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Program Manager (Deputy Area Manager)

Bureau of Reclamation

Carson City, NVFull-time$147–181K/yrPosted 1 day ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$147–181K/yr
Location
Carson City, NV
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Valid Driver's License, required

Job overview

The Program Manager (Deputy Area Manager) assists the Area Manager with day-to-day program operations involving sensitive and complex interagency and intergovernmental activities. The role supervises staff, oversees planning and projects, advises leadership on strategic plans, and helps develop policies and processes. It also represents Reclamation with public and private interests and provides recommendations on issues affecting area programs.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Program Management, nice to haveDam Operations, nice to haveHydropower Operations, nice to haveWater Control Systems, nice to haveCivil Works Projects, nice to haveWater Resources Management, nice to haveInfluencing and Negotiating, nice to haveLeadership, nice to havePlanning and Evaluation, nice to have

Qualifications

U.S. Citizenship or Nationality, requiredValid Driver's License, requiredOne Year Specialized Experience, requiredGS-13 Equivalent Experience, requiredTime-in-Grade Requirements, requiredGovernment Credit Card, required

Full job description

Summary

You will serve as a Program Manager (Deputy Area Manager) with the Bureau of Reclamation, Lahontan Basin Area Office, assisting the Area Manager in the day-to-day management of program operations that involve highly sensitive and complex interagency and intergovernmental activities.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Serves as first and second level supervisor. Plans and assigns work, sets priorities, prepares performance standards and evaluates subordinates. Plans, organizes, and oversees efforts and projects that are aimed at achieving and improving the quality, effectiveness, and timeliness of program accomplishment. Serves as a senior advisor to management and executive leadership on developing and implementing strategic plans in support of achieving the program objectives. Manages short-and long-range planning activities that include multi-year work plans that are the products of subordinate organizational projects/programs. Plays a key role in the development and implementation of program policies, plans, guidelines, proposals, processes, and recommendations on issues which cross functional lines. Plans, coordinates, and oversees major initiatives or projects to develop and implement new systems and/or processes that may have Bureau/Department-wide use and implications. Represents Reclamation in dealings with various private and public interests and in dealing with key political figures. Provides advice and recommendations on key issues that may affect critical aspects of Reclamation programs in the area, including matters of a confidential nature, Congressional inquiries, or other matters of special interest. Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. Pre-employment and random drug testing is required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/16/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Specialized Experience: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience in program management within a Bureau or equivalent Office. Examples include managing or personally performing work related to the operation and maintenance of dams and hydropower facilities, water control systems and associated facilities; experience in planning, design, construction, operation, or maintenance of civil works projects related to power and/or to the storage and conveyance of water such as canals, dams, pipelines, or tunnels; experience in managing or personally performing work on land and/or water issues and related environmental impacts that are inherent in overall program management of water resources projects. 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; religious; 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.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Influencing/Negotiating Leadership Planning and Evaluating Program Management To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a structured resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical 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. All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Other Information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.

How this job compares

Set against the 11,142 open Program Manager jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$147–181K/yr
  • Nevada median$115–210K/yr82 salary ranges
  • US median$120–202K/yr8,741 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $164K, is 3% below the Nevada median midpoint ($169K) — in the middle half of Program Manager salary ranges in Nevada.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 102 open Program Manager jobs in Nevada and 11,142 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Nevada
Experience
This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Program Manager postings that state a minimum ask for (median 6 years, across 9,608 postings).
Education
4,401 of the 11,142 open Program Manager jobs (39%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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