[Hiring] Senior Exercise Planner @Leidos

Role Description

Leidos is seeking a Senior Exercise Planner to lead aspects of HSEEP exercise design, development, conduct, and evaluation for CISA’s National Cyber Exercise Program (NCEP). This role supports the Regional Exercise Lead for their assigned regional exercises and leads aspects such as:

• Planning meetings
• Scenario development
• Exercise documentation
• Facilitation
• Exercise conduct
• Exercise evaluation

Primary Responsibilities Include:

• Work with the Regional Exercise Lead to determine specific exercise aspects to lead.
• Lead all activities, documentation, communication, and coordination among the exercise support team for assigned aspect (e.g., scenario, evaluation, exercise documentation, planning meetings, etc.).
• Communicate and coordinate regularly across exercise support team, with Regional Exercise Lead, and with exercise stakeholders to ensure planning timelines, resources, and staffing are maintained.
• Participate in initial meetings with Regional Exercise Lead and exercise stakeholders to establish familiarity with the exercise support team, with the stakeholder leads, and to confirm exercise schedules.
• Lead or support and participate in all planning meetings (as appropriate), such as C&O, IPM, MPM, MSEL Meeting, and FPM, and in developing all supporting documentation, including agendas, presentations, and notes.
• Lead or support the development of core exercise documentation and artifacts (e.g., CONOPS, EXPLAN, SITMAN, MSEL, COSIN, evaluation forms, invitations/sign-in sheets).
• Support end-to-end exercise execution: concept and scope, execution support, evaluation approach, and post-exercise reporting (AAR and assigned reports).
• Report regularly to Regional Exercise Lead and across exercise support team according to communications plan.
• Attend and participate in each exercise within assigned region as a designated exercise support role to be determined by Regional Exercise Lead and exercise support team requirements.
• Fill in as Exercise Facilitator if necessary.
• Support development of new CISA Tabletop Exercise Packages (CTEPs) and maintenance of the CTEP scenario library.
• Provide SME input to internal training activities to improve facilitation and planning skills across NCEP staff.

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain CISA EOD.
• 10+ years experience in HSEEP exercise design, development, conduct, and evaluation.
• FEMA HSEEP certification required or ability to complete HSEEP certification within 30 days of contract start.
• Demonstrated experience planning and delivering exercises or exercise-like events that require structured documentation, coordination, and post-event reporting.
• Strong writing skills to develop polished exercise materials and documents (such as EXPLANs, SITMANs, MSELs, and controller/observer instructions) and post-exercise products (including AAR drafting support).
• Demonstrated ability to lead high-level meetings, exercise facilitation, and give customer-facing presentations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage time, meet deadlines and milestones, and hold team members accountable to requirements.
• Ability to meet CISA suitability and the clearance requirement applicable to the assigned role (TS/SCI for designated personnel; otherwise Public Trust fitness type), as described in the SOW.

Requirements

• TS/SCI security clearance (preferred).
• FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) (preferred).
• Experience supporting cybersecurity-focused scenarios and stakeholder engagement across government and private sector partners (preferred).
• Experience contributing to strategic plan maintenance and innovation projects in support of leadership requests (preferred).
• Cybersecurity Certifications (preferred):
• CISSP
• CEH
• GIAC

Benefits

• Competitive salary range: $82,550.00 - $149,225.00.
• Comprehensive benefits package.