Senior Director, CBP Programs

Unissant; Ashburn (VA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Unissant, Inc. in the Washington, DC metro area seeks a Senior Director, CBP Programs to lead delivery of a large portfolio of IT services for CBP.

This on-site role coordinates executive communications, program governance, and multi-contractor management in a fast-paced federal environment. The ideal candidate has 12+ years leading federal IT programs, experience as a prime contractor, and a proven record of managing 100+ personnel and $80M–$150M annual revenue across multiple contracts.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of leadership in federal IT programs or IT services.
• Experience as prime contractor program/portfolio leader.
• Leading organizations with 100+ personnel; 150+ preferred.
• Experience with CBP/ DHS customers; CBP familiarity preferred.
• Proven ability to manage multi-contractor environments and large budgets.

Responsibilities

• Serve as senior on-site leader for CBP, managing executive communication and issue resolution.
• Oversee delivery across multiple programs including software, cloud, data/AI, and IT ops.
• Manage prime and subcontractor performance; maintain delivery control.
• Own portfolio PM processes: schedules, staffing, onboarding, contracts, compliance.
• Lead program managers and technical leads; staff resources and performance.
• Oversee portfolio P&L, budgets, forecasts, and KPI reporting.
• Collaborate with CORs and other contractors to meet milestones and manage risks.

Skills

Leadership

Program management

Customer relationships

Agile/Scrum/SAFe

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree in CS/IT/IS/OM

MBA or Master’s preferred

Tools

Cloud platforms AWS/Azure

PM tools (MS Project/Jira)

Job description

Unissant, Inc. delivers innovative capabilities to the agencies that keep our nation healthy and safe. We apply our domain expertise, data acumen, and technology know-how to achieve breakthrough results for our clients. Working collaboratively, we advance missions and careers through a focus on honesty, integrity, and dependability. We continuously look for talent, excited to join that effort. To learn more about our exciting organization, please visit us at www.unissant.com.

We are seeking a Senior Director, CBP Programs to lead delivery of a large, multi-contract IT portfolio supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Washington, DC metro area.

The ideal candidate is a strong delivery leader who has run federal IT programs as the prime contractor and understands how consistent performance earns the customer's trust and opens the door to organic growth. They bring direct experience with CBP, NTC, U.S. Border Patrol, or other DHS missions, have managed annual revenue in the $80M-$150M+ range, have led organizations of 100+ personnel, and hold multiple subcontractors accountable without losing the partnership. This role is on-site five days a week in Northern Virginia.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as the senior on-site leader for the CBP customer, owning executive-level communication, priority setting, and issue resolution with Government program leadership and CORs.
• Lead day-to-day delivery across multiple programs and task orders covering software development, application modernization, cloud, data/analytics/AI, and IT operations/O&M.
• Lead as the prime contractor over multiple subcontractors: set clear expectations, manage workshare, address performance issues directly, and ensure Unissant maintains strategic and delivery control.
• Own portfolio-level program management, including schedules, deliverables, staffing, onboarding, subcontract administration, and compliance.
• Lead and develop program managers and technical leads across a workforce of 100+ personnel, managing resources, succession, and performance.
• Own portfolio financial performance (P&L, budgets, forecasts, margins) and define KPIs to monitor delivery and report results to Unissant executives and the customer.
• Collaborate with Government CORs, other contractors, and Unissant PMs to deliver milestones, manage risks and issues, and elevate critical items as needed.
• Drive application development, modernization, and data/AI initiatives that improve mission outcomes and portfolio efficiency.
• Grow the account organically by identifying customer needs, shaping scope expansions and follow-on work, and partnering with Unissant Growth on business cases that clearly articulate value and ROI.
• Oversee clearance submissions, PIV card processing, GFE issuance, and government documentation required for contract execution.

Work Experience and Job Skills:

• 12+ years of leadership in IT systems integration and/or federal IT services organizations.
• Experience serving as the prime contractor's program or portfolio leader on federal IT contracts, with direct accountability for delivery, customer relationships, and subcontractor performance.
• Experience leading organizations of 100+ personnel; 150+ preferred.
• Direct experience overseeing portfolios or program sets with annual revenue in the $80M-$150M+ range and total contract values nearing $200M.
• Demonstrated organic growth: expanded scope, follow-on work, or recompete wins that came from strong delivery and customer relationships.
• Experience with CBP, NTC, or other DHS customers, missions, and systems is required; U.S. Border Patrol experience is strongly preferred.
• Background leading complex, multi-contractor environments, including re-establishing prime control on challenged programs and resolving partner conflicts.
• Experience leading agile software delivery, application modernization, cloud migration, and data/analytics/AI-enabled solutions.
• Proven ability to manage large software development and IT operations efforts, identify risks early, and put effective mitigations in place.
• Working knowledge of Agile (Scrum, SAFe, DevOps/DevSecOps) at scale.

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree is required. Preferred field of study in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Operations Management, or related field of study.
• MBA/Master's Degree in a relevant field of study preferred.

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification required.
• Agile certification (e.g., CSM, SAFe) preferred.
• Relevant technical or cloud certifications (e.g., AWS, Azure) are a plus.

Communication Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable presenting to executive and senior government audiences.
• Ability to translate complex technical and program information for non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong influencing skills in matrixed and multi-partner environments.

Clearance Requirements:

• Existing DHS CBP clearance and/or active TS/SCI is required.

Travel:

• Five days a week on-site in Ashburn, VA, with occasional travel to other customer sites or Unissant HQ.

Environmental Requirements:

• Mainly a routine office environment.
• May be required to lift up to ten (10) pounds
• Flexible in working extended hours

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Unissant management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary. In addition, where applicable and available, reasonable accommodation(s) may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of this position.

Please note: Candidate(s) will be required to go through pre-employment screening.

Unissant, Inc. is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer! (EOE; M/F/Disability/Vets)