Director, Project & Program Management

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees and VA CTAP eligibles only.

Specific duties include:

• Serves as a full operational assistant to the ADUSFO and exercises full responsibility as a Director to a business line under the Office of Field Operations.
• Serves as an expert advisor and consultant to officials and managers within or outside the agency providing guidance and direction in the interpretation of and among program offices and activities aligned with OFO.
• Provides day-to-day direction to a staff that is responsible for creating and managing central office projects and programs designed to improve VBA performance.
• Monitor program and project effectiveness in experiments and in full operational implementation.
• Provide leadership to staff members who serve as project managers and as consultants to senior level VBA management, area offices and regional offices, on highly visible, complex, and difficult issues associated with the effectiveness of VBA field operations as they relate to the delivery of benefits and services to Veterans nationwide.
• Directs the staff's efforts in planning, organizing and conducting difficult and complex improvement programs involving people, processes and technology.
• Conducts organizational studies of VBA field offices to determine strengths, weaknesses and best practices that can be modified or implemented nationally.
• Articulates the nature of organizational problems, appropriate corrective actions to be taken and anticipated results.
• Coordinates the implementation of VBA's national initiatives established to enhance the level of service to veterans.
• Proposes new initiatives, which will enhance ongoing field operations and recommends changes in courses of action in response to adverse trends or results.
• Coordinates the visits of staff members to area and regional offices to resolve highly sensitive problems.
• Reviews the reports developed by staff members resulting from such visits and evaluations findings to assure consistency with OFO policies and strategies.
• Provides feedback and recommends necessary changes before dissemination to OFO leadership.
• Provides guidance to staff members on methods for managing projects and programs, articulating and formulating solutions to reduce or eliminate schedule, scope, and cost risks,
• Leverages workload data to interpret trends and take appropriate actions, to include elevating issues and recommendations to OFO leadership.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: In accordance with agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: Director, Project & Program Management; 39051A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized. Relocation expenses and services (Permanent Change of Station - PCS) are authorized for this recruitment. PCS is the relocation of a household due to government convenience in connection with the transfer between duty stations or facilities. In consideration of the payment of expenses for travel and transportation, the selectee agrees to remain in federal service for twelve (12) months following the date of transfer. Failure to complete all conditions of the obligated service may result in repayment of travel/transportation expenses. Click here for more information.
Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selectees are required to service a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:09/29/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

• For a GS-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14 level.

The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
GS-15 Grade Level:
Specialized Experience:

• Experience in analyzing project management processes, identifying trends, and using data to monitor progress and determine program needs.
• Experience in formulating strategies to enhance program efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with regulations and new directives
• Experience establishing organizational vision and implementing strategic plans in a continuously changing environment.
• Experience building coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve agency objectives.
• Experience with building teams and improving the employee experience through proactive practices to resolving conflicts, attend to morale and organizational workplace issues, handling administrative, labor management, and EEO issues, and taking disciplinary action as appropriate.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.
Physical Requirements: Employment is sedentary; the employee sits comfortably to do the work. There may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying light items, such as papers, books, small parts; or boxes. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving
• Resilience

Creative Thinking: Demonstrated ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Develops new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make organizational improvements; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes
Decisiveness: Makes sound and well-informed decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, in order to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
Partnering:Develops networks and builds alliances; collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals.
Team Building: Inspires and fosters team commitment, spirit, pride, and trust. Facilitates cooperation and motivates team members to accomplish group goals.
Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgments.

Supervisory Situational Judgement Test: Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment, decision-making, and leadership competencies associated with effective supervision in a Federal work environment. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. This assessment is required for all applicants. If you do not complete the assessment, it will result in an incomplete application and you will receive no further consideration.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below. Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in loss of consideration for this job announcement.

• Resume:
  • Contact Information:
    • Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number
  • Relevant Work Experience:
    • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
      • Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
      • Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022)
      • The number of hours you worked per week
    • Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement
  • Optional Details:
    • When relevant, include:
      • Current Security Clearance
      • Job-related training
      • Language skills
      • Organizations and affiliations
      • Professional publications
      • Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• A copy of your most recent NON-award SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
• Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade To verify you meet Time-in-Grade requirements, also submit a SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.).
• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750): A copy of your two (2) most recent annual performance appraisals and associated performance standards; (Note: Applicants unable to provide the most recent performance appraisal MUST provide a written justification for its absence.)
• Current VBA Employees seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade: you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
  NOTE: Award and General Adjustment SF-50's do not provide sufficient information will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time in grade. Recommended SF-50's include Within Grade Increases (WGI), Promotions and Appointments.

Additional Documents accepted:

• Award SF-50s
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

Next steps

Additional locations