparable collaboration and reporting tools.
• U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain the security eligibility and access required for the position.

Desired Experience/Skills:

• Direct experience supporting NGA organizations, missions, workforce programs, or business operations.
• Experience administering Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act requirements, Defense Acquisition University training, or other DoD certification programs.
• Knowledge of DoD acquisition, Planning Programming Budgeting and Execution, manpower analysis, program operations, or resource management.
• Experience supporting a major contract transition, incumbent workforce capture, large-scale onboarding effort, or organizational change initiative.
• Current TS SCI eligibility and current or previously held counterintelligence scope polygraph.

Education Requirement(s):

• A bachelor's degree in business, human resources, education, organizational development, public administration, workforce management, or a related field is required. Relevant additional experience may be considered in place of a specific field of study.

Security Requirement(s):

• Candidates must be U.S. citizens and must be able to obtain and maintain the security clearance and access required to support the program.
• Existing TS SCI eligibility is strongly preferred. Final access requirements will depend on assigned duties and work location.

Company Description

Incorporated in 2012, MDW is a small business headquartered in McLean, VA with offices in Huntsville, AL. We provide Federal government clients with consulting, management services, advisory and assistance services, decision support, strategic planning, process planning and improvement, task execution and metrics analysis. Our mission is to make our clients more successful by providing honest assessments, exceptional analysis, prudent advice, direct communication, and hard work.

Our core capabilities include:

• Strategic Planning
• Cost Estimating
• Budget Programming and Justification
• Budget Execution
• Acquisition Management
• Financial Systems Support & Integration

MDW Associates, LLC ("MDW") is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, marital status, covered veteran status, mental or physical disability, pregnancy or any other unlawful basis unrelated to the ability to do the job. MDW seeks to employ talented, ethical, and entrepreneurial-minded persons. Our applicants and employees are protected from discrimination as required by Federal law.

Additional Information

We offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits and compensation package for our employees, including but not limited to:

• Health
• Dental
• Vision
• Group Life Insurance/Long Term Disability/Short Term Disability
• Retirement/401(k)
• Flexible Leave Policy

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.