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Program Manager / Contract Program Manager 2026P-0473

12+ Months, Full-Time
Norfolk, VA
Posted 1 month ago

Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a senior Program Manager to serve as the Contract Program Manager and primary contractor point of contact for the Navy Information Technology Governance and Mission Support effort. This role will lead contract execution, oversee cost, schedule, scope, performance, staffing, risk, deliverables, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, and transition activities across the full contract.

This position is critical because the Government requires the Program Manager to be the single contractor representative responsible for communicating issues, concerns, and problems; committing the contractor organization; and ensuring performance across IT governance, C4/IT portfolio management, data governance, financial management, and organizational governance support. The PWS specifically designates the Program Manager as a key position and requires the PM to be readily available and proactive in identifying contractual and technical issues.

The ideal candidate will bring senior-level federal program management experience, strong Navy/DoD stakeholder management skills, disciplined contract oversight experience, and the ability to manage multiple task areas without losing control of schedule, quality, risk, staffing, and deliverable compliance.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Program Manager will provide full contract oversight for Ascension’s support to MSC N6. MSC N6 is responsible for delivering and sustaining secure C4/IT capabilities across ashore and afloat environments, including a C4/IT portfolio of approximately 71 programs supporting nine ashore sites and 129 ships. The broader effort supports IT governance processes that are integral to lifecycle planning, production, sustainment, and compliance for MSC C4/IT systems and capabilities.

The Program Manager will manage the contract as an integrated delivery operation. This includes developing and maintaining the Contract Management Plan, leading kickoff and recurring reviews, maintaining performance visibility, managing risks and issues, coordinating task area leads, overseeing deliverable quality, supporting ISO 9001:2015-aligned quality controls, and ensuring timely communication with the COR and Government leads. The role requires a disciplined, senior professional who can anticipate problems, drive corrective actions, maintain accountability across multiple workstreams, and protect mission continuity during phase-in, ongoing performance, surge support, and phase-out.

This position requires use of project/program management processes, integrated schedules, quality controls, risk and issue management, contract status reporting, document control, meeting governance, stakeholder engagement, and Government-approved tools such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, MS Project or other approved scheduling tools, and contract deliverable tracking repositories.

Expected Day-to-Day Activities

  • Serve as Ascension’s single point of contact for the Government on contract performance, technical issues, staffing, risks, concerns, and corrective actions.
  • Lead execution across Task Area 1 and provide oversight across Task Areas 2 through 5.
  • Develop, maintain, and brief the Contract Management Plan as the foundation for technical, resource, production, and management planning.
  • Schedule, prepare, and facilitate the contract kickoff meeting within required timelines.
  • Prepare meeting agendas, minutes, action item trackers, and follow-up documentation.
  • Conduct monthly reviews with the Government Lead to discuss task progress, plans, issues, risks, action items, performance, cost, schedule, and recovery actions.
  • Lead quarterly Contract Management Reviews with the COR and prepare CMR agendas, presentations, mitigation plans, and meeting minutes.
  • Monitor performance standards and submit monthly Contract Status Reports covering task status, resources planned and used, risks, issues, deliverables, schedule, and performance.
  • Manage quality assurance processes and ensure deliverables meet acceptance expectations with minimal rework.
  • Oversee version control, records management, document standardization, and Government-approved repository use.
  • Coordinate with task area leads supporting C4/IT portfolio management, data governance, financial management, and information management.
  • Identify contract performance risks early and develop mitigation plans before issues affect delivery.
  • Oversee staffing readiness, onboarding, phase-in activities, and transition planning.
  • Ensure key personnel and staffing commitments are met, including onboarding expectations identified in the PWS.
  • Prepare executive-level briefings and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Support compliance with DoD, DON, MSC, security, quality, and contract reporting requirements.

Job Features

Job CategoryProgram Manager
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONSMaster’s degree. | Excellent written and verbal communication skills. | Ability to interface with Government executives, CORs, program managers, technical teams, and subcontractor personnel. | Ability to manage in a structured, deadline-driven environment with minimal supervision.
REQUIRED SKILLSMinimum 12 years of relevant program/project management experience, consistent with Ascension’s Project Manager III labor category. | Demonstrated experience directing multiple projects or enterprise-scale efforts involving complex client environments. | Experience managing cost, schedule, scope, performance, staffing, quality, risk, and deliverables. | Experience serving as a contractor program manager, task order manager, deputy program manager, portfolio lead, or senior project manager on federal contracts.
TECHNICAL SKILLSProficiency with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and MS Project or comparable scheduling/project tracking tools.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONSPMP certification. | ITIL, PMI-ACP, FAC-P/PM, DAWIA, CFCM, or similar federal program/acquisition certification. | Prior Navy, MSC, DoD, or C4/IT governance experience. | Experience supporting IT portfolio management, investment management, PPBE, POM, DADMS, DITPR-DoN, eMASS, Navy ERP, PBIS-IT, or related DoD systems. | Experience implementing ISO 9001:2015 quality management practices. | Experience managing contractor teams in secure Government environments. | Experience supporting phase-in / phase-out transitions with no degradation of services. | Experience overseeing data governance, dashboards, financial reporting, acquisition packages, and executive decision support. | Experience managing subcontractors, surge staffing, and distributed teams. | Strong ability to write clearly for DoD, DON, and senior leadership audiences.
SUITABILITY/SECURITY REQUIREMENTU.S. citizenship is expected for access to DoD systems and classified spaces. | Secret clearance eligibility required; active Secret preferred. | Ability to obtain and maintain required Government facility access, CAC, MSC badge, and required security training. | Must comply with applicable DoD, DON, MSC, CUI, cybersecurity, personnel security, and industrial security requirements. | Must support contractor check-in/check-out procedures and security documentation requirements as directed.

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