Program Manager (Assistant Director - TRIAD) (GS-15)
Veterans Benefits Administration
Washington, DC · $148k–$197k a year · Posted October 27, 2026
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Pay compared with the market
This listing pays about $172,573 a year. Across 153 open program manager listings that state pay, the middle half runs $129,500 to $177,500 and the median is $150,500. That is inside the middle half of those listings, 15% above the median.
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About the job
Summary
The Program Manager is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Education Service (EDU). Education Service administers VA education benefit programs for Veterans, Servicemembers, National Guard and Reserve members, and eligible dependents in accordance with Title 38 and Title 10, United States Code.
Duties
Specific duties include: The incumbent advises and makes recommendations to the Deputy Director of TRIAD on business specifications and requirements, including data and report, application design, training and implementation, rollout strategy, and other technical and non-technical aspects of education adjudication and stakeholder systems. Participate in the establishment of system-wide and local monitors and controls to meet federal government and industry standards and directs recommended and accepted risk methodology. Manage the coordination of assigned EDU mission-related IT system solution goals and facilitate adjustments as appropriate. Manage program/project management and systems lifecycles to include: acquisition, development, modification, enhancement, deployment or decommissioning of a product, service or system which may consist of one more Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS), Software as a Service (SAAS), and/or internally developed software business application technologies. The incumbent is responsible for the efficient operation of TRIAD staffs and their personnel, including contractors, to ensure effective completion of assigned tasks. The incumbent supports ongoing day-to-day leadership on operations support matters, and acts for the Deputy Director as designated, with full authority to commit Education to any course of action within program jurisdiction. Fulfills supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description Title/PD#: Program Manager (Assistant Director - TRIAD); PD422080 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required This is not a bargaining unit position.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 11/02/2026. GRADE REQUIREMENT: To receive CTAP selection priority, your grade level upon Reduction in Force must be at least 15 with promotion potential of at least None. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-14) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as : Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating information systems. Experience testing software business application technologies. Experience managing complex IT programs and projects involving strategic planning, and systems development. Experience providing leadership and management oversight for program operations. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required to perform the duties of the position. 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; religions; 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
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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. 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. You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Selectees are required to service a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.
Education
No Education Substitution
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Accountability Customer Service Decisiveness Flexibility Interpersonal Skills Problem Solving Resilience Planning and Directing - Skill in the disciplines involved in planning, directing, coordinating, and controlling national programs. Policies - Ability to establish and maintain effective communication (oral and written) with persons both at all organizational levels and with officials of other departments and agencies on policy, technical and administrative matters. Advisory - Ability to advise, provide managerial advice, and serve as a technical advisor to senior-level executives. Communication - Ability to establish and maintain effective communication (oral and written) with persons both at all organizational levels and with officials of other departments and agencies on policy, technical and administrative matters. Supervision - Ability to manage and/or supervise (plan, organize, direct, control, review, etc) the work activities of subordinates. Technology Awareness - Knowledge of developments and new applications of information technology (hardware, software, telecommunications), emerging technologies and their applications to business processes, and applications and implementation of information systems to meet organizational requirements. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. 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 an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
How to apply
Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merithiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply 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 closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.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://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Other information
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)