Program Manager

About Blue Water Thinking

Blue Water Thinking is committed to delivering value, innovation, and customer focus to federal clients, helping agencies accomplish their missions. Founded by a decorated 28-year US Army veteran, the company deeply understands and supports military members, Veterans, their families, and caretakers. Leveraging extensive military and consulting expertise, the team employs an integrated 'one-team' approach, offering tailored solutions, leadership, and determination to meet transformational client needs. Guided by integrity, respect, professionalism, stewardship, and customer service, Blue Water Thinking emphasizes human connection, collaboration, and loyalty to clients and partners. Their success formula centers on building quality, caring for people, client satisfaction, nurturing a strong work ethic, long-term partnerships, job satisfaction, and giving back.

Role Overview

The Program Manager will lead a major initiative at the Department of Veterans Affairs, managing multiple coordinated workstreams such as program planning, federal oversight, audit responses, risk governance, performance metrics, control environment enhancements, strategic evaluations, executive-level communications, and change management. The ideal candidate will possess disciplined leadership and deep expertise in federal acquisition and risk management alongside oversight-led transformation projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the contractor’s main functional authority and daily program lead, maintaining proactive communication with government stakeholders including the Contracting Officer’s Representative and senior leadership.
• Coordinate contractor staff across all tasks by defining roles, work plans, priorities, schedules, dependencies, and accountability to ensure on-time, high-quality delivery.
• Oversee development and execution of the program management plan covering schedules, milestones, staffing, resources, risks, issues, quality control, and performance monitoring.
• Manage contract administration tasks such as deliverable tracking, financial and labor monitoring, staffing, compliance, change management, and contract modifications.
• Prepare regular reports and briefings on task status, accomplishments, expenditures, risks, issues, and personnel.
• Lead federal acquisition management and oversight efforts, including strategic planning, reporting, recommendation responses, progress updates, closure requests, and long-term program improvement strategies.
• Foster collaboration among federal agencies, acquisition experts, workgroups, governance bodies, and internal/external stakeholders.
• Ensure program alignment with federal acquisition laws, internal controls, risk management practices, and agency policies.
• Manage tracking and resolution of oversight recommendations, audit findings, corrective actions, and risk interdependencies, escalating barriers and proposing mitigation strategies.
• Develop executive briefings, decision-making materials, strategic assessments, performance indicators, and dashboards to clearly present findings, progress, risks, and recommendations.
• Monitor program performance metrics such as scope, schedule, budget, and quality; identify trends and implement improvements.
• Promote a collaborative, client-focused team culture ensuring work products meet accuracy and consistency standards suitable for senior executive and external stakeholders.

Work Schedule and Location

This position follows a hybrid schedule. Remote work may be possible based on client policies and government approval; however, the Program Manager must be available for deliverable reviews, governance sessions, and executive briefings at federal sites in the Washington, D.C. area as required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• At least 10 years of experience in federal acquisition management, risk management, or program management.
• Minimum 5 years supporting federal oversight, audit, accountability, or performance improvement, including Government Accountability Office or similar federal reviews.
• Experience supporting major federal programs; VA experience strongly preferred.
• Proven success developing strategic action plans, responding to oversight recommendations, and engaging with audit bodies.
• Leadership experience with multidisciplinary teams and coordinating complex initiatives across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of federal acquisition processes, risk management, governance, internal controls, corrective actions, and performance measurement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of creating clear decision-ready materials for executives.
• Ability to establish governance, integrated schedules, reports, risk/issue management, quality control, and resource planning.
• Detail-oriented, organized, strategic, proactive, and skilled at managing multiple priorities under demanding timelines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business, public administration, acquisition management, program/risk management, or related field.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Experience in federal acquisition, program management, enterprise risk, internal control, or oversight organizations.
• Experience establishing or enhancing program management offices, integrated risk capabilities, governance, corrective action programs, or performance reporting functions.
• Familiarity with executive dashboards, recommendation tracking, SharePoint collaboration environments, and data-driven reporting.

Eligibility

• Must be legally able to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a federal public trust clearance for this role.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $140,000 to $165,000, dependent on location, experience, qualifications, and contract terms. The company provides comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, federal holidays, and a matching 401K retirement plan.

Additional Information

Blue Water Thinking is dedicated to offering reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process to ensure equal opportunity. The company is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Applicants must submit resumes in Word format including dates for all experience, education, and certifications. Applicants should complete the provided application form as accurately as possible.