Government and Public Sector – Director of Cost Estimating and Pricing

Overview

The Government and Public Sector (“GPS”) Cost Estimating and Pricing Director will report to the GPS Finance & Accounting Leader.

The opportunity

In this role you’ll be responsible to develop and lead a high performing team of pricing professionals in support of EY’s GPS Industry Group. You will build up GPS’s fledgling Pricing organization, with emphasis on equipping the team to support GPS during a multi-year growth period and vigilantly right sizing the team throughout GPS’s growth journey. Responsible for pricing and cost estimating for Federal and State government procurements, including professional services engagements, as-a-Service solutions, managed services, productions/solutions and hybrid opportunities in an evolving business environment. Develop and maintain trusted advisor relationships with key stakeholders across GPS, including GPS Sector Leaders, Product/Solutions Leaders, Opportunity Pursuit Leaders, Business Development, Contracts, Purchasing, Legal, Talent and IT. Drive the organizational construct and align pricing capabilities to the GPS practice. Responsible to steward talent within the pricing team. Develop pricing and cost estimating strategies and ensuring compliance for a DCAA approved cost estimating system. This role will coach Pricing leads at more junior levels and foster development of staff and work to build a pipeline of high performing individuals, and constantly focus on developing the next generation of leads.

Your key responsibilities

• Structure Pricing organization in support of EY’s growing GPS practice, with properly supportive alignment to market-oriented leaders.
• Lead in shaping and evolving the Pricing role within the larger GPS Finance organization and in context of the broader GPS operating model.
• Responsible to hire, onboard and developing a training program for GPS Pricing professionals. Serve as day-to-day management for the Pricing team and establish connections with all levels, ensuring a fully connected community.
• Provide pricing guidance for products and as-a-Service solutions in an emerging business environment.
• Play a strategic role in developing pricing for contracting vehicles and schedules, both Federal and state.
• Play a key role in elevating literacy within the GPS practice of costing and pricing within a CAS compliant environment.
• Work with FP&A to develop and/or assess pricing strategies for both services and products/solutions.
• Lead the development of proposal practices and tools for technology products and solutions.
• Assess and recommend strategies in the context of re-seller agreements, teaming, and subcontract agreements.
• Monitor pricing performance for competitiveness and business performance, and escalate problems that may impact competitiveness, performance, or execution.
• Assess staffing needs and ensure workloads are balanced, enabling all team members to experience well-being while also meeting the needs of the business and pursuing cost efficiency.
• Lead development of and career planning for EY GPS Pricing team members, including visioning learning, development and training needs.
• Oversee development and maintenance of proposal repository for GPS.
• Responsible to maintain and execute pricing controls, policies and procedures compliant with US government regulatory (FAR, DFARS, CAS) requirements and EY GPS policies and procedures.
• Respond to government reviews of EY Estimating System and contract pricing audits.
• Implement tools and processes to drive efficiency and excellence in the GPS Pricing organization.

Skills and attributes for success

• Strong leadership skills – able to develop a vision and build excitement around it, for a new financial department within the GPS business.
• Strong relationship builder, with ability to gain trust quickly.
• Demonstrated ability to advise the business on levers that optimize revenue and profit in opportunity pursuit.

• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate confidently and effectively with all levels of management and external auditors.
• Passion for “telling a story” and driving to recommendations using financial data and insights
• Ability to successfully manage competing priorities and mentor direct reports to do the same.
• Ability to influence others through expertise and without relying on direct authority.

To qualify you must have

• A Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics or related field; advanced degree in business or data analytics preferred
• A minimum of 15 years of relevant (e.g., finance, pricing, business development) experience in a government contracting environment
• Experience developing competitive and commercial item price proposals for all US federal government contract types
• Experience developing pricing for products, solutions and as-a Service opportunities in both commercial item and FAR Part 15 scenarios
• 10 years of experience with successfully managing and leading a pricing team with responsibility for talent attraction, management, and development
• Experience with the monetization of intellectual capital into new products, service offerings, and game-changing innovations for a large and diverse organization
• Knowledge of cloud computing, SaaS, Paas, IaaS, and AI products
• Experience in evaluating, negotiating, and executing non-FAR based or commercial U.S. Government contracts for the development and sale of emerging technologies and products
• Experience with all aspects of price and cost proposal preparation, including pricing strategies, compliance and estimating practices for US Federal and State governments
• Experience with selection, design/configuration, and management of complex services and software pricing tools
• Experience developing complex pricing strategy and delivering presentations to executives

• Demonstrated success in improving stakeholder financial literacy on complex pricing topics.
• Experience working in a Big 4 accounting firm, or other highly matrixed environment requiring a high degree of adeptness at balancing the needs of numerous equivalent stakeholders

• Experienced leader with expertise in Pricing in a government contracting environment
• Working knowledge of a variety of pricing tools and methods
• High degree of proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel and Power Point
• Ability to obtain a government security clearance, if required

• Continuous learning: You’ll develop the mindset and skills to navigate whatever comes next.
• Success as defined by you: We’ll provide the tools and flexibility, so you can make a meaningful impact, your way.
• Transformative leadership: We’ll give you the insights, coaching and confidence to be the leader the world needs.
• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs.