Program Controls and Engagement Specialist (15.50)

OCT Consulting, LLC; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

401K with 3% employer contributions

Paid Time Off and Holidays

Life Insurance

Short- and Long-Term disability

Job summary

OCT Consulting, LLC, a federal government-focused management and technology firm, seeks a Program Controls and Engagement Specialist to oversee master plans, schedules, reporting, and training for a government program. The role involves earned value analysis, document control in SharePoint, and cross‑functional coordination through Outlook and Teams.

Required are a finance/accounting/business degree, 3–6 years of relevant experience, and strong MSP/Project Management capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, information management, or a related field.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• 3–6 years of experience in program controls, project scheduling, or federal financial operations.
• Advanced MSP skills, including building and maintaining large integrated schedules; working knowledge of earned value management.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the program’s master integrated plan and schedule in Microsoft Project and update weekly, linking deliverables to owners, dependencies, and risks.
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, communications plans, and risk management plans.
• Prepare weekly status reports with executive summaries and schedule visuals, and support monthly progress summaries and six‑month reviews.
• Prepare earned value reports comparing planned and actual hours and milestones.
• Schedule and support recurring meetings, prepare agendas/minutes, and track action items.

Skills

Advanced Microsoft Project

Earned Value Management

SharePoint

Outlook/Teams/Word/Excel/PowerPoint

SQL (preferred)

Power BI or Tableau (preferred)

Federal financial operations

Project scheduling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, information management, or related field

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Project (MSP)

SharePoint

Outlook

Job description

Program Controls and Engagement Specialist

OCT Consulting is a business management and technology consulting firm that supports Federal Government clients.

We provide consulting services in the areas of Strategy, Process Improvement, Change Management, Program and

Project Management, Acquisition/Procurement, and Information Technology.

OCT currently has an opening for a Program Controls and Engagement Specialist to work with our federal client.

This role supports a federal financial management shared services program that provides cost allocation, customer

billing, financial reporting, and customer service operations to multiple federal customer organizations. The specialist

will keep the program’s plans, schedules, reports, meetings, documents, and training on track so the client always

knows where the work stands.

This position is contingent upon contract award.

Responsibilities and Duties

Day to day responsibilities include:

• Maintain the program’s master integrated plan and schedule in Microsoft Project and update it at least weekly, linking each deliverable, recurring cycle, and milestone to its owner, dependencies, and risks.
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, communications plans, and risk management plans, including the preparedness plan for fiscal year-end surges, ad hoc taskings, and regulatory changes.
• Prepare the weekly status report, with an executive summary and schedule visuals, and support the monthly progress summary report and the six-month program review.
• Prepare earned value reports for process improvement and special projects that compare planned and actual hours and milestones.
• Schedule and support recurring meetings using Outlook and Teams; prepare agendas, minutes, and action item tracking; and maintain stakeholder contact lists.
• Maintain the program document repository in SharePoint, including a listing sortable by title, date, author, and project, and support the document management plan and records retention schedule in line with National Archives (NARA) requirements.
• Draft and update standard operating procedures, desk guides, and tip sheets, and keep them current after each approved process or system change.
• Develop and update training plans and materials and deliver virtual training to users of the program’s systems and tools.
• Support ad hoc taskings and process improvement projects as assigned.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, information management, or a related field;
• Master’s degree preferred
• 3–6 years of experience in program controls, project scheduling, or federal financial operations
• Advanced Microsoft Project skills, including building and maintaining large integrated schedules; working knowledge of earned value management
• Experience with activity-based costing or cost recovery models
• Technical writing experience, including standard operating procedures, desk guides, and business process documentation
• Experience organizing and maintaining SharePoint document libraries and lists
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and SharePoint
• Preferred: Power BI or Tableau; SQL; PMP or another nationally recognized project management certification; federal financial management experience
• Must be a U.S. Citizen. Must have lived in the United States for at least three of the last five years.
• Must be able to obtain a favorable preliminary and final fitness determination from the client agency before starting work, and maintain it throughout performance. The background investigation is for a Public Trust position and includes a questionnaire, fingerprinting, credit check, and law enforcement agency checks. A client‑issued badge is required before any work begins.
• Highly desired: an active Secret or Top Secret security clearance. The client has confirmed it will accept reciprocity for an active clearance held with another federal agency, which can shorten onboarding.
• Must complete the client’s cybersecurity awareness and information protection training at onboarding and every year after and sign a non‑disclosure agreement for Sensitive but Unclassified information.
• Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English fluently.
• This is a full‑time position dedicated to this contract. Work is performed during standard Eastern Time business hours.
• Work is performed at the client’s headquarters in Southwest Washington, DC. Remote work, including from OCT facilities, may be performed with the client’s prior approval. Infrequent travel to other client sites, such as Dallas, TX, and Williston, VT, may be required.

OCT offers competitive compensation packages and a full suite of benefits which includes:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Retirement savings 401K plan provided by an industry leading provider with 3% employer contributions of the employee’s gross salary
• Paid Time Off and Standard Government Holidays
• Life Insurance, Short‑and Long‑Term disability benefits
• Training Benefits
• Salary Range: $120,000- 140,000 yearly commensurate with experience, education, etc.

About OCT Consulting

OCT Consulting LLC is a Small Business (SB) providing professional services and information technology solutions to

the Federal government and commercial clients. Founded in 2013, we bring the agility of operations and a management team with a track record of leading successful engagements at major Federal government agencies.

At OCT we believe in creating a work environment where employees can thrive based on their abilities, skills, and

achievements. We are dedicated to providing career growth and professional development based on individual merit

and fostering a workplace where everyone’s contributions are valued and recognized.