Program Manager, CBP 2026P-0366
Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!
Ascension LLC is seeking a highly experienced Program Manager, CBP to serve as the dedicated management point of contact for CBP PREA audit support services. This is a key personnel role responsible for overseeing CBP holding facility audit execution, report quality, network access compliance, personnel readiness, CBP-specific communications, and coordination with the COR and federal representatives.
The ideal candidate is a senior correctional, detention, law enforcement, inspection, or compliance professional who understands the seriousness of audit work in custodial environments. This role is best suited for someone who can lead independently, maintain disciplined communication with federal stakeholders, ensure auditors meet DHS PREA requirements, and protect the integrity, accuracy, and timeliness of audit deliverables.
The SOW identifies the CBP PM as the dedicated point of contact for CBP holding facilities, separate from the ICE PM, to ensure simultaneous fulfillment of ICE and CBP task orders. It also requires key personnel to obtain DHS PREA certification before performing work on the contract.
Summary of Contractor Role
The Program Manager, CBP will manage and oversee contracted staff, audit coordination, deliverable quality, CBP communication protocols, government network access requirements, and audit readiness activities for CBP holding facility audits. The role requires strong project management discipline, careful attention to sensitive government information, and the ability to supervise work products that must meet high standards for accuracy, clarity, professional writing, and compliance with DHS PREA requirements.
This position requires a self-driven, organized, and mature professional who can operate in a high-risk, sensitive federal environment with minimal supervision. The CBP PM must anticipate schedule, staffing, access, travel, report quality, and corrective action issues before they affect performance. The role also requires the ability to maintain close coordination with auditors, federal representatives, and Ascension leadership while ensuring all audit-related communications follow approved government channels.
The SOW requires the PM to ensure auditor work products are accurate, consistent, high-quality, and require minimal revisions before submission to the Government. It also requires contractor support for quality control, data input, analytical documentation, personnel training, trend analysis, audit process recommendations, and adherence to established DHS schedules.
Anticipated Day-to-Day Activities
- Serve as the dedicated CBP management point of contact for contract services and receipt of technical guidance from the designated COR or federal representative.
- Manage CBP holding facility audit execution, including schedule coordination, auditor readiness, documentation flow, and issue escalation.
- Oversee contracted auditors and support personnel to ensure work is performed in accordance with DHS PREA Standards, DHS PREA Audit Instruments, CBP guidance, and task order requirements.
- Review audit reports, supporting documentation, working papers, findings, and recommendations for accuracy, consistency, logical structure, professional writing quality, and compliance with DHS PREA requirements.
- Ensure CBP audit reports are assessed against DHS PREA requirements only and do not improperly apply DOJ PREA standards where not applicable.
- Coordinate with auditors to support pre-audit review of facility documentation, issue logs, onsite audit readiness, post-audit analysis, and corrective action documentation review.
- Track audit milestones, report due dates, CAP-related deadlines, training requirements, personnel status changes, and network access requirements.
- Monitor CBP network access compliance, including the 30-day login requirement, to prevent lockouts and avoid performance deficiencies.
- Maintain communication capability among contractor staff, including voicemail, email, and government network communication requirements.
- Ensure audit-related communications are conducted through approved DHS/CBP systems and that PII is encrypted as required.
- Support quality assurance and quality control activities, including input to the QASP, internal review checklists, corrective action tracking, and continuous improvement recommendations.
- Provide analytical summaries and identify trends or patterns based on PREA audit findings when requested by DHS.
- Coordinate travel planning, staffing coverage, and audit logistics for CBP holding facility audits.
- Maintain personnel readiness by tracking DHS PREA certification, CBP-required trainings, background investigation status, and suitability documentation.
- Respond to personnel, performance, or conduct concerns within required timeframes and escalate significant matters to Ascension leadership and the Government as appropriate.
- Protect sensitive government information, audit documentation, facility records, handwritten notes, and government-owned work products.
- Participate in post-award, progress, and performance review meetings with the CO, COR, and other Government personnel.
How to Apply
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| Job Category | Program Manager |
| MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS | Bachelor’s degree or higher preferred. The SOW specifically requires a bachelor’s degree or higher for the ICE PM and APM roles; for CBP PM, the document emphasizes equivalent senior detention, correctional, law enforcement, audit, or oversight experience. For recruiting purposes, Ascension should require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent directly relevant experience. | Excellent technical writing, editing, grammar, punctuation, report review, and quality control skills. | Ability to review compliance findings objectively and ensure conclusions are evidence-based, clear, measurable, and aligned to the governing standard. | Ability to review compliance findings objectively and ensure conclusions are evidence-based, clear, measurable, and aligned to the governing standard. |
| REQUIRED SKILLS | Minimum of 10 years of experience working in, with, or auditing one or more of the following environments: | State prisons | Local jails | Federal prisons | Short-term lockups | Community confinement facilities | Juvenile facilities | Federal agencies overseeing confinement of individuals, including BOP, ICE, CBP, or HHS. | Minimum of 5 years of project management experience supporting large, high-risk, sensitive projects or division-level operations of comparable scope. |
| TECHNICAL SKILLS | Strong understanding of correctional, detention, short-term holding, custody, investigation, monitoring, or quality assurance environments. | Ability to obtain DHS PREA certification after award and before performing contract work. | Ability to complete CBP-required training within required timeframes and maintain continuous network access. |
| DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS | Prior CBP, ICE, BOP, DHS, DOJ, correctional, detention, custodial, or law enforcement oversight experience. | Prior PREA audit, PREA compliance, detention monitoring, inspection, investigation, quality assurance, or corrective action experience. | National PREA Resource Center certification or prior DHS/DOJ PREA audit support experience. | Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Corrections Executive (CCE), Certified Jail Manager (CJM), Certified Correctional Manager (CCM), Certified Public Manager (CPM), or related professional certification. | Experience managing geographically dispersed audit teams. | Experience reviewing sensitive facility documentation, investigative files, policies, procedures, audit evidence, and corrective action documentation. | Experience with Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Excel, Word, Adobe Acrobat, project trackers, audit checklists, and document control processes. | Experience developing QASP inputs, SOPs, status reports, executive briefings, audit trackers, or performance dashboards. | Experience supporting federal contracts, COR coordination, task order execution, key personnel reporting, and deliverable acceptance processes. | Experience supporting bilingual or interpretation-enabled environments, including coordination of detainee interviews involving limited English proficient populations. |
| SUITABILITY/SECURITY REQUIREMENT | Must successfully complete E-Verify. | Must be a U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident with a Social Security card issued and approved by SSA. | Must be able to obtain and maintain DHS/CBP suitability, background investigation, and favorable fitness determination. | Must meet DHS/CBP requirements for access to sensitive government information, government facilities, CBP systems, and detainee-related information. | Must complete required background investigation documentation within prescribed timelines. | Must comply with PREA-designated position screening requirements, including questionnaire requirements related to 6 CFR § 115.117. | Must meet U.S. residency coverage requirements, generally residence in the United States or its territories for at least three of the last five years, unless an allowable exception applies. | Must protect sensitive government information, PII, audit records, facility documentation, and government-owned work products. | Must comply with contractor identification requirements, including clearly identifying as a contractor in communications, meetings, voicemail, and signature blocks. |