After recently leading her team to a winning proposal with the Food and Drug Administration, Suntiva’s Department of Health and Human Services account director Jordan Parsons is working to expand her focus on supporting the entire HHS mission and workforce.
In March, Suntiva won a 5-year, $100 million prime Integrated Services Blanket Purchase Agreement with FDA and will help the agency’s offices and centers improve capabilities, develop internal talent and organizational development and enhance internal collaboration.
And Parsons spearheaded this win — from leading capture and business development on the account to working the request for proposal and submitting the proposal — and it’s one she is particularly proud of.
“This vehicle is available for use throughout the entire FDA, providing human capital, training, learning management, program management and strategic communications services to strengthen individual, team performance and advance FDA’s public health mission,” she told WashingtonExec.
Parsons has been with Suntiva since 2014, starting as a senior consultant and rising to executive consultant, senior executive consultant and now, HHS account director.
[addthis tool=”addthis_relatedposts_inline_va7y”]But it’s not nearly her entre into the government contracting world. Parsons spent four years at Booz Allen Hamilton prior to joining Suntiva as an associate and served as a project manager for aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
Both are larger companies where Parsons focused more on the Defense Department market, but she has since come to realize the mission-centric culture of DOD is just as prevalent in the civilian agency market that she works with at Suntiva.
WashingtonExec asked Parsons about her team’s FDA win, what makes Suntiva stand out in the government contracting industry, the evolution of her career before and during Suntiva and where the company is headed next.
What did you take away from winning FDA-IS, and to what do you attribute Suntiva’s win?
I took a lot away from this experience, from leading the capture and business development on this account, to working on a rigorous and well-written RFP and ultimately working with my incredible team to submit a winning proposal. For over nine years, Suntiva has been providing leadership development, coaching, training, strategic facilitation, change management and other human capital and workforce transformation solutions to almost every FDA office and center. We are thankful for the opportunity to continue to our support FDA and its leaders through this new contract.
Why do clients choose to work with or continue working with Suntiva?
Our CEO Dr. Hany Malik founded Suntiva as his way of giving back to our country. Since that time over 17 years ago, the company has gone through a lot of change and overcome challenges that any business faces when graduating from small. Throughout it all, what hasn’t changed is the company’s commitment to government and its leaders. I believe our clients choose to keep working with us year to year because they see and feel that commitment through the work we do.
What sets Suntiva apart from other organizations?
At Suntiva, we believe our culture and values set us apart. This is a special place to work and that starts at the top with Hany, where we are all personally vested in each other’s success. Our motto is, “Great Minds, Great Hearts,” and I see that exemplified not only in the work we do but how my colleagues work together day in and day out.
We are subscribers to the mantra of “work hard, play hard!” I think it’s really cool to work for a company where you have the ability to lean in and make a big difference, while having a lot of fun in the process.
[addthis tool=”addthis_relatedposts_inline_va7y”]Can you describe a pivotal turning point in your career?
As a former athlete, I find myself drawn toward goal- and mission-driven organizations. I started my career working in large companies in service of DOD clients, where mission is front and center. This includes my time as a project manager at Sikorsky Aircraft supporting HMX-1 and the Presidential Helicopter Program, to working for Booz Allen alongside the inspiring talent at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The change came for me in joining Suntiva five years ago, a smaller company than my previous employers, where I shifted my focus to serving primarily federal civilian agencies. I found that the mission-centric culture that is so synonymous with DOD existed just as prevalently in my civilian agency clients, just expressed differently.
How has your role at Suntiva changed since you first joined, and what do you see for the future?
My role at Suntiva has grown exponentially since I joined the firm in 2014. I have grown from a senior consultant providing project management consulting services to FDA clients, to this new role as account director for programs and projects across all of [HHS].
My expanded responsibilities will include a specific focus on supporting the HHS mission and workforce. I will do this in part by partnering closely with all of Suntiva’s HHS customers to understand their evolving needs, opportunities and challenges related to business process, digital and workforce transformation. I will in turn work to deliver innovative solutions, along with my talented and experienced colleagues, and whenever appropriate will leverage some of our best-in-class partners. I envision Suntiva expanding its footprint in HHS to include new agencies, offices and programs and becoming a premier solutions provider across all components of the agency.