Senior Director of Program Management; Center of Excellence Lead
Who We Are: LINK is a fast-growing Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) that leverages human-centered design to support strategy, innovation, communication, change, and branding within the federal government and adjacent industry partners. At LINK, we partner with engineers, futurists, and thought leaders to untangle complexity, discover opportunity, and communicate clearly with visual stories.
Let us be your partners in change.
About the Opportunity:
The Senior Director of Program Management; Center of Excellence Lead is responsible for establishing, leading, and enforcing LINK’s enterprise-wide program management standards, tools, and practices. This role owns the design, implementation, training, and continuous improvement of program management operational functions across the company and holds all delivery teams accountable for meeting established requirements.
This leader will serve as the authority on program management, contract compliance, financial management, and security compliance—ensuring LINK consistently maintains operational and regulatory rigor. This is a leadership role with the authority to set expectations, enforce standards, and drive accountability across all programs.
This role is critical to LINK’s success. The Director of Program Management will:
Establish Program Management best practices to ensure superior contract compliance and account management across the company
Develop Program Management tools, methods, and standards
Train, mentor, and grow a cadre of confident Program Managers
Protect LINK from compliance and financial risk
Ensure Program Management is value-added to delivery excellence, not a set of checklists or compliance drills
Strengthen client trust and long-term contract success
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in business, management, engineering, or a related field (Master’s preferred)
15+ years of experience in program and project management, preferably in:
Government contracting
Federal consulting
Professional services or agency environments
Demonstrated leadership experience and capability in leading high performing teams
Proven experience establishing or leading a Program Management Office (PMO) or Center of Excellence
Strong knowledge of:
Federal contracts and compliance requirements
Cost, schedule, and performance management
Risk and quality management
Demonstrated ability to influence and enforce standards across multiple teams
Experience managing complex, multi-disciplinary programs
Responsibilities:
Program Management Center of Excellence Leadership
Establish and lead LINK’s Program Management Center of Excellence, a centralized function that defines how program management operates across the organization and setting clear, consistent expectations for execution
Design and implement standardized frameworks, governance models, and ways of working for program and project delivery
Develop and maintain enterprise tools, templates, and resources that enable consistent execution across teams
Assess and evolve program management maturity over time, driving continuous improvement across the organization
Program & Project Operational Governance
Set clear expectations for how programs are operationally planned, tracked, and closed
Ensure consistent use of approved program management tools and reporting practices
Establish governance structures, reviews, and escalation paths to address program-level risks related to budget, compliance, and operational performance
Partner with Project Team Leadership to monitor program health across cost, schedule, scope, and risk
Contract & Compliance Oversight
Ensure compliance with all contractual requirements, including:
Federal acquisition regulations (FAR and DFARS)
Contract deliverables and performance metrics
Security and data protection requirements
Partner with leadership to ensure programs meet audit, compliance, and reporting standards
Proactively identify and mitigate contractual and operational risks
Financial & Cost Management
Establish standards for:
Program budgeting and forecasting
Cost tracking and burn rate management
Profitability and financial performance monitoring
Partner with finance and operations to ensure accurate financial reporting at the program level
Understand the various types of federal government contract types including: firm fixed price, time and materials, commercial product contracts, and be able to develop tools and methods to accommodate all
Hold teams accountable for financial discipline and performance
Training, Mentoring & Enablement
Design and deliver program management training for program leaders
Develop onboarding and continuous learning programs to build consistent program management capability across the organization
Establish and lead a community of program leaders to share best practices, tools, and lessons learned
Mentor and coach program leaders to strengthen consistency and performance in managing program operations
Foster a strong, consistent program management culture grounded in operational excellence
Accountability & Performance Management
Define performance standards for program management and team lead roles
Hold teams accountable for adherence to established standards and tools
Identify performance gaps and implement corrective actions
Partner with leadership on program management staffing, capability development, and performance improvement
Participate in recruitment and hiring for program managers and team leads
Customer Experience & Stakeholder Management
Ensure programs consistently deliver a high-quality customer experience
Establish standards for client communication, reporting, and engagement
Act as an escalation point for program-level issues impacting client satisfaction
Strengthen LINK’s reputation as a trusted, reliable government partner
Customer Experience & Stakeholder Management
Define and operationalize standards for customer experience, including communication, reporting, and engagement practices aligned to the LINK Way
Develop and scale repeatable tools, templates, and processes that enable teams to deliver a consistent, high-quality client experience
Establish baseline expectations for program-level interactions (e.g., status reporting, tasking touchpoints), with flexibility for teams to adapt as needed
Partner with program leaders to address systemic issues impacting client satisfaction, serving as an escalation point for operational challenges
Contribute to strengthening LINK’s reputation as a trusted, reliable government partner through consistent, high-quality program management practices
Work Schedule:
Full time, 40 hours per week
Some travel required to attend relevant events and conferences, and participate in LINK team events
Salary: We're committed to offering competitive compensation. While the salary range for this position is $175,000-$215,000, your final offer may be adjusted based on factors like experience and location.
Benefits:
$100 monthly internet/cell phone stipend
LINK sponsored healthcare benefits including medical, dental, vision
Company-paid Short Term Disability Insurance
401K with employer contribution of up to 4%
11 Federal Holidays per year
15 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year
Paid Holiday Time Off (Christmas Eve through the New Year)
Annual bonus plan participation
Annual profit sharing participation
$2,000 Learning and Development program reimbursement
Technology package that includes a LINK-owned MacBook Pro, monitor, mouse and keyboard
EOE
Apply Now
Let us be your partners in change.
About the Opportunity:
The Senior Director of Program Management; Center of Excellence Lead is responsible for establishing, leading, and enforcing LINK’s enterprise-wide program management standards, tools, and practices. This role owns the design, implementation, training, and continuous improvement of program management operational functions across the company and holds all delivery teams accountable for meeting established requirements.
This leader will serve as the authority on program management, contract compliance, financial management, and security compliance—ensuring LINK consistently maintains operational and regulatory rigor. This is a leadership role with the authority to set expectations, enforce standards, and drive accountability across all programs.
This role is critical to LINK’s success. The Director of Program Management will:
Establish Program Management best practices to ensure superior contract compliance and account management across the company
Develop Program Management tools, methods, and standards
Train, mentor, and grow a cadre of confident Program Managers
Protect LINK from compliance and financial risk
Ensure Program Management is value-added to delivery excellence, not a set of checklists or compliance drills
Strengthen client trust and long-term contract success
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in business, management, engineering, or a related field (Master’s preferred)
15+ years of experience in program and project management, preferably in:
Government contracting
Federal consulting
Professional services or agency environments
Demonstrated leadership experience and capability in leading high performing teams
Proven experience establishing or leading a Program Management Office (PMO) or Center of Excellence
Strong knowledge of:
Federal contracts and compliance requirements
Cost, schedule, and performance management
Risk and quality management
Demonstrated ability to influence and enforce standards across multiple teams
Experience managing complex, multi-disciplinary programs
Responsibilities:
Program Management Center of Excellence Leadership
Establish and lead LINK’s Program Management Center of Excellence, a centralized function that defines how program management operates across the organization and setting clear, consistent expectations for execution
Design and implement standardized frameworks, governance models, and ways of working for program and project delivery
Develop and maintain enterprise tools, templates, and resources that enable consistent execution across teams
Assess and evolve program management maturity over time, driving continuous improvement across the organization
Program & Project Operational Governance
Set clear expectations for how programs are operationally planned, tracked, and closed
Ensure consistent use of approved program management tools and reporting practices
Establish governance structures, reviews, and escalation paths to address program-level risks related to budget, compliance, and operational performance
Partner with Project Team Leadership to monitor program health across cost, schedule, scope, and risk
Contract & Compliance Oversight
Ensure compliance with all contractual requirements, including:
Federal acquisition regulations (FAR and DFARS)
Contract deliverables and performance metrics
Security and data protection requirements
Partner with leadership to ensure programs meet audit, compliance, and reporting standards
Proactively identify and mitigate contractual and operational risks
Financial & Cost Management
Establish standards for:
Program budgeting and forecasting
Cost tracking and burn rate management
Profitability and financial performance monitoring
Partner with finance and operations to ensure accurate financial reporting at the program level
Understand the various types of federal government contract types including: firm fixed price, time and materials, commercial product contracts, and be able to develop tools and methods to accommodate all
Hold teams accountable for financial discipline and performance
Training, Mentoring & Enablement
Design and deliver program management training for program leaders
Develop onboarding and continuous learning programs to build consistent program management capability across the organization
Establish and lead a community of program leaders to share best practices, tools, and lessons learned
Mentor and coach program leaders to strengthen consistency and performance in managing program operations
Foster a strong, consistent program management culture grounded in operational excellence
Accountability & Performance Management
Define performance standards for program management and team lead roles
Hold teams accountable for adherence to established standards and tools
Identify performance gaps and implement corrective actions
Partner with leadership on program management staffing, capability development, and performance improvement
Participate in recruitment and hiring for program managers and team leads
Customer Experience & Stakeholder Management
Ensure programs consistently deliver a high-quality customer experience
Establish standards for client communication, reporting, and engagement
Act as an escalation point for program-level issues impacting client satisfaction
Strengthen LINK’s reputation as a trusted, reliable government partner
Customer Experience & Stakeholder Management
Define and operationalize standards for customer experience, including communication, reporting, and engagement practices aligned to the LINK Way
Develop and scale repeatable tools, templates, and processes that enable teams to deliver a consistent, high-quality client experience
Establish baseline expectations for program-level interactions (e.g., status reporting, tasking touchpoints), with flexibility for teams to adapt as needed
Partner with program leaders to address systemic issues impacting client satisfaction, serving as an escalation point for operational challenges
Contribute to strengthening LINK’s reputation as a trusted, reliable government partner through consistent, high-quality program management practices
Work Schedule:
Full time, 40 hours per week
Some travel required to attend relevant events and conferences, and participate in LINK team events
Salary: We're committed to offering competitive compensation. While the salary range for this position is $175,000-$215,000, your final offer may be adjusted based on factors like experience and location.
Benefits:
$100 monthly internet/cell phone stipend
LINK sponsored healthcare benefits including medical, dental, vision
Company-paid Short Term Disability Insurance
401K with employer contribution of up to 4%
11 Federal Holidays per year
15 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year
Paid Holiday Time Off (Christmas Eve through the New Year)
Annual bonus plan participation
Annual profit sharing participation
$2,000 Learning and Development program reimbursement
Technology package that includes a LINK-owned MacBook Pro, monitor, mouse and keyboard
EOE
Apply Now