WM-JD-001 · Key Personnel
Senior Program Manager
Federal Program & Project Management
- Pay range
- $135,000 – $165,000 per year, based on experience and certifications
- Employment type
- Full-time, exempt; contingent upon contract award
- Location
- Washington, DC metro area — on site at federal client locations in Suitland, MD and Washington, DC, with hybrid days as the client permits
- Clearance / suitability
- U.S. citizenship required. Must pass a federal background investigation for a Public Trust position. An active Secret clearance is a plus for some client work.
- Reports to
- Jessica D. Miller, Chief Executive Officer
- Travel
- Up to 10% within the region; occasional travel to a client research facility in New London, CT
Position summary
The Senior Program Manager leads Winston & Miller's program-management engagements and serves as the company's day-to-day point of contact with the government program manager and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). You plan, staff, and run the contract; embed with the client's Integrated Project Teams (IPTs); and keep scope, schedule, cost, and quality on baseline. On a large federal program, you start with a baseline team of about ten people and must be ready to scale quickly when the program needs surge support.
Key responsibilities
Contract and team leadership
- Serve as the contract program manager: own staffing, performance, deliverables, and monthly status reporting to the COR and government program manager.
- Build and lead a team of 10 or more program analysts, schedulers, and subject-matter experts; plan surge staffing and onboarding when new projects stand up on compressed timelines.
- Run the contract under a firm-fixed-price structure: track labor against plan, manage quality, and flag scope changes early.
Program and project management (PWS: Overall Program & Project Management)
- Update and maintain program and project management plans, charters, Initial and Detailed Business Proposals, and close-out reports in line with client agency policy.
- Build and maintain project schedules in Microsoft Project / Project Server; deliver weekly schedule updates and status against the integrated master schedule and work breakdown structure (WBS).
- Facilitate status meetings, program and project reviews, and IPT meetings — prepare agendas and minutes, and track issues and action items to closure.
- Recommend program- and project-level strategies, objectives, and milestones; give the government clear options and a recommendation when issues arise.
- Create and update business process models (BPMs) for operations and support program- and project-level testing across the lifecycle.
Governance, risk, change, and lessons learned
- Lead risk and issue management with the IPTs: identify, assess, and document risks, mitigation and contingency plans, and metrics.
- Support the change control board: document change requests against the baseline and ensure each is processed according to procedure.
- Plan and facilitate lessons-learned sessions; produce Lessons Learned Reports with scope, what worked, what to improve, and root-cause analysis.
- Plan and execute knowledge transfer to government staff and incoming contractors.
Communication and writing
- Write and edit memorandums, status reports, white papers, standard operating procedures, briefings, and executive presentations.
- Communicate program plans, status, and results to internal and external stakeholders with accuracy and discretion.
Required qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, engineering, or a related field.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, active.
- At least 10 years of program or project management experience, including at least 5 years supporting federal agencies.
- Demonstrated experience leading a contractor team of 8 or more people on a federal services contract.
- Hands-on experience with integrated master schedules and WBSs in Microsoft Project or Project Server.
- Working knowledge of earned value management (EVM), risk and issue management, and change control boards.
- Excellent writing: able to produce a decision memo or executive briefing that stands on its own.
- U.S. citizenship and the ability to pass a federal Public Trust background investigation.
Preferred qualifications
- Master's degree in a related field.
- Experience supporting a large-scale federal data-collection or survey program.
- Experience supporting homeland security or defense strategy, capability, or acquisition programs.
- Program Management Professional (PgMP), PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP), or Certified Scrum Master.
- Experience standing up staffing surges or new projects on compressed timelines.
- Military service or experience working with military commands.
What success looks like in your first 90 days
- Day 30: the team is onboarded, the Project Management Plan and staffing plan are approved, and the first monthly status report is delivered on time.
- Day 60: schedules, risk register, and change log are current and trusted by the government program manager; zero late deliverables.
- Day 90: a surge-staffing playbook is ready, and the COR rates the team's performance as meeting or exceeding expectations.
Benefits and other compensation
Medical (PPO or HSA-eligible high-deductible plan), dental and vision coverage, with the company paying 90% of employee premiums and 70% of dependent premiums; a 401(k) with a 100% match on the first 4% of pay, vested immediately; company-paid life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance; 15 days of paid time off (unused PTO is paid out when you leave), 11 paid federal holidays and 1 floating holiday, separate paid sick and safe leave, paid parental and military leave; and $3,500 a year for training and certifications.
Health
- Medical coverage with a choice of a PPO plan or a high-deductible plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA)
- The company pays 90% of the premium for employee coverage and 70% for spouse and dependent coverage
- Company HSA contribution of $1,000 a year for single coverage or $2,000 for family coverage on the high-deductible plan
- Dental and vision coverage: the company pays 100% for employees and 50% for dependents
- Confidential Employee Assistance Program for you and your household
Pay beyond salary
- Performance bonuses
- Commission on new business you help win
- Equity participation for qualified team members who join as partners
- Referral bonuses when someone you refer is hired
Retirement
- 401(k) with pre-tax and Roth options
- Safe harbor match: 100% of the first 4% of pay you contribute, vested immediately
- Automatic enrollment at 6% of pay, rising 1% a year to 10%; you can change or stop contributions at any time
Insurance
- Life and AD&D insurance of 1× salary up to $200,000, company-paid
- Short-term disability: 60% of pay up to $1,500 a week, company-paid
- Long-term disability: 60% of pay up to $10,000 a month, company-paid
Time off
- 15 days of paid time off a year, available from January 1 and prorated in your first year; unused PTO is paid out when you leave
- 11 paid federal holidays and 1 floating holiday
- Paid sick and safe leave, separate from paid time off: 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours a year, usable from your first day; up to 56 unused hours carry over
- Paid parental leave: the company tops up state paid-leave benefits to full pay for 6 weeks after a birth, adoption or foster placement
- Paid military leave: the company makes up the difference between military and regular pay for up to 15 working days a year of Guard or Reserve duty
- Paid bereavement leave of up to 5 days and full pay during jury duty
- Paid family and medical leave benefits through the District of Columbia Universal Paid Leave program and, from January 2028, Maryland's FAMLI program, based on where you work
Growth and work tools
- $3,500 a year for training, courses and certification exams
- The company pays required certification maintenance fees (for example ISC2, ISACA and CompTIA)
- Paid time for security clearance paperwork, interviews and reinvestigations
- $100 a month toward your phone and internet
- Up to $1,000 for home-office equipment in your first year
Other compensation. Performance bonuses; commission on new business you help win; equity participation for qualified team members who join as partners; and referral bonuses when someone you refer is hired. The company also pays a $100 monthly phone and internet stipend and up to $1,000 for home-office equipment in your first year.
Benefits begin on your first day of employment, which starts on contract award. Plan documents and the written bonus, commission and equity plans govern the details.
Work environment
Professional office environment at government and company sites. Regular use of a computer and standard office equipment for extended periods. Occasional local travel between client and company offices.
Contingent upon award
This position is contingent upon contract award. Winston & Miller is building its team for specific federal opportunities now in market research and solicitation. Selected candidates sign a letter of commitment that lets us name them in our proposal; employment begins on contract award and funding. We will tell you which opportunity your position supports and keep you informed as it progresses.
About Winston & Miller
Winston & Miller is a veteran-owned, woman-owned federal contractor based in the National Capital Region, serving Washington, DC and Prince George's County, Maryland. We get federal systems and programs to their goals and keep them there — Risk Management Framework (RMF) authorization, ISSO support, and disciplined program management for civilian and defense agencies. Our founder and CEO, Jessica D. Miller, is a U.S. Army veteran with 30 years of DoD information-assurance and program leadership. We are a founder-led firm: senior people do the work, and every team member works directly with leadership.
Winston & Miller is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Winston & Miller participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. Applicants who need a reasonable accommodation during the application process may contact jessica@winstonandmiller.com.