Program Manager Contract Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

Nalu Federal is a subsidiary company of the Kanaka Foundation - An NHO who's mission is to support Native Hawaiians.

You will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Pet insurance
• Annual membership to Costco or Sam's
• 401K
• ...and much, much more!

Position Overview

Nalu-Vighter JV is seeking a highly organized, mission-focused On-Site Program Manager / Contract Supervisor to lead day-to-day contract performance supporting the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIH Clinical Center is the nation's largest hospital devoted to clinical research and requires reliable Medical Support Assistant staffing across the Nursing Department and Patient Support Services Department.

The On-Site Program Manager will serve as Nalu-Vighter JV's primary on-site authority for contract execution, staffing coordination, employee accountability, customer service performance, compliance, quality control, and communication with the Government COR and designated NIH supervisors. This position requires strong healthcare administrative leadership, disciplined staffing management, and the ability to operate in a patient-facing clinical environment where compassion, reliability, professionalism, and accuracy are mission-critical.

Key Responsibilities

Contract Leadership and Daily Operations

The On-Site Program Manager is responsible for ensuring all contract positions are filled by trained, qualified personnel at the required times. This includes maintaining coverage for planned leave, unplanned absences, holidays, weekends, evenings, nights, and emergency-essential staffing requirements.

Responsibilities include:

• Serve as the primary on-site representative for Nalu-Vighter JV.
• Ensure uninterrupted contract performance across assigned NIH Clinical Center locations.
• Maintain daily accountability of contractor personnel and confirm staff are present, on time, properly dressed, and ready to perform at the start of each shift.
• Implement and monitor a central sign-in log or electronic accountability system.
• Ensure contractor employees remain at their duty stations through the end of their scheduled shifts unless properly relieved or authorized.
• Coordinate staffing changes with Government supervisors and the COR before implementing adjustments.
• Ensure contract staff understand and comply with NIH Clinical Center standards, customer service expectations, patient confidentiality requirements, and professional conduct rules.
• Support continuity of services in a 24/7/365 healthcare environment, including inclement weather, Government closures, holidays, and emergency operations.

Staffing, Scheduling, and Coverage

The Program Manager must be proactive in maintaining staffing coverage and avoiding service disruption.

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinate daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly staffing coverage.
• Manage contractor leave requests and coordinate with Government supervisors before leave is approved.
• Provide fully trained and Government-approved replacement personnel for scheduled and unscheduled absences.
• Notify the COR and Government supervisor of unplanned leave, tardiness, early departure, or staffing issues as soon as known, but no later than two hours before the affected shift when required.
• Identify and execute mitigation plans when staffing gaps occur.
• Ensure substitute personnel meet all qualification, training, badge, and clearance requirements before assignment.
• Monitor punctuality and address repeated tardiness, misuse of grace periods, or attendance concerns.
• Prepare and implement Corrective Action Plans when required by the COR or Contracting Officer.

Recruitment and New Hire Coordination

The On-Site Program Manager will play a direct role in recruiting, screening, onboarding, and retaining qualified Medical Support Assistants.

Responsibilities include:

• Provide resumes of qualified, pre-screened applicants to the COR and Government supervisors within required timelines.
• Ensure candidates understand the salary, benefits, tour of duty, emergency-essential status, shift requirements, and workplace expectations before submission.
• Participate in Government screening calls or interviews.
• Notify the COR when candidates accept or decline positions.
• Coordinate completion of all required onboarding documentation.
• Ensure new hires complete required DPSAC, PIV badge, medical clearance, background investigation, drug screening, non-disclosure, and IT security requirements.
• Provide complete new hire documentation to the COR within required timeframes.
• Meet with new contractors on their first day to review timekeeping, attendance, emergency designation, conduct, and performance expectations.

Training and Orientation

The Program Manager must understand the duties performed by contract Medical Support Assistants and ensure staff are properly trained and compliant.

Responsibilities include:

• Attend required NIH Clinical Center and department-level orientation programs.
• Complete mandatory NIH training modules and annual training requirements.
• Ensure all contractor personnel complete required Clinical Center orientation, computer-based training, annual training, and role-specific training.
• Track training completion and provide certificates or documentation to the COR by required deadlines.
• Coordinate with NIH training coordinators, nurse educators, Government supervisors, and department stakeholders.
• Understand systems and functions used by contract staff, including CRIS, enterprise scheduling systems, admissions/travel/voucher systems, consent systems, supply catalogues, credentialing databases, and other applications as required.
• Provide refresher training when performance requirements are not being met.
• Identify when Government-provided refresher training is needed and notify the COR.

Performance Management and Employee Accountability

The On-Site Program Manager is responsible for ensuring contractor personnel meet contract standards for accuracy, timeliness, professionalism, customer service, and attendance.

Responsibilities include:

• Monitor contractor performance and address issues early.
• Obtain feedback from Government supervisors and CORs regarding employee performance.
• Conduct mid-year and end-of-year employee evaluations.
• Provide the COR with required end-of-year evaluations.
• Counsel employees on performance, attendance, customer service, appearance, conduct, and compliance matters.
• Coordinate removal and replacement of personnel when directed by the Government or when performance does not meet Nalu-Vighter JV standards.
• Ensure employees comply with personal appearance, conduct, patient privacy, infectious disease, vaccination, and electronic device policies.
• Immediately notify the COR of misconduct, criminal concerns, civilian authority involvement, or any issue that may affect contract performance.

Customer Service and Patient-Facing Standards

This contract supports a clinical research hospital where contractor personnel directly interact with patients, families, visitors, physicians, nurses, and staff. The Program Manager must set and enforce a high standard of compassion and professionalism.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensure all staff provide prompt, courteous, respectful, and compassionate service.
• Reinforce that patients and families may be anxious, ill, unfamiliar with the area, or under stress.
• Ensure staff greet customers promptly and professionally.
• Ensure staff respond appropriately to patient wait times, missing information, scheduling issues, lost appointments, tight schedules, and other customer concerns.
• Address customer complaints quickly and coordinate corrective action with the COR.
• Promote a culture where contractor staff understand they may be the first and lasting impression of the NIH Clinical Center.

Timekeeping, Differential Pay, and Invoice Support

The SOW requires structured, stackable shift differential tracking and careful documentation. The On-Site Program Manager must ensure clean timekeeping and payroll support.

Responsibilities include:

• Review and approve all contractor timecards.
• Ensure evening, night, weekend, holiday, and stacked differential hours are properly authorized, recorded, and documented.
• Review and sign weekly differential hour summaries before submission to payroll.
• Maintain supporting documentation, including approved schedules, clock-in/clock-out records, supervisor sign-offs, and differential summaries.
• Support invoice accuracy by ensuring differential hours and dollars can be properly itemized.
• Help identify and correct timekeeping or billing errors.
• Support remediation plans when systemic timekeeping or differential errors are identified.

Quality Control and Reporting

The Program Manager will support Nalu-Vighter JV's Quality Control Program and ensure contract requirements are being measured, monitored, and improved.

Responsibilities include:

• Support implementation of the contract Quality Control Program.
• Attend weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly status/progress meetings as determined by the COR.
• Meet weekly with CORs to discuss recruitment, staffing, performance, process changes, and contract issues.
• Provide required reports to the COR by established deadlines.
• Respond in writing to employee-related events or complaints within 24 hours of notification or by the next business day.
• Provide immediate verbal notification to the COR when issues require urgent response, followed by written documentation.
• Support continuous improvement and prevent recurring performance deficiencies.
• Maintain documentation needed for Government quality assurance reviews, inspections, sampling, incident reviews, and validated customer complaints.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 3-5 years of supervisory or program management experience in a healthcare, hospital, clinical, federal contract, or patient-facing administrative support environment.
• Experience supervising administrative, medical support, patient services, front desk, scheduling, registration, or healthcare support personnel.
• Demonstrated ability to manage staffing coverage across multiple shifts, including leave, call-outs, weekends, holidays, and emergency coverage.
• Strong understanding of timekeeping, attendance control, employee accountability, and corrective action processes.
• Ability to coordinate with Government CORs, supervisors, department stakeholders, employees, recruiters, HR, payroll, and corporate leadership.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to prepare reports, employee evaluations, staffing updates, incident responses, and corrective action documentation.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and basic reporting tools.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced clinical environment with high customer service expectations.
• Must be able to pass all required background, badge, medical, drug screening, and access requirements.
• Must be able to communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior NIH, HHS, DHA, VA, military treatment facility, hospital, or federal healthcare contract experience.
• Experience managing Medical Support Assistants, Patient Access Representatives, Unit Clerks, Medical Administrative Assistants, or similar healthcare administrative personnel.
• Experience with healthcare scheduling, admissions, registration, travel voucher processing, patient records, or clinical administrative workflows.
• Familiarity with Privacy Act, HIPAA-like patient confidentiality practices, infection control requirements, and hospital conduct standards.
• Experience supporting Service Contract Act-covered employees and shift differential tracking.
• Experience working with Government CORs and Contracting Officers.
• Prior experience developing or supporting Quality Control Plans, Corrective Action Plans, and performance reporting.

Required Competencies

The ideal candidate must demonstrate:

• Strong leadership presence and calm decision-making.
• High attention to detail.
• Excellent customer service judgment.
• Ability to enforce standards without creating unnecessary friction.
• Strong staffing and scheduling discipline.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a hospital environment.
• Professional communication with Government stakeholders.
• Compassionate but firm employee leadership.
• Strong documentation habits.
• Understanding that contract performance, patient experience, and compliance are inseparable.

Physical and Work Environment Requirements

• Work is performed on-site at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
• Must be able to walk throughout clinical and administrative areas as needed.
• Must be able to work at a computer for extended periods.
• Must be available to support off-shift assessment, urgent staffing issues, inclement weather operations, and emergency-essential staffing needs.
• Must comply with all NIH Clinical Center appearance, conduct, identification badge, vaccination, infection control, privacy, and security requirements.

Reporting Relationship

The On-Site Program Manager reports to Nalu-Vighter JV corporate leadership and serves as the primary day-to-day on-site interface with the NIH COR, Government supervisors, and designated NIH stakeholders.

Nalu Federal is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, sex (including pregnancy), gender ...