Senior Staffing Manager / Deputy Program Manager

With a passion for excellence, Golden Key Group (GKG) helps clients solve their strategic, organizational, and operational challenges to better meet their mission demands. We have serviced more than 25 Federal departments and agencies and several large commercial companies since our inception in 2002.

Golden Key Group's talented professionals, combined with our strategic partners, bring a depth of commercial and government experience and expertise. We are relentless in delivering the highest levels of services to provide tangible value and create sustainable results for our clients.

The Senior Staffing Manager / Deputy Program Manager serves as the supervisory operational leader for Federal staffing and HR service delivery activities supporting civilian human resources operations. The position provides day-to-day oversight of contract personnel performing staffing, classification, HR assistance, retirement, and related support functions, ensuring work is completed in accordance with Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) policies, procedures, and service expectations. The role functions as the operational director for a small mixed-employer service delivery team and supports the Project Manager in managing performance, workload, quality, communication, and customer responsiveness.

The incumbent serves as the Deputy/Alternate Program Manager and assumes full authority to act for the contractor during the Project Manager's absence on matters relating to work performed under the contract. The position is responsible for translating contract requirements into daily operational execution, aligning staffing resources to mission priorities, resolving service delivery issues, and ensuring that Federal staffing products are timely, accurate, compliant, and responsive to Government needs.

The selected individual will have the option to work remotely however will need to be local for onsite mandatory meetings in D.C.

Note** This position is being recruited in support of potential future contract awards, and qualified candidates may be considered for upcoming opportunities supporting federal government clients.

Serve as Deputy/Alternate Program Manager and act for the contractor during the Project Manager's absence on matters relating to contract work, customer coordination, team direction, and operational issue resolution.
• Provide day-to-day supervision, direction, workload balancing, and operational coordination for a small team delivering staffing, classification, HR assistance, retirement, and related Federal HR support services.
• Coordinate priorities across mixed-employer delivery resources and ensure responsibilities are clear, work is sequenced appropriately, and customer commitments are met.
• Monitor progress against contract requirements, service expectations, schedules, deliverables, and performance objectives; escalate risks and recommend corrective actions when needed.
• Support program governance by contributing to progress meetings, customer updates, management reviews, staffing forecasts, issue logs, and monthly progress reporting.

• Lead Federal staffing operations involving vacancy announcement development, job analysis, recruitment action drafting, qualifications analysis, certificate support, and applicant synopses.
• Provide expert technical guidance on Federal staffing requirements, OPM qualification standards, DHS and USCG staffing policies, merit promotion procedures, delegated examining requirements, veterans preference, assessment design, and recruitment documentation.
• Oversee quality and consistency of staffing products, including vacancy announcements, crediting plans, questionnaires, specialized experience language, screen-out factors, applicant qualification determinations, and referral support materials.
• Coordinate with Government HR specialists, hiring managers, and subject matter experts to define specialized experience requirements, develop defensible job analyses, and support staffing actions through USA Staffing and USA Hire.
• Use active DEU certification and Federal staffing expertise to advise on delegated examining actions, certificate integrity, case documentation, and compliance-sensitive staffing matters.

• Implement internal quality control reviews for staffing, classification, HR assistance, retirement, and other team work products prior to Government submission or review.
• Track operational accuracy, timeliness, rework, customer issues, and emerging risks to support continuous improvement and contract performance management.
• Ensure team members follow applicable OPM, DHS, USCG, Privacy Act, security, records management, Section 508, and contract-specific requirements.
• Identify barriers to timely performance, including workload surges, access issues, staffing gaps, technical questions, or policy ambiguities, and develop practical mitigation strategies.
• Support development of standard operating procedures, job aids, checklists, reporting templates, training materials, and process improvements to strengthen repeatable delivery.

• Provide coaching, mentoring, onboarding support, technical direction, and performance feedback to assigned contract personnel.
• Coordinate day-to-day customer-facing communications with the COR, Government HR stakeholders, SMEs, and program offices as directed by the Project Manager or during the Project Manager's absence.
• Promote a professional, accountable, and customer-focused service culture that maintains separation between contractor management and Government supervision.
• Support recruiting, onboarding, retention, and replacement planning for qualified personnel assigned to the contract.
• Maintain professional communication with Government stakeholders and ensure contractor personnel identify themselves appropriately as contractor employees.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Public Administration, Organizational Management, or a related field.
• Minimum ten (10) years of progressive Federal human resources experience, including significant experience in Federal staffing and recruitment operations.
• Minimum six (6) years of experience performing or leading Federal staffing support functions similar to those required under the PWS, including vacancy announcements, job analyses, recruitment actions, qualifications analysis, and Federal staffing advisory support.
• Active Delegated Examining Unit (DEU) certification required at time of proposed assignment.
• Minimum three (3) years of supervisory, team lead, operational manager, branch lead, or comparable leadership experience overseeing HR professionals in a Federal HR service delivery environment.
• Expert working knowledge of USA Staffing and USA Hire, including announcement development, applicant assessment support, qualification review, referral support, and staffing case documentation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of OPM qualification standards, Federal staffing regulations, merit system principles, veterans preference, assessment requirements, and Federal hiring authorities.
• Ability to supervise a small mixed-employer service delivery team while maintaining appropriate contractor management controls and avoiding personal services concerns.
• Ability to communicate effectively with Government HR specialists, hiring officials, SMEs, the COR, and contractor program leadership.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required system access, CAC eligibility, security training, and other suitability or onboarding requirements necessary for performance.

• Master's degree in Human Resources, Public Administration, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related discipline.
• Fifteen (15) or more years of Federal HR experience, with extensive experience leading civilian staffing and recruitment operations.
• Prior service as a Supervisory HR Specialist (Staffing), Staffing Branch Chief, Federal HR Operations Manager, Staffing Team Lead, or comparable operational director role.
• Experience supporting DHS, USCG, DoD, or another large Federal organization with high-volume civilian HR staffing, classification, onboarding, or HR operations requirements.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary HR service delivery teams that include staffing specialists, classification specialists, HR assistants, and retirement or benefits specialists.
• Demonstrated success improving staffing operations through SOPs, quality reviews, workload dashboards, process improvement, assessment standardization, or recruitment workflow modernization.
• Advanced knowledge of delegated examining, merit promotion, direct hire, special hiring authorities, structured assessments, SME rating processes, and audit-ready staffing case documentation.
• Professional certification such as SHRM-SCP, SPHR, PMP, Federal HR certification, or comparable credential.