The dream job desired is a Program Manager for a federal program such as child support services, social security administration, human services, etc. The reason why this job is so appealing is due to the fact that federal jobs, more so than county or state jobs, offer better job security. Jobs created using federal funds are not as harshly subjected to budget cuts. A program management position can assist with developing a unique skill set that, if need be, can translate to the private or non-profit sector. While there are other, more glamorous, jobs available to report about, a program management job ideally offers the opportunity to make a difference behind the scenes. There are many federally funded programs that provide invaluable services to the community. Without these programs, individuals and families would potentially have a much harder time locating affordable child care, applying for and collecting needs-based benefits and insurances, and maneuvering through legal processes to provide a better life for themselves and their families.
The job description for the Program Manager of a Federal Program (Elections, Child Support, Social Security Administration, etc.) is as follows. The primary functions of this position include:
Plan, organize, and coordinate public outreach programs for education and service oriented function.
Provide support established program initiatives through workload management and customer service.
Provide direction for any of the several departments located within each program.
Provide knowledge and leadership in obtaining program objectives and state and federal mandated objectives.
Identify goals and outline tasks for the establishment, enforcement, public service, community outreach, and administrative programs.
Evaluates supervisory staff performance.
Reports to and meets regularly with the Director and Assistant Director regarding department policies.
Evaluates program effectiveness and efficiency regularly to assess for operational improvement.
Assists with program transitions to accommodate changes in the laws and regulations.
Counsels with supervisors and staff to resolve procedural, organizational, or personnel issues.
Utilizes excellent verbal and written communication skills to prepare reports and other correspondence.
Acts as unofficial liaison with governmental or community agency representatives.
Assists in the preparation of the Department’s annual and quarterly budgets.
Performs additional tasks duties as assigned by the Director or Assistant Director.
The job specifications for this position includes minimal requirements:
Possessing a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university
Possessing at least two (2) years of supervisory or management experience that provides the necessary knowledge and skill set to successfully complete the assigned job duties.
Applicable experience may be attained in the public, private, or non-profit sector.
Additional Requirements:
The candidate must also possess a valid California class C driver’s license.
The candidate must be knowledgeable to state and federal laws and regulations regarding the particular program or department being applied for.
The candidate must be able to interpret laws and comprise and implement programmatic changes to be in compliance with the changes in the laws.
The candidate must be well versed in administrative functions of the organization or department.
The candidate must be able to de-escalate complaints by executing judicial and tactful methods.
The candidate should be able to effectively analyze, evaluate, and solve a variety of personnel challenges including but not limited to amount of staff needed for daily job duties and projects, conference attendance, and satisfy supervisor to staff member ratio.
Plan and present visual aids at departmental meetings and state conferences.
Structure attainable program goals that will assist in departmental success.
Analyze and recommend policy and procedure changes to align with the Department’s mission status and values.
Compensation Plan and Benefits Package
The compensation and benefits package of a federal program manager should be competitive and sustainable. Liu and Tang (2011) performed a study to how an individual’s motivation for monetary compensation affected his or her motivation to fulfill the job duties signed up for when he or she accepted the position. The results of the study concluded that, despite the notion that public servants possess a high level of public responsibility and moral conviction, public servants with a high level of desire for high monetary compensation exhibit a greater motivation to fulfill their job duties than those who are not highly motivated by that same thing. Individuals with “a significantly stronger relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction” also perceived they had a more minimal level of input into their jobs but received the best monetary and incentive package offered. With that said, according to United States Department of State Salaries, program manager salaries ranges from $77,000 per year to upwards of $100,000 per year depending on a number of factors. Goulet & Frank (2002) conducted a study on employee commitment in the private, non-profit, and public sectors and discovered that workers in the public sector possessed the “lowest levels of organizational commitment.” In order to combat preconceived notions of low pay and strenuous hours, the competitive salary for this position will range from $75,000 per year to $110,000 per year. Raises will be give n in 5% increments once per year with no cost of living adjustment. In addition to the federally required benefits of worker’s compensation, social security, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance, such benefits as a petty cash account, access to county transportation, paid county, state, and federal Department organizations, health-related memberships, personal retirement and money management counselors, paid life insurance, paid short and longer term disability insurance, as well as employer match up to 8% in a flexible, post-tax spending account will be offered upon offer of employment.
Appraisal
The performance appraisal will focus on the program manager’s ability to work within the leadership team to obtain satisfactory scores in state and federal mandated performance measures. The following will be taken into account:
Goal management: The program manager’s ability to comprise goals and parameters in sync with the other programs within the Department as well as his or her ability to work with the leadership team to estimate and achieve results.
Planning management: The program manager will be responsible for planning and designing tasks to help achieve the identified objectives every fiscal year. The program manager must be able to develop, execute, and document projects to obtain the identified goals. Identify challenges during projects and adjust and revise as portions that are necessary to keep the project on track to obtaining identified goals.
Time management: The program manager must utilize time effectively. This includes being able to develop schedules effective for proper customer service coverage and project deadlines. The program manger must be able to oversee contracts with external providers and monitor delays and completion of any projects by providers that could affect level of service provided to customers.
Cost management: The program manager must be able to project and monitor the cost of projects to be sure to remain within the budgeted allotment for each fiscal year. The program manager must be able to work within the leadership team to maintain the Department’s established budget. The program manager must be able to document and clarify variations in the program’s or Department’s budget from the initially approved budget.
Quality management: The program manager must be able to work within the leadership team monitor customer service interactions with customer and service providers in order to provide exemplary and up-to-code service. The program manager must be able to effectively identity and manage quality control challenges by revising current policies and procedures to promote quality improvement.
Human resources management: The program manager must be able to identify and manage employee talents within a project to accomplish predetermined goals. The program manager must be able to manage stakeholder and Department interests while solving conflicts and providing encouragement and support to all staff.
Communication management: The program manager must be able to facilitate effective communication within a project and also between customers, employees, and external service providers. All reports and presentations must be delivered in completion in a timely manner.
Risk management: The program manager must be able identify and address risks with the team during a project in a manner that is respectful and compliant with all identified goals and regulations. The program manager must facilitate the development of risk management strategies should be developed primarily by a voluntary committee.
Procurement management: The program manager must be able to work with a team to identify and gather the necessary documents, training, staff, and any other item found to be pertinent to t completion of a project. The program manager must be able to interpret documents that will enable for the selection of contract partners to deliver services that will keep the Department in compliance with state and federal measures.
Environmental management: The program manager must be able to work with a team to identify and address any environmental challenges that arise. The workplace and external environment must be controlled as must as possible by the Department.
Accepting the program manager position for any Federal program will come with a host of county, state, and federal regulations that must be complied with. The appraisal was developed to measure, on a qualitative and quantitative basis, the success of the program manager with the elements identified that are needed for the success of the program. Since the success of any program rests on its procurement of acceptable scores on state and federal guideline measures, the program manager must be sure to identify goals for the program that will help achieve those measures. Heinrich (2002) conducted a study to determine the correlation (if one existed) between performance; or outcome, based success and employment development. Heinrich concluded that with most, if not all, government positions increasing reliance on performance measures to evaluate accountability and effectiveness, individuals in government positions are able to focus on employment development with more clarity. Although state and federal program evaluations have a little correlation to successful government employee appraisals, the design factors of these appraisals is continuously being evaluated for effectiveness. The main purpose for the appraisals is to make sure the employee is being directed on the correct path to focus on a particular skill set, not evaluate the program he or she is currently managing. The aforementioned facets of the appraisal for the program manager position was comprised with some of the most recent information available regarding the correlation given to the employee evaluation and the program evaluation.
The discussion of how to appraise the performance of a government employee can be difficult if the appraisal too closely resembles the evaluation for the program the employee is managing. The danger comes in the form of the “pay for performance” argument that some public sector advocates desire to be considered. Weibel, Katja, and Margit (2010) conducted an experiment to explain why the “pay for performance” doctrine is not a positive motivating tool for program managers of government programs. The study concluded that “pay for performance” appraisals, overall, negatively impact the morale and personal efforts of the government program managers. The study’s opinion is that money is usually not the main motivating factor for program managers and “pay for performance” appraisals do not take into account the high personal cost program managers pay.
With an accurate job description, job specifications, competitive compensation and benefits package, and appraisal system for employee development, the best candidates should be attracted for the position. Generally, there are 2-4 program mangers on staff within a department and depending on how many programs are assigned to each manager. Although they are one of kind positions, answering only to a director and/or assistant director, employing a single program manager for all of the programs involved in a federal program is not likely. That responsibility must be shared by a small leadership team in order to successfully deliver all services and goods to the customers. It all starts with an accurate description of the job duties and compensation provided so candidates understand the position and compensatory rewards they should expect.
References
Goulet, L. R., & Frank, M. L. (2002). Organizational commitment across three sectors: Public,
non-profit, and for-profit. Public Personnel Management, 31(2), 201-210.
Heinrich, C. J. (2002). Outcomes–based performance management in the public sector:
implications for government accountability and effectiveness. Public Administration
Review, 62(6), 712-725.
Liu, B. C., & Tang, T. L. P. (2011). Does the love of money moderate the relationship between
public service motivation and job satisfaction? The case of Chinese professionals in the
public sector. Public Administration Review, 71(5), 718-727.
Weibel, A., Rost, K., & Osterloh, M. (2010). Pay for performance in the public sector—Benefits
and (hidden) costs. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(2), 387-
412.
