How to hire an educational program director

How to hire an educational program director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step educational program director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an educational program director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new educational program director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your educational program director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an educational program director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   An educational program director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, educational program directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of educational program directors.

   Type of Educational Program Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Educational Program Director	Producers and directors create motion pictures, television shows, live theater, commercials, and other performing arts productions. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain or inform an audience.	$13-37
   Director Of After School Program	A director of after school programs oversees and directs childcare centers in communities. They take the lead in setting goals and guidelines, conducting research and analyses to identify the students' interests and needs, developing programs that provide recreational activities and academic support, supervising the recruitment and training of employees, and monitoring the daily operations to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently... Show more	$14-38
   Director	Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life... Show more	$31-92

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Education Programs
   • Professional Development
   • Curriculum Development
   • Oversight
   • Program Development
   • Support Services
   • Medical Education
   • K-12
   • Accreditation Standards
   • Child Care
   • School Administration
   • Strategic Plan
   • Mental Health
   • Colleges

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead and develop education and eLearning programs ensuring establish financial goals and customer satisfaction.
   • Design curricula and teach courses in development of oral and written communication skills, mathematics and general educational development for adults.
   • Teach adult and youth bible study classes.- Assist with the conducting of Sunday morning worship.-Structure and organize church ministries

   More educational program director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your educational program director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An educational program director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an educational program director in Wisconsin may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level educational program director usually earns less than a senior-level educational program director. Additionally, an educational program director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average educational program director salary

   $46,730yearly

   $22.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level educational program director salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average educational program director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$72,638	$35
   2	California	$70,808	$34
   3	Massachusetts	$70,075	$34
   4	New Jersey	$60,494	$29
   5	District of Columbia	$59,018	$28
   6	Washington	$54,705	$26
   7	Virginia	$52,952	$25
   8	Minnesota	$49,503	$24
   9	Pennsylvania	$48,741	$23
   10	Georgia	$45,301	$22
   11	Colorado	$43,599	$21
   12	Montana	$42,779	$21
   13	Texas	$41,879	$20
   14	North Carolina	$39,988	$19
   15	Florida	$39,709	$19
   16	Illinois	$38,778	$19
   17	Tennessee	$36,157	$17
   18	Iowa	$36,028	$17
   19	Wisconsin	$32,724	$16
   20	Puerto Rico	$31,189	$15

   Average educational program director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	French-American School of New York	$101,680	$48.88
   2	New York University	$95,341	$45.84	10
   3	MSC Industrial Direct Co	$76,622	$36.84	2
   4	Mt. San Antonio College	$75,826	$36.45
   5	City University of Seattle	$74,659	$35.89
   6	Boston Public Schools	$72,251	$34.74
   7	Commonwealth	$70,990	$34.13
   8	Massachusetts General Hospital	$61,150	$29.40
   9	UC Santa Barbara	$58,015	$27.89
   10	University of California-Berkeley	$54,284	$26.10
   11	IEEE Foundation	$54,140	$26.03	3
   12	Kaiser Permanente	$52,985	$25.47	20
   13	Midwestern University	$52,054	$25.03	2
   14	Amarillo College	$51,300	$24.66
   15	Emmaus Bible College	$50,059	$24.07
   16	Israeli-American Council	$48,888	$23.50	1
   17	Builders	$48,196	$23.17
   18	Asia Society	$47,268	$22.73
   19	Public Consulting Group	$45,219	$21.74	2
   20	PSEA	$45,024	$21.65	13

4. Writing an educational program director job description

   A job description for an educational program director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an educational program director job description:

   Educational program director job description example

   The 4-H Educator is an integral part of the UW-Madison Division of Extension and works alongside the people of Wisconsin to improve lives and communities. Extension serves the people and communities of Wisconsin by addressing local, statewide and national issues, improving lives through research-based education, fostering partnerships and action, and facilitating positive impacts.
   
   This position is a part of the Division of Extension Positive Youth Development Institute, with a focus within the Wisconsin 4-H Extension Program. The Institute supports programs that contribute to the development of children, youth, and emerging adults who are healthy and productive, and who make a positive contribution to their communities.
   
   The 4-H Program Educator leads and manages the full range of the 4-H program including clubs, after school programs, educational experiences, and camps. Program Educators also design, deliver, and evaluate research-based educational programming and services aligned with the position's programmatic focus.
   
   The ideal candidate is adept at building and maintaining trust-based relationships, engaging stakeholders and applying an equity lens towards transforming lives and communities. As such, candidates are expected to foster and promote the values of diversity and inclusion.
   
   Initial programming focus will include:
   -Recruiting, training, developing, and managing volunteers focused on helping youth develop life skills that promote ongoing community involvement and strengthen youth leadership development;
   -Expanding 4-H membership and volunteer opportunities to underserved youth and adults;
   -Overseeing 4-H Clubs, 4-H Groups, 4-H Leaders Associations and committees and coordinating the process for youth and adult volunteer enrollment;
   -Strengthening the 4-H program by providing leadership for marketing, communications, member recruitment and member retention;
   -Cultivating collaborative efforts and partnerships with other organizations to expand 4-H programming opportunities

   For more information, Click the apply button below:

   
   recblid 35opfl5taoi9831z1ptlpuft9w72op
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find educational program directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any educational program directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level educational program directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your educational program director job on Zippia to find and recruit educational program director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit educational program directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new educational program director

   Once you've found the educational program director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new educational program director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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