Program Manager

Summary

As the Program Manager also known as the Associate State Director with Bureau of Land Management, you will provide program management, strategic planning, and enterprise level coordination. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Duties

• Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Manage directly or indirectly, through subordinate managers and supervisors, a large workforce of full-time permanent employees and a fluctuating workforce of seasonal and temporary employees in the accomplishment State's priorities. Interview candidates for positions; recommend appointment, promotion or assignment for positions; make or approve selections for subordinate non-supervisory positions; hear or resolve groups or individual grievances or serious complaints from employees; and effects disciplinary measures. Lead the planning, direction, and integrated management of statewide BLM-administered public lands in collaboration with the State Director to ensure long-term, sustainable public benefit. Oversee full lifecycle program management across assigned programs, including the formulation, justification, and execution of multi-year program budgets. Develop, update, and implement program policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and technical or operational guidance to improve program consistency and performance. Exercise delegated authority to make final statewide land-use planning and programmatic decisions; resolve long-range and operational issues affecting program execution; and ensure program activities maintain quality, consistency, and alignment with approved plans and performance standards. Anticipate shifts in priorities, workloads, and resource conditions; adapt plans and reallocate assets as necessary to maintain mission readiness and program continuity.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/21/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Examples of specialized experience may include: Administering a land management program through subordinate supervisors. Overseeing public lands planning and implementation, and/or administering natural resources programs in a multi-resource environment. Implementing policy and strategy for program operations and accomplishing strategic target goals. Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating performance, and taking action to improve performance. Comprehensive knowledge of program evaluation and measurement technics to perform workforce planning. Experience managing budget operations, including budget formulation and execution. You must include hours per week worked on your resume. Volunteer Experience: 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.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/21/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13043465 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.