Program Manager

Must be a US Citizen

Clearance Required: Active Secret Clearance

Location: Crane, IN (On-site/Hybrid)

Position: Contingent upon award of contract



 

• Lead and develop the full acquisition support team deployed across requiring technical activities (RTAs), headquarters acquisition management, and COR support functions.
• Ensure the technical accuracy and legal sufficiency of acquisition requirements packages before submission to the contracting organization — and work with the contract team and government on the solution if errors arise.
• Oversee preparation and review of acquisition documentation including Acquisition Plans, SAMPs, J&As, SOW/PWS, IGEs, QASPs, Market Research, CDRLs, and D&Fs.
• Understand procurement strategy recommendations and the process of evaluating contract vehicle options (SeaPort NxGen, OTAs, SAP, IDIQ, BOA) against requirement, funding, and schedule constraints.

• Serve as the senior contractor point of contact to the COR and KO — owning all program matters, escalations, and negotiation of scope, resources, and priorities.
• Anticipate government reporting and data-call needs, delivering ahead of request rather than on demand.
• Represent contract status, risk, and performance to government leadership through briefings, quad charts, and milestone reviews.

• Own contract-level planning, staffing, schedule, and cost performance — accountable for delivery against every PWS requirement.
• Track contract actions through the Plan of Accomplishments and Milestones (POA&M), evaluating schedule risk and providing mitigation recommendations.
• Monitor funds execution against funded and ceiling amounts; provide early warning on lapsing funds, de-obligation needs, and closeout readiness.
• Establish and maintain program performance metrics; drive process improvements and risk analysis across the acquisition workflow.
• Own the CPARS cycle — ensure performance evidence is documented, defensible, and consistently strong.

• Build and sustain a talent pipeline that grows acquisition specialists from journeyman to master level — ensuring personnel deployed to forward RTA positions can operate independently from day one.
• Own recruiting, retention, and succession for the contract — continuity of qualified people is the program's single largest risk.
• Maintain team currency across acquisition regulation changes, systems updates, and evolving Warfare Center direction.

• Acquisition experience: 8+ years of hands-on Department of Defense or Department of Navy acquisition experience.
• Program scale: 5+ years managing government programs or contracts valued at $5M or greater, with full accountability for cost, schedule, and performance.
• Certification: DAWIA Level I (Practitioner) in Contracting or Program Management or equivalent required; Level III (Advanced) strongly preferred. Equivalent credentials considered — FAC-C/FAC-P/PM, prior DoD acquisition workforce service, or demonstrated equivalent hands-on acquisition experience.
• Regulatory: Demonstrated experience applying FAR, DFARS, DoD 5000, and DoN 5000 series to acquisition packages.
• Contract fundamentals: Working fluency in CLIN structures, contract types, funding appropriations and expiration, obligations vs. expenditures, CPARS, ceiling management, and contract closeout.
• Systems: Hands-on experience with Navy-ERP and government acquisition management/tracking systems. Familiarity with PIEE (EDA/WAWF), SeaPort NxGen, and acquisition planning tools such as AMS/PMT.
• Documentation: Direct experience preparing or reviewing acquisition requirements documentation (J&A, IGE, SOW/PWS, D&F, QASP, market research).
• Government relationship: Demonstrated track record as the senior contractor interface to a COR and KO, including managing escalations and difficult conversations.
• Leadership: Experience leading distributed teams across multiple government sites.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in a business, technical, or acquisition-related discipline. Master's preferred.
• Clearance: Active Secret clearance.

• NSWC, Warfare Center, or NAVSEA experience.
• DAWIA Level III in Contracting.
• Experience standing up or improving acquisition processes — process improvement, automation, or reporting modernization.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher.
• Experience building acquisition talent pipelines in a distributed, multi-site team environment.
• Experience managing subcontractor or teaming-partner performance.
• Prior experience transitioning a contract from an incumbent with no loss of mission continuity.

• Sound judgment on when a requirement is defined well enough to be contractible — and the standing to tell the government when it is not.
• Strong communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities and short-fuse data calls without quality loss.
• Ability to work effectively in a distributed team environment across multiple government sites.

• Must be able to sit and stand for prolonged periods, and lead and participate in meetings and working groups.
• Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.