Sr. Program Analyst, VA/DHA

COMMENCE; Virginia Beach (VA); Remote; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Commence, headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, is a mission-led, technology-driven company delivering outcomes across CMS, VA, DHA and state health agencies. The Senior Program Analyst role provides hands-on expertise, translating customer needs and aligning work with program leadership to keep projects performing.

Ideal candidates have deep VA/DHA experience, strong program support skills, and the ability to collaborate with technical and program leads while ensuring deliverables meet customer

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of VA and/or DHA customer processes and operating environment.
• Experience translating customer needs into deliverables for program teams.
• Ability to support planning, tracking, risk and issue identification.

Responsibilities

• Support development of deliverables, work plans, and program products.
• Assist in customer communications under program leadership.
• Contribute to program management activities, including planning and tracking.

Skills

VA/DHA knowledge

Program management

Technical fluency

Written & verbal communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Customer/process translation

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Job description

Description

Commence, headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, is a mission-led, technology-driven company built to solve the hardest problems in federal health care and drive measurable outcomes. Its work spans program integrity and compliance, quality improvement and measurement science, health informatics, interoperability, and AI, delivered across the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Defense Health Agency (DHA), and state health agencies. At its center is a data-centric philosophy grounded in a simple conviction: that better data, made accessible, connected, and usable, is the raw material of better decisions, better care, and better efficiency.

The Senior Program Analyst is a hands‑on subject matter expert supporting Commence's Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense Health Agency programs. This is a role for someone with deep VA and/or DHA customer process expertise who works directly alongside program teams, translating customer needs, strengthening feedback loops, and helping develop the deliverables and work products that keep programs performing.

You will bring senior‑level knowledge of the VA and/or DHA operating environment and apply it hands‑on, contributing to programs in close alignment with the program and technical leads on each program you support. This is a role for a specialist who wants to put that experience to work directly on the mission.

Requirements

Subject Matter Expertise & Translation

• ? Apply your understanding of VA and/or DHA customer processes to advise program teams on customer priorities, expectations, and operating environment
• ? Translate between customer needs, operations, and technical delivery, helping each side understand the other and keeping work aligned to customer intent
• ? Strengthen feedback loops across the program, surfacing what is working and what needs attention to the program and technical leads

Hands-On Program Support

• ? Support the development of deliverables, work plans, and program products, contributing directly to the work
• ? Support customer communications in coordination with and under the direction of program leadership
• ? Contribute to program management activities such as planning, tracking, and risk and issue identification, in support of the program and technical leads
• ? Support program reporting, compliance tracking, and deliverable quality across assigned areas

Collaboration & Improvement

• ? Work in close alignment with the program and technical leads, ensuring all contributions support the program and stay coordinated with program leadership
• ? Contribute your expertise to research and development and solution‑shaping efforts as requested
• ? Identify opportunities to improve process and quality, raising them to program leadership for direction

Qualifications

• ? Bachelor's degree in a related field, or equivalent experience
• ? 5-10 years of professional experience supporting Department of Veterans Affairs and/or Defense Health Agency programs in operations, program support, analysis, or a closely related delivery capacity
• ? Deep, demonstrable command of VA and/or DHA customer processes and operating environment, beyond general familiarity with the space
• ? Experience and understanding with Disability evaluation and determination process, Veteran benefits and adjudication process
• ? Working knowledge of program or project management sufficient to support planning, tracking, and delivery activities in a contributor capacity
• ? Technical fluency sufficient to engage credibly with technical and engineering teams and to support work across technical delivery
• ? Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work in close alignment with program leadership
• ? Clear, professional written and verbal communication
• ? Ability to obtain and maintain a federal Public Trust or higher

Preferred

• ? Established professional network across VA and/or DHA program offices and stakeholders
• ? Prior contractor-side experience delivering on VA and/or DHA contract vehicles
• ? Experience contributing to capture, proposals, or R&D in a federal health environment
• ? Exposure to program pricing, project controls, or delivery performance metrics
• ? Active federal clearance or prior VA/DHA credentialing
• ? Expertise with Tricare Managed Care Program

Work Environment/Physical Demands

The work environment and physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This is a remote position. While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works in a climate-controlled environment and is required to sit, read, and work on a computer for extended periods. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Commence is an equal employment opportunity employer. All personnel processes are merit-based and applied without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic origin, military and veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Commence is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants, including individuals with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process due to a disability, please contact Human Resources at [phone] or [e-mail].