Program Manager (Center Director) Job in Citrus Heights, CA

Vacancy No. MP-26-FOCW-12902634 Department Small Business Administration
Salary $163,996.00 to $197,200.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 3/5/2026 Close Date 3/19/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Citrus Heights, CA


Summary

This position is located in the Small Business Administration, Field Operations Center West - FOCW in Citrus Heights, CA. As the Center Director, you will be responsible for planning, directing, managing, evaluating, and coordinating the implementation of the disaster loan program for all states west of the Mississippi River, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

This job is open to

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Land and base management

Current or former employees of a base management agency.

Veterans

Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference

Military spouses

Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.

Individuals with disabilities

Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.

Family of overseas employees

Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.

Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista

Individuals who have served at least 2 years with the Peace Corps or 1 year with AmeriCorps VISTA.

Duties

As a Program Manager (Center Director) at the GS-0340-15, some of your typical work assignments may include:

  • Operation and staffing of Disaster Field Offices and Disaster Recovery Centers in cooperation with state, local and Federal officials.
  • Coordination and maintenance of a close working relationship with the Processing and Disbursing Center (PDC) and Disaster Lending Platform for the processing of loan applications from disaster survivors and the overall workflow.
  • Spokesperson to other government agencies, to top business and industry officials, and to Congressional staff and committees.
  • Coordination and acquisition of space, supplies, furnishing and equipment to meet the needs and goals of the FOCs response to major disasters.
  • Responsible for organizing damage surveys for disasters where administrative declarations by SBA has been requested.
  • Coordinates with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where Presidential declarations have been requested. Coordination with the Field Operation Center Director in developing procedures and processes to respond consistently to all types of disasters; reviews and evaluates the substantive work of the Centers to assure compliance with center quality standards; and develops and implements corrective actions as necessary.
  • Directly, or through subordinate staff, supervises Field Operations, Public Affairs, Information Technology (IT), and Administrative Support staff.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen.
  • You must successfully complete a background investigation.
  • You must be able to obtain and maintain a government travel credit card.
  • You may be required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period.
  • Mandatory Overtime: In order to respond quickly and efficiently to disaster survivors, substantial compensated overtime hours may be required while on assignment (up to seven days a week and ten to fourteen hours a day).
  • If required to travel to a disaster site, you may encounter hazardous working and/or living conditions, for example, no water or electricity and/or minimal lodging facilities.

Qualifications

Federal status applicants must meet both Time-In-Grade AND experience requirements by the closing date of this announcement. However, if you have separated from the Federal Government for at least 52 weeks, you are not subject to the Time-in-Grade requirement.

Experience:
To receive credit, you must indicate the month and year as well as the average hours worked per week for each employer. Average work hours must be stated on the resume to quantify each period of work experience or that experience will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. You must address the specific specialized experience required for each grade level of this position on your resume or application or you will be rated "Ineligible" for that grade level.

GS-15: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector:

  • Developing or implementing and communicating the strategy, vision and direction of an organization; AND
  • Overseeing, managing, or advising on the day-to-day operations of an organization or program; AND
  • Analyzing and making recommendations or decisions on workload distribution.
Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site:
Program Management Series, GS-0340

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; religious; 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.

TIME-IN-GRADE: If you are a current career or career-conditional federal employee applying for promotion under Merit Promotion you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in positions at the next level lower than the position being filled

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 03/19/2026.

Education

Education may not be substituted for experience for this position.

Additional information

Career and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs:
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only).

Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency).

You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if:
1. You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF).
2. Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce.
3. The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced.
4. You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment).

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For additional information visit www.sss.gov.

Consistent with work requirements and current SBA Policy, and all applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement with AFGE the SBA offers employees opportunities to perform work at an alternative location (e.g. home).

Telework may be available. For information on Telework visit: http://www.telework.gov/

Additional vacancies may be filled from this vacancy announcement if additional vacancies occur within 180 days of the date the certificates were issued.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on additional assessments. Your resume will undergo a Subject Matter Expert review. The assessments relate to the following Competencies required to do the work of this position:

  • Administration and Management
  • Human Capital Management
  • Partnering
  • Planning and Evaluating


Career and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
1. meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria as described under "Additional Information" above; and
2. submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility claim which can be found under the Required Documents section of this vacancy announcement.

Required Documents

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date/time of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

1. Your Resume - Resume length may not exceed 2 pages and must contain the following information:

  • Name, address, telephone number, email address;
  • Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade);
  • If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy);
  • If other than full time you must provide hours worked per week.
  • PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination.
  • Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed.
  • Should your resume be longer than 2 pages you will be removed from consideration.

2. In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the occupational questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms, if applicable. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all documents are legible.
  • Federal employees must submit proof of your permanent career/career-conditional competitive status ("1" or "2" in Tenure, block 24 and "1" in Position Occupied, block 34). Submit SF-50 showing current grade and tenure and an SF-50 showing highest (permanent) grade ever held, if different. NOTE: An award or detail SF-50 will not be accepted as proof of status;
  • If you are using education as a substitution for experience (the announcement will state whether this is allowed), or if there is an educational requirement for this position, you must submit a copy of your transcripts (unofficial or official) that clearly describes your qualifying education;
  • If you are claiming Veteran status, you must submit a copy of all required documents to support your claim (to include member 4 copy of your DD-214 showing character of service)--see VetGuide;
  • To receive consideration for a special appointment authority (30%, severely disabled, Peace Corps, VRA), you must submit all required documentation supporting your claim for Special Appointing Authorities;
  • Veterans who are still in the service may be granted tentative preference on the basis of information contained in their applications, but they must produce a DD-214 (showing the character of service) or other proof of service to receive consideration for veterans' preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit FedsHireVets.gov.
  • CTAP/ICTAP/RPL Applicants: Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (if applicable), your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330, and your most recent performance appraisal.
4, Most recent performance appraisal.
5. Copies of any awards received within the previous rating cycle.

How to Apply

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions will affect your rating. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your rating may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities.

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 03/19/2026 to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  • Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.
  • To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

Cindy Saechao
Email
cindy.saechao@sba.gov
Address
Field Operations Center West - FOCW
6501 Sylvan Road
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
US

Next steps

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

This is not a drug testing designation position.

Once your application is received by our system, you will be sent an acknowledgement email stating that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made, you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required you will be contacted. During the evaluation and interview process you may be asked to provide written responses to questions or writing samples. You may track the status of the application process through USAJOBS and you will be notified of the outcome.

SUITABILITY, CLEARANCE & REQUIREMENTS: A background investigation may be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.

SBA uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.