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Program Manager

Hybrid - Washington, D.C. Area

About Blue Water Thinking

Guided by our principles of value generation, continuous innovation, customer-centricity, and vested collaboration, Blue Water Thinking proudly supports our Federal clients in achieving their Agency goals.

Founded by a decorated twenty-eight year Veteran of the United States Army, Blue Water Thinking understands and supports the mission of our Nation's war fighters, Veterans, their families and caretakers. 

Leveraging our executive team's military experience and private and public sector consulting expertise, Blue Water Thinking takes an integrated "one-team" approach and brings to bear best-fit solutions,  thought leadership, and grit to meet our client's transformational needs.

Fueled by our values of integrity, respect, professionalism, stewardship and customer service, the Blue Water Thinking team understands the power of the human connection, collaboration, humility and loyalty to one another, our clients and industry partners.

Lastly, our formula for success is simple:  Build something good, take care of our people, keep our clients satisfied, nurture our work ethic and reputation, build long-lasting partnerships, enjoy what we do and give back as much as possible.

Job Description:

Blue Water Thinking is seeking an experienced and dedicated Program Manager to support a large project at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The Program Manager will oversee execution across multiple integrated workstreams, including program planning, federal oversight and audit response, recommendation management, acquisition risk governance, performance measurement and reporting, control environment improvements, strategic assessments, executive communications, and change management. The successful candidate will combine disciplined program leadership with deep knowledge of federal acquisition management, acquisition risk management, and oversight-driven transformation initiatives.

This position operates on a hybrid work schedule. Remote performance may be permitted consistent with client policy and Government approval; the Program Manager must be available to attend deliverable reviews, governance sessions, and senior leadership briefings at federal facilities in the Washington, D.C. area as directed.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Serve as the contractor’s functional expert and day-to-day program management lead, maintaining proactive and responsive communication with the Contracting Officer’s Representative, Government program leadership, senior executives, and other client stakeholders.
  • Lead and coordinate contractor personnel across all task areas, establishing clear roles, work plans, priorities, schedules, dependencies, and accountability for timely, high-quality performance.
  • Oversee development, maintenance, and execution of the program management plan, including the integrated schedule, milestones, staffing, resource allocation, risks, issues, quality assurance, and performance controls.
  • Manage contract execution and administration, including deliverable tracking, financial and labor-hour monitoring, staffing and vacancy management, compliance with task order requirements, change control, and support for contract modifications and closeout.
  • Direct preparation of recurring task reports, status briefings, monthly progress reports, quarterly accomplishment reports, and period closeout reports, ensuring accurate reporting of accomplishments, planned activities, expenditures, risks, issues, and personnel status.
  • Provide leadership for federal acquisition management and oversight activities, including strategic action planning, recurring external reporting, recommendation response packages, progress updates, closure requests, and long-term program improvement and exit-readiness strategies.
  • Coordinate input and facilitate collaboration across federal organizations, acquisition subject matter experts, cross-functional workgroups, governance bodies, and other internal and external stakeholders.
  • Ensure alignment of program activities and deliverables with applicable federal acquisition requirements, internal control standards, enterprise risk management practices, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and relevant agency policies and governance issuances.
  • Oversee integrated tracking and resolution of oversight recommendations, audit findings, corrective actions, risk signals, and cross-portfolio interdependencies, elevating barriers and recommending practical mitigation strategies to client leadership.
  • Guide development of executive-level briefings, decision materials, strategic assessments, performance metrics, dashboards, and other technical products that clearly communicate findings, progress, risks, and recommended actions.
  • Monitor program performance against scope, schedule, budget, quality, and outcome expectations; identify trends and improvement opportunities; and implement corrective actions to enhance delivery effectiveness.
  • Promote a collaborative, client-focused team environment and ensure all work products are accurate, consistent, actionable, and suitable for senior executive, oversight, audit, Congressional, and other external audiences.

This position operates on a hybrid work schedule. Remote performance may be permitted consistent with client policy and Government approval; the Program Manager must be available to attend deliverable reviews, governance sessions, and senior leadership briefings at federal facilities in the Washington, D.C. area as directed.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree.
  • Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in federal acquisition management, acquisition risk management, or federal program management.
  • Minimum of five (5) years of experience supporting federal oversight, audit, accountability, or performance-improvement activities
  • Experience supporting major federal program offices or organizational components; Department of Veterans Affairs experience is strongly preferred.
  • Significant experience developing strategic action plans, responding to oversight recommendations, preparing progress updates and closure packages, and engaging with federal audit or oversight bodies.
  • Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams and coordinating complex work across senior leadership, program offices, functional experts, and external oversight stakeholders.
  • Strong knowledge of federal acquisition management and acquisition risk management processes, governance, internal controls, corrective action management, and performance measurement.
  • Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including the ability to develop and present concise, decision-ready materials for senior executive audiences.
  • Demonstrated ability to establish program governance, integrated schedules, reporting processes, risk and issue management, quality controls, and resource management practices.
  • Detail-oriented, highly organized, strategic, proactive, and able to manage multiple high-priority deliverables under tight deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Master’s degree in business, public administration, acquisition management, program management, risk management, or a related field.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
  • Experience within a federal acquisition, program management, enterprise risk, internal control, or oversight organization.
  • Experience standing up or maturing a program management office, integrated risk management capability, governance structure, corrective action program, or enterprise performance reporting function.
  • Experience with executive dashboards, recommendation and corrective-action tracking systems, SharePoint-based collaboration environments, and data-driven performance reporting.

Eligibility:

  • Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain the required federal public trust clearance for this role.

Compensation:

Salary for this position is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, location, the candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability and organizational requirements.

Salary range: $140,000 - $165,000.

Blue Water Thinking offers a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance (medical, dental, and vision), paid time off, federal holidays, and a matching 401K plan.

Reasonable Accommodation for Applicants

Blue Water Thinking is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to search for a position, complete an application, or participate in the interview process, please contact Resource Management at resourcemanagement@bw-thinking.com. Requests for accommodation will be handled promptly and confidentially in accordance with applicable law.

Our Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity.

Blue Water Thinking is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We recruit, hire, train, and promote qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

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