DFC - Program Manager

cFocus Software Incorporated; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

cFocus Software Incorporated seeks a senior Program Manager to direct a large federal IT/cybersecurity services program. You will lead staffing, schedules, risk and issue management, and performance reporting, ensuring compliance with FISMA, NIST RMF, and audit readiness.

The role requires State clearance eligibility, PMP certification, and extensive interaction with senior federal officials and contractors to achieve authorized outcomes.

Qualifications

• Requires Public Trust clearance and PMP certification.
• BS in Computer Science, IT, or related field is required.
• 10+ years in program/project management, with 5+ leading federal IT/cybersecurity programs.

Responsibilities

• Direct overall contract performance across PWS task areas and ensure timely delivery.
• Lead kickoff and develop PMP within 10 business days of award; maintain updates.
• Coordinate governance with COR and government stakeholders; manage risk/issue processes.
• Prepare executive briefings and performance reports with auditable data.
• Maintain risk register and transition plans in line with NIST RMF and A-130.

Skills

Public Trust clearance

PM experience

PMP

Cybersecurity awareness

Executive briefing

Stakeholder communications

Team leadership

Education

B.S. Computer Science / IT

Tools

ServiceNow

CSAM

Splunk

Tenable

Qualys

Microsoft 365/Azure Gov

Entra ID / Okta

Palo Alto / Zscaler / Cisco / Aruba

Job description

Qualifications:

• Active Public Trust clearance
• B.S. Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field
• 10+ years of progressively responsible program or project management experience, including at least five years leading federal IT or cybersecurity service-delivery programs of comparable scope and complexity.
• Demonstrated experience managing staffing, schedules, risk and issue registers, quality assurance, service levels, deliverables, financial/burn-rate reporting, invoicing support, and subcontractor performance.
• Experience developing and maintaining program management, communications, quality, staffing, training, and transition plans for Government review.
• Experience producing executive briefings and recurring performance reports supported by accurate, auditable, and traceable data.
• Strong knowledge of federal cybersecurity program operations and working familiarity with FISMA, OMB Circular A-130, the NIST Risk Management Framework, NIST SP 800-39, NIST SP 800-30, continuous monitoring, ATO processes, POA&M management, audit readiness, and federal records requirements.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with senior federal officials, technical teams, system owners, auditors, privacy and records stakeholders, and multiple contractor organizations while respecting inherently governmental decision authorities.
• U.S. citizenship and eligibility for, and ability to obtain and maintain, a Tier 4 High-Risk Public Trust background investigation and required DFC access approvals.
• Active Project Management Professional (PMP) certification
• Experience managing federal ISSO, RMF, security compliance, continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, incident response coordination, or cybersecurity audit-support programs.
• Working familiarity with ServiceNow, CSAM or a comparable federal GRC platform, Splunk, vulnerability scanning tools such as Tenable or Qualys, and Microsoft security/cloud services.
• Experience with hybrid and Zero Trust-aligned environments that include Microsoft 365, Azure Government, Entra ID, Okta, Palo Alto, Zscaler, Cisco, and Aruba technologies.
• Experience supporting systems that process Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Personally Identifiable Information (PII), or other sensitive federal information

Duties:

• Direct overall contract performance across all PWS task areas and ensure services are properly planned, staffed, coordinated, documented, and delivered in accordance with required outcomes, schedules, SLAs, KPIs, AQLs, and acceptance criteria.
• Lead contract kickoff activities and develop the Program Management Plan (PMP) within 10 business days of award; maintain the PMP as a living document and submit material updates for Government review and approval before implementation.
• Establish the program governance structure, lines of authority, communications and escalation paths, internal controls, action-item discipline, and coordination model with the COR and Government-designated technical stakeholders.
• Coordinate contract-level matters with the Lead ISSO, including staffing, reporting, invoicing, performance concerns, risk escalation, continuity of operations, and changes affecting scope or service delivery.
• Ensure Contractor activities support DFC cybersecurity objectives while preserving Government authority for authorization decisions, risk acceptance, policy determinations, and other inherently governmental functions
• Serve as the primary operational liaison between Contractor management and DFC OIT cybersecurity leadership for program performance, priorities, deliverables, staffing, risks, and corrective actions.
• Coordinate with the COR, CISO, Government-designated ISSM, federal ISSOs, AO/AODR, System Owners, Common Control Providers, Privacy Office, Records personnel, auditors, and other designated stakeholders.
• Coordinate within scope with DFC’s Enterprise IT Operations, Security Operations Center (SOC), Application Development, cloud, infrastructure, and other contractor teams.
• Support governance forums—including the Enterprise Review Board, Change Control Board, Cybersecurity Steering Committee, Risk Management Working Group, Privacy Working Group, and other designated bodies—with timely metrics, dashboards, briefings, recommendations, and decision-support materials.
• Develop and execute a Communications Plan covering incident escalation, stakeholder updates, SIA/change communications, maintenance and ConMon notifications, authorization milestones, governance reporting, executive briefings, and RCA communications.
• Implement a risk and issue management process aligned with NIST SP 800-39, NIST SP 800-30, and DFC OIT policy.
• Maintain a current Risk Register covering cybersecurity, programmatic, staffing, schedule, vendor, dependency, and supply-chain risks, including impact, likelihood, mitigation, ownership, status, escalation path, and target closure date.
• Maintain the Issue and Action Item Log from identification through evidence-based closure; elevate issues that may affect security posture, authorization, audit readiness, operations, service levels, or contract performance.
• Manage integrated schedules, milestones, dependencies, deliverable due dates, staffing actions, and transition activities; identify emerging risks early enough to support informed Government decisions.
• Track labor usage and burn rate by labor category and individual position, support invoice validation, monitor funding status, and provide accurate funding forecasts
• Submit the Weekly Activity Report each Friday by close of business, summarizing work performed, issues, planned activities, and identified risks.
• Submit the Monthly Program Status Report by the fifth business day, including contract performance, SLA/KPI results, staffing, risks and issues, mitigation actions, upcoming activities, burn rate, and funding forecasts.
• Prepare the Quarterly Executive Review Briefing at least five business days before the scheduled review, presenting performance and cybersecurity posture trends, top risks, significant issues, and Contractor recommendations.
• Maintain version-controlled, traceable, audit-ready program artifacts—including the PMP, Communications Plan, QMP, Risk Register, Issue and Action Item Log, Staffing Plan, Training Plan, Transition Plans, standard operating procedures, and runbooks—in Government-designated repositories.
• Plan and execute transition-in and transition-out activities, including knowledge transfer, tool/repository orientation, documentation and status validation, open-risk review, deliverable schedule review, and coordination with incumbent or successor personnel.