Program Manager - Tactical Aircraft and Vessel Acquisitions

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations, Tactical Aircraft and Vessel Acquisitions located in Washington, D.C.

This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 150 applications have been received, whichever happens first.

Duties

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Join Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations for an exciting career safeguarding our nation from security threats supporting our aviation and maritime law enforcement mission. Utilize your skills overseeing critical aircraft and vessel acquisition processes.

This position starts at a salary of $121,785.00 (GS-13, Step 1) to $187,093.00 (GS-14, Step 10).

GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

Typical responsibilities include:

• Planning, organizing, coordinating and evaluating the activities of acquisition programs to include programming, budgeting, and timely execution.
• Leading complex acquisition projects across organizational lines, to include project management, team building, collaboration, strategy development, process improvement, and development of business cases and other program planning and reporting documentation.
• Developing acquisition program performance measures to proactively manage program risk and report status to senior leadership, officials in other agencies, and various governing boards/committees.
• Managing acquisition program development, assignment, and achievement of goals and objectives.
• Collaborating and communicating with other acquisition program managers and stakeholders to ensure awareness of program status and alignment with goals and objectives.

Additional selections may be made beyond the total number of vacancies specified using this vacancy announcement. Further selections may also be made for additional organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
• All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
• You may be required to pass a background investigation
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
• As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
• Security Clearance: You may be required to obtain a Secret or higher level clearance for this position.
• Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see Chapter Websites - National Treasury Employees Union - NTEU.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Directing critical acquisition programs for aircraft, vessels, aerostat, or ground-based system acquisition programs by collaborating with senior leadership to formulate strategic goals, monitor policy implementation, and steer cross-functional operational boards and committees.
• Managing comprehensive administrative and programmatic support functions spanning financial, logistics, deployments and installations, maintenance, supply, and personnel areas to ensure the seamless execution of complex acquisition lifecycles.
• Negotiating and engaging with high-ranking interagency officials, private-sector executives, and contractors to define program requirements, justify budget activities, and resolve complex or controversial operational issues.
• Overseeing contract performance and regulatory compliance as a designated Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for major air and marine vessel service and supply agreements, ensuring all activities align with established policies and organizational objectives.

Experience: You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Managing the cost, schedule, and performance of critical aircraft, vessels, aerostat, or ground-based system programs, directing lifecycle management, financial operations, and the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Accountability (PPBA) process.
• Directing technical integration, manufacturing changes, and comprehensive risk mitigation strategies for aircraft, marine vessel, aerostats, and ground-based system programs while providing authoritative advice and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Resolving complex, unprecedented acquisition issues by establishing innovative procedures, guiding cross-functional stakeholders, and correcting operational deviations from approved program plans.
• Serving as a designated Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and high-level liaison to federal agencies and governing boards, overseeing major service and supply contracts to ensure total regulatory compliance and mission success.

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 10/23/2026.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described within this announcement. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Training: This position has a training requirement.

1. The incumbent will be required to obtain the CBP Program Management (Level I) certification within 12 months of onboarding.

2. The incumbent will be required to obtain the CBP Program Management (Level III) certification within 36 months of onboarding.

You may be required to successfully complete the training requirement as a condition of employment. Failure to successfully complete the required course(s) of training in accordance with CBP standards and policies will result in placement into either a former or different position, demotion, or separation as determined by management and appropriate procedures.

Additional information

The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. To preview the questionnaire please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/[redacted]

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.