PKI Deputy Contract Program Manager

Job Summary

The PKI Deputy Contract Program Manager (DPM) serves as the primary internal operational leader supporting the Air Force Public Key Infrastructure (AF PKI) Program contract and as the secondary representative to the Contract Program Manager (PM). While the PM provides overall program direction, maintains the primary Government relationship, and retains overarching program approval authority, the DPM ensures the internal contract team remains aligned with that direction through effective day-to-day operations, problem solving, process management, risk and issue management, schedule execution, documentation, and action-item tracking. The DPM coordinates functional, integrated capability, and product delivery teams; ensures adherence to contractual requirements and established processes; supports quality assurance and configuration control; helps maintain and enforce the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS); supports Continuity of Operations (COOP) activities; and provides concise, meaningful program-status, risk, issue, and resource updates to program leadership and Government stakeholders. This role requires a detail-oriented, process-focused leader with strong judgment, communication skills, and experience managing complex technical operations within a Department of Defense (DoD) or Department of the Air Force (DAF) environment.

Job Duties

• Day-to-Day Program Operations: Manage the day-to-day operations of the contract team, including problem solving, coordination of competing priorities, and ensuring functional leads and team members have the direction and support needed to execute assigned responsibilities.
• Project Oversight: Act as the secondary contract representative responsible for overseeing direct mission support work under the contract and ensuring execution is consistent with applicable PWS requirements, referenced standards, program direction, and established processes.
• Functional Lead Support: Serve as the first line of management support for functional leads requiring guidance, issue resolution, escalation assistance, or cross-team coordination. Exercise sound judgment consistent with the PM’s vision and direction for the program.
• Internal Coordination: Maintain a working understanding of how the AF PKI program functions, including team responsibilities and organizational relationships, in order to appropriately route Government and internal questions, requests, tasks, and action items.
• Risk and Issue Management: Manage program-level risks and issues associated with day-to-day operations. Identify emerging concerns, coordinate mitigation or corrective actions, ensure appropriate ownership, and track issues through resolution.
• Quality and Configuration Control: Support and maintain quality assurance and configuration control for products and services provided to and by the AF PKI program, promoting consistency, reliability, traceability, and compliance with established standards.
• Management Approach and Process Enforcement: Implement and reinforce a systematic management process supporting PWS requirements. Coordinate functional, integrated capability, and product delivery teams within a controlled framework; enforce process adherence; identify process gaps; and support the creation or improvement of processes as needed.
• Program Documentation and Action Item Management: Own program-level documentation and action-item tracking. Ensure tasks, responsibilities, deadlines, dependencies, recurring requirements, and required deliverables are documented, monitored, and followed through to completion.
• Schedule Development and Execution: Develop and maintain detailed program/project schedules for PWS tasks and activities using Microsoft Project or compatible tools. Support a single Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) encompassing activities required to sustain AF PKI, support DoD PKI implementation, evolve AF PKI capabilities, and execute other program activities. Monitor milestones and dependencies, enforce execution in accordance with the IMS, and coordinate corrective actions when schedule risks emerge.
• Financial Reviews: Support monthly financial reviews with the Government PM and Contract PM, including contract funding status, labor forecast versus actuals, cumulative travel costs, and cumulative Other Direct Costs (ODCs). Provide accurate inputs and analysis that support fiscal accountability and overall program cost management.
• Continuity of Operations (COOP): Collaborate with the Government and applicable functional leads to identify AF PKI SPO essential functions and operations requiring uninterrupted availability. Support the development, maintenance, coordination, and testing of a comprehensive COOP in accordance with contractual requirements.
• External Meeting Participation: Ensure appropriate contractor-team representation in recurring DoD and DAF meetings concerning PKI, including summits, Program Information Exchanges, working groups, and similar forums. Ensure contractor representatives are prepared, professional, and aligned with program direction.
• Program Status Communication: Provide concise and impactful updates on program status, issues, risks, schedule concerns, priorities, and resource needs to the PM, contract team, and Government stakeholders. Address concerns directly and maintain clear, professional verbal and written communication.
• Continuous Improvement: Promote a culture of disciplined execution and continuous improvement by evaluating existing processes, identifying operational inefficiencies, and supporting practical improvements that strengthen program performance.

Required Qualifications

• Project and Program Management: Proven experience leading or supporting complex technical programs or projects, preferably in cybersecurity, PKI, enterprise IT, or DoD mission environments, with responsibility for multiple teams, workstreams, schedules, and deliverables.
• Operational Program Management: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent operations, priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders while maintaining visibility into what must be completed, by whom, and when.
• PKI Knowledge: Familiarity with Public Key Infrastructure systems, services, or operations within a DoD, DAF, federal, or similarly regulated environment.
• Risk and Issue Management: Experience identifying, documenting, escalating, mitigating, and tracking program-level risks and issues through resolution.
• Process Management: Strong process-oriented mindset with experience enforcing established procedures, identifying process gaps, implementing corrective processes, and supporting continuous improvement.
• Quality Assurance and Configuration Control: Experience maintaining or supporting quality assurance and configuration control for technical products, services, documentation, or operational processes.
• Scheduling Skills: Proficiency developing, maintaining, and managing project schedules. Experience with Microsoft Project, Integrated Master Schedules, or comparable scheduling tools and methodologies.
• Financial Oversight: Ability to support contract financial tracking and review, including labor forecasts versus actuals, travel, ODCs, and other cost or funding data, with strong analytical and reporting skills.
• Documentation and Follow-Through: Demonstrated ability to maintain program-level documentation, action items, recurring requirements, deadlines, ownership, and accountability through completion.
• Leadership and Judgment: Strong ability to coordinate diverse teams, support functional leads, resolve operational challenges, and exercise sound independent judgment while remaining aligned with overall program direction.
• Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate program status, priorities, risks, issues, schedule impacts, and resource needs clearly and concisely to leadership, team members, and Government stakeholders.
• Government/Contractor Boundaries: Strong understanding of appropriate roles, responsibilities, authorities, and decision-making boundaries between contractor personnel and Government personnel in a federal contracting environment.
• Security Clearance: Must possess or be eligible to obtain and maintain a minimum Secret security clearance. All employees must be cleared to at least the Secret level in accordance with contract requirements.
• Location: Ability to work in San Antonio, Texas, with potential on-site support at a Government-leased or Government-designated facility for program oversight, coordination, and meetings.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Security Clearance: Active Top Secret (TS) or Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance.
• DAF PKI Experience: Prior leadership, deputy leadership, program operations, or technical management experience supporting AF PKI, DAF PKI, DoD PKI, or a closely related cybersecurity mission.
• Certifications: Relevant certifications such as Project Management Professional (PMP), CompTIA Security+, or DoD 8570/8140-aligned cybersecurity or Information Assurance certifications (e.g., IAT Level II or higher), as applicable to the position.
• Team Management: Extensive experience managing functional, capability, technical, and delivery teams in a controlled, process-driven environment.
• Federal Contract Operations: Experience operating within a Government contractor environment, including coordination with Government personnel while maintaining appropriate contractor/Government roles and decision-making boundaries.
• Financial Acumen: Background in contract financial management, forecasting, cost tracking, and variance analysis.
• Communication: Demonstrated ability to present schedules, status updates, risks, issues, and financial information to Government and contractor leadership in a concise, decision-useful manner.
• Continuous Improvement: Experience developing, refining, or institutionalizing processes that improve operational discipline, accountability, quality, or delivery performance.