Program Manager (GS-0340) Jobs – Working for the Federal Government

• Betty Boyd
• January 14, 2022

This series covers all classes of positions the duties of which are to manage or direct, or to assist in a line capacity in managing or directing, one or more programs, including appropriate supporting service organizations, when the paramount qualification requirement of the positions is management and executive knowledge and ability and when the positions do not require competence in a specialized subject-matter or functional area. (Positions in which specialized subject matter or functional competence is a necessary qualification requirement are classifiable to whichever specialized or general series is most appropriate.)

The federal government employs 14,122 program managers of which 173 work overseas. The Departments of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the DOD are the largest employers with 5,494 civilians employed.  The Department of Homeland Security employs 1,629 and the Treasury Department employ1,495.  All large cabinet level agencies and many large medium sized agencies employ this occupation.

Federal Job Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.
• The yearly salary for a NH-4 pay scale is $103,842.00 to $143,796.00 per year (this includes a 17.82% locality pay for Huntsville, AL) or $116,833.00 to $181,031.00 per year (this includes a 27.10% locality pay for the Washington D.C. metropolitan area).

Qualification requirements differ between agencies

The program manager USA Job announcements used for this article were for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), which is part of the Department of Defense (Huntsville, AL) and the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) (Washington, D.C.)

Thoroughly read the entire job announcement to determine the special skills and requirements for each position that you apply for. Each agency will have their own variations on what is required for that job occupation and you must tailor your application and federal style resume to the job announcement’s  requirements.

MDA (from USA Jobs announcement)

The Program Manager, serves as an advisor to agency management on critical acquisition processes such as acquisition strategies, market research, acquisition planning, source selection planning, request for proposal preparation for key agency programs.

Assess, manage and eliminate risk related to program cost, schedule and performance. Conducting acquisition planning and, in coordination with the technical program office, determine acquisition strategies to be used in the acquisition of a specific program element.

FAA (from USA Jobs announcement)

As Program Manager, incumbent serves as the Group Manager, Headquarters Administrative Services Group. In this capacity, incumbent will direct the work activities of five teams.

As Group Manager, incumbent exercises the full range of supervisory responsibilities, to include, but not limited to: assignment of work, setting priorities, selections, promotions, coaching, disciplinary actions, evaluating individual and organizational performance, and training. Uses advanced knowledge of budget policies and procedures to define, plan and organize staff, and other resources; which includes managing the budget, allocating/reallocating resources among subordinate teams, and requests for needed additional resources. Incumbent projects short/long term strategic planning and prepares justifications to support resource requirements.

Specialized Experience

MDA (from USA Jobs announcement)

• Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information, and draws logical conclusions. Analyzes and provides solutions to complex problems.
• Ability to apply systems acquisition processes, policies, procedures, and practices necessary to develop and assess technical and economic feasibility, including cost, schedule and performance.
• Ability to research, plan, coordinate and brief actions in support of leadership’s goals, objectives and vision.
• Experience working with and across executive staffs, joint staffs, commands, agencies and the services.
• Experience in acquisition of complex weapons systems and equipment or closely related systems and equipment development, procurement, and life-cycle management.

Specialized Experience

FAA (from USA Jobs Announcement)

• Experience with workforce planning, human resource policies, staffing and position classifications as it relates to analyzing the ATO’s future staffing requirements.
• Experience as a supervisor/manager, communicating the organization’s vision and objectives; setting priorities; assigning tasks and responsibilities; monitoring and evaluating performance; coaching and developing employee capabilities; approving leave; and recommending or approving corrective/disciplinary action as appropriate.

• Experience leading, managing, and strategic planning for an organization, as well as collaborating with agency program executives to meet agency objectives.

The duties of a program manager are varied depending upon the agency. They can range from total supervisory duties, to developing programmatic goals. Program managers play a vital role in executing programs within an agency.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS) the job outlook for mangers will grow approximately 6% between 2014 through 2024.

Job Resources

• USAJOBS GS-0340 (Federal Jobs List)
• Private Sector Job Listings
• Qualification Standards

Helpful Career Planning Tools

• Applying For Federal Jobs (Introduction)
  • Federal General Schedule (GS) Pay Charts
• Federal Employee Benefits
• Career Development Guide for Federal Employees
• Federal  Retiree’s Job Center
• BLS Website
  • BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook OOH

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