ECS

Senior Director of Program Excellence

ECS$180K — $230K *
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, IT, Management, or related field.
  • PMP certification required.
  • 10+ years in operational excellence, quality management, or program management within Federal Contracting.
  • Proven track record managing performance excellence in mid-to-large tier contractors ($500M+ annual revenue).
  • Experience with operationalizing delivery frameworks (e.g., PMI, CMMI, ISO, Agile, EVMS).
  • Exceptional executive communication and organizational influence skills.
  • Ability to streamline compliance and quality into effective operational practices.

Responsibilities

  • Own the Program Health Review framework and governance processes.
  • Identify systemic risks and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Develop program management playbooks and standards.
  • Facilitate executive discussions on program performance.
  • Lead the Program Excellence function and foster a culture of accountability.
  • Monitor enterprise delivery risks and coordinate escalations.
  • Conduct customer reviews to enhance satisfaction and confidence.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health benefits package.
  • 401(k) plan with company matching.
  • Generous paid time off policy.
  • Flexible work arrangements or remote work options.
  • Professional development opportunities and training programs.
Full Job Description
Everforth ECS is seeking a Senior Director of Program Excellence to work at our headquarters in Fairfax, VA.

The Senior Director of Program Excellence serves as the enterprise authority for delivery excellence, program governance, and operational performance across Everforth ECS. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role establishes and continuously improves the enterprise framework for program/contract management, leading the Program Health Review (PHR) process and providing executive visibility into delivery performance, operational risk, and portfolio health. The Senior Director of Program Excellence partners with Business Unit Leaders, Account Portfolio Leaders, and corporate support functions to strengthen execution discipline, improve customer outcomes, and enable sustainable growth.

This role provides enterprise governance, executive oversight, performance insight, and operational leadership that enables Business Units to deliver successfully. This role transforms operational performance into a competitive advantage, improving customer trust, increasing recompete success, expanding adjacent growth opportunities, and driving stronger financial performance across the enterprise.

Primary Responsibilities:
  • Enterprise Program Governance: Own the Program Health Review (PHR) framework, enterprise program standards, governance processes, and corporate contract review cadence. Establish common methodologies for assessing program financial health, delivery performance, customer health, risk, compliance, recompete readiness, and growth potential.
  • Proactive Enterprise Risk Management: Identify systemic delivery risks, recurring delivery issues, staffing constraints, and opportunities for operational improvement and facilitate corrective actions and continuous improvement across Business Units.
  • Management Capability Development: Develop playbooks, communities of practice, and enterprise program management standards.
  • PgM/PM Maturity: Drive PgM/PM continuous improvement initiatives that improve delivery predictability, operational efficiency, and customer outcomes across Business Units.

Leadership Responsibilities
  • Lead the Program Excellence function within the COO Office and establish it as the enterprise center of excellence for delivery governance.
  • Foster a culture of accountability, disciplined execution, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
  • Facilitate executive discussions on enterprise program performance, emerging risks, and strategic delivery priorities.
  • Build communities of practice that elevate program management capability across Everforth ECS.

Governance & Enterprise Oversight
  • Own the Enterprise Program Health Review (PHR) governance process, including program selection criteria, review cadence, health assessments, executive reporting, and action tracking.
  • Establish and maintain enterprise delivery standards, program review templates, health scorecards, and governance artifacts. Work with Government, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Team to create an enterprise Process Asset Library.
  • Monitor enterprise delivery risks and coordinate executive escalation when program performance threatens financial results, customer relationships, compliance, or strategic growth.
  • Provide executive leadership with portfolio-level insights, trends, and recommendations that improve operational decision-making.
  • Ensure corrective actions from executive reviews are assigned, tracked, and closed.
  • Conduct customer reviews at mid-course reviews (MCR) or when execution or governance issues arise to engender customer satisfaction and delivery confidence.
  • Work with GRC to continuously improve enterprise program management standards, governance, and operational processes aligned with industry best practices and company quality, cybersecurity, and compliance frameworks (e.g., PMI, CMMI, ISO, CMMC, NIST) to improve delivery consistency, customer confidence, and organizational maturity.

Success Measures (KPIs)

The Program Excellence Lead will be measured by enterprise outcomes, including:
  • Improvement in CPARS ratings across strategic programs
  • Increased Program Health Review compliance and corrective action closure rates
  • Reduction in enterprise delivery escalations and high-risk program incidents
  • Improvement in Gross Margin After Fee (GMAF) across reviewed programs
  • Improved forecast accuracy and delivery predictability
  • Increased recompete win rate for programs participating in the Program Health Review process
  • Growth in adjacent mission opportunities resulting from strong delivery performance
  • Adoption of enterprise program management standards across Business Units

Salary Range: $180,000-$230,000

General Description of Benefits

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Information Technology, Management, or related field.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain security clearance may be required (specify level if applicable)
  • PMP certification required
  • 10+ years of progressive experience in operational excellence, quality management, or program management specifically within the Federal Contracting (GovCon) ecosystem.
  • Scale Experience: Proven track record of managing performance excellence or quality assurance programs within a mid-to-large tier contractor ($500M+ annual revenue scale).
  • Demonstrated experience implementing and operationalizing enterprise delivery frameworks such as PMI, CMMI, ISO, Agile, ITIL, EVMS, or equivalent operational excellence models.
  • Exceptional executive communication, facilitation, and organizational influence skills.
  • Ability to translate compliance and quality requirements into scalable operational practices that improve execution without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain security clearance may be required (specify level if applicable)

About ECS

ECS is a leading provider of digital solutions and services to the federal government. The company was founded in 2001 by Roy Kapani and has since grown to become a trusted partner to a wide range of government agencies. ECS offers a broad range of services, including cloud computing, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. The company has been recognized for its innovative solutions and has won numerous awards, including the AWS Public Sector Partner of the Year award.
Learn more about ECS
Size
2,000 employees
Industry

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