Program Operations Specialist

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

4d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Program Operations Specialist to support the Force Projection Sector's (FPS) varied portfolio of projects. You will join a dedicated team of business professionals that provides operational leadership and project coordination across all phases of the project lifecycle. In this role, you will partner closely with program leadership, technical staff, and support organizations to ensure projects are executed efficiently, sponsor requirements are met, and operational activities remain aligned with program objectives.

Requirements

Have a Bachelor 's Degree in a business, technical, or other relevant field.
Have 3+ years of relevant experience coordinating project operations.
Proven ability to review and organize technical information and provide a critical review of documents for technical content and style while also being able to create presentations from existing material for high-level briefings.
Possess strong communication skills with demonstrated experience in effectively communicating with all levels of management, military and government officials.
Proven ability to be a self-starter with a high level of initiative and can effectively prioritize competing efforts and independently solve moderately complex problems.
Are willing to travel occasionally and work in a closed area as needed.
Hold an active Top Secret (TS) security clearance and can ultimately obtain a TS/SCI level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

An Active TS/SCI security clearance.
A demonstrated proficiency in tracking, monitoring and updating program schedules, milestones and/or contract deliverables.

Responsibilities

Partner with Program Managers (PMs) and Project Managers (PjMs) to ensure seamless program operations, establish priorities, mitigate operational risks, drive timely delivery of contractual obligations, and oversee day-to-day project execution from initiation through closeout.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) that promote consistency, efficiency, and successful project delivery.
Monitor and provide oversight and coordination of operational compliance efforts.
Develop a thorough understanding of program objectives, technical efforts, and sponsor priorities to effectively support program execution and communicate program activities to internal and external stakeholders.
Prepare and organize information for internal and external program reviews, technical exchanges, and sponsor engagements, including content review of technical materials prepared by technical staff.
Serve as a key liaison among program leadership, technical staff, sponsors, and stakeholders to facilitate communication, track actions, and drive successful outcomes.
Collaborate with APL support organizations, including security, IT, quality, communications, procurement, property, and administrative services, to secure resources, coordinate logistics, and resolve operational issues that impact project execution.
Lead coordination of meetings, reviews, facilities, security, schedules, and other program activities to ensure milestones and commitments are achieved.
Manage contractual and programmatic deliverables by tracking schedules, milestones, and stakeholder inputs to ensure commitments are met.
Help identify potential execution risks and recommend corrective actions to maintain schedule, quality, and sponsor satisfaction.
Develop sufficient understanding of program technical efforts to effectively communicate objectives, impacts, and accomplishments to multiple audiences.
Support project kickoff activities, task planning, Statements of Work (SOWs), execution reviews, and operational reporting to ensure alignment with sponsor requirements and project objectives.
Collaborate with PMs and FMs to support proposal development activities, facilitate technical information flow, assist with review processes, and help ensure proposal quality and compliance with customer requirements.
Perform other duties as assigned in support of program, sector, and organizational objectives.