What does a program development specialist do?
Program development specialists require excellent oral and written communication skills, as well as skills in decision-making and organization. Computer proficiency and awareness of the latest technological trends and advancements are also helpful. This career will call for the improvement of educational quality in schools, as well as curriculum planning, textbook choice, teacher training, and the creation of programs for extracurricular activities.
Program development specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real program development specialist resumes:
- Develop windows forms programs to automate manual in-house processes integrate with third party applications using Microsoft VB.Net.
- Investigate provider complaints to determine Medicaid contractor compliance with contracts, certification requirements, law, regulations, policies and procedures.
- Require to process professional medical/personal information effectively while remaining compliant of all HIPAA laws and government privacy regulations.
Program development specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Program Development Specialists are proficient in HR, Youth Development, and Child Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Creativity, and Instructional skills.
We break down the percentage of Program Development Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HR, 20%
General Administrative Support - trained new employees, supervised graduate students, HR, budget & finances.
- Youth Development, 17%
Facilitated training and provided technical assistance to Oklahoma's youth serving agencies in the areas of youth development and independent living.
- Child Care, 15%
Provided training and technical assistance to agency staff involved in child care.
- Program Development, 11%
Conducted off-site presentations throughout Virginia region at area public schools to market Intercept Youth Services Therapeutic Day Treatment program development initiatives.
- Data Collection, 4%
Introduced and implemented technical assistance to health departments and CBOs to develop methods for prevention program data collection.
- Technical Assistance, 4%
Critiqued and revised national curriculum; provided training and technical assistance for all of Oklahoma County and Canadian County.
Common skills that a program development specialist uses to do their job include "hr," "youth development," and "child care." You can find details on the most important program development specialist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a program development specialist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "training and development specialists must convey information clearly and facilitate learning to diverse audiences." Program development specialists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "improved communication and collaboration by utilizing od strategy models to re-align hr teams of generalists. "
Creativity. Many program development specialist duties rely on creativity. "specialists should be resourceful when developing training materials," so a program development specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways program development specialist responsibilities rely on creativity: "designed and implemented creative training programs for new route personnel, office staff, and management. "
Instructional skills. This is an important skill for program development specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how program development specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "training and development specialists deliver employee training programs." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a program development specialist: "analyzed, designed, implemented, delivered and evaluated performance technologies, instructional systems designs, and training programs. ".
Analytical skills. For certain program development specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a program development specialist rely on this skill, as "training and development specialists must evaluate training programs, methods, and materials and choose those that best fit each situation." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what program development specialists do: "conducted barrier analysis and identified need for adolescent-specific hiv/reproductive behavior change communication and health education programming. "
The three companies that hire the most program development specialists are:
- YMCA of the Suncoast26 program development specialists jobs
- Amazon2 program development specialists jobs
- Comscore2 program development specialists jobs
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Program development specialist vs. Trainer
A trainer is responsible for instilling knowledge and process techniques for a specific business role. Duties of a trainer include facilitating engaging classes, identifying areas of improvement and opportunities for the learner, evaluating skills and attending to the learner's challenges, organizing training materials and scheduling training sessions, and submitting timely reports to the management on progress. Trainers are required to have excellent public communication skills and extensive product knowledge to provide effective learning methodologies and maintain strategic project management.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between program development specialists and trainer. For instance, program development specialist responsibilities require skills such as "youth development," "child care," "program development," and "data collection." Whereas a trainer is skilled in "pet," "leadership," "bonds," and "customer service." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Trainers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $51,822. Comparatively, program development specialists tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $55,829.trainers tend to reach lower levels of education than program development specialists. In fact, trainers are 13.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Program development specialist vs. Certified trainer
A certified trainer is responsible for creating a customized fitness program for clients to improve their body functions, including their cardiovascular stability, balance, flexibility, and overall wellness for a healthy lifestyle. Certified trainers determine the clients' fitness goals, monitoring the clients' progress, and adjusting training plans as needed. They also monitor their clients' food intake, encouraging them to follow strict diet procedures to maintain nutritional standards and practice health disciplines. A certified trainer must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of the fitness industry.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, program development specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "youth development," "child care," "program development," and "data collection." Meanwhile, a certified trainer has duties that require skills in areas such as "safety procedures," "food safety," "customer service," and "food preparation." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, certified trainers achieve lower levels of education than program development specialists. They're 15.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for program development specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Namita Sugandhi Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Hartwick College
Program development specialist vs. Team trainer
A team trainer is responsible for developing the skills of employees by implementing new strategies and techniques to increase operational efficiency and maximize productivity. Team trainers conduct skill-up training sessions, adhering to the business' and clients' needs, and provide engaging and interactive discussions for the participants, evaluating their progress through a series of activities and practical applications. They also handle training budgets, creating comprehensive reports to ensure that all the training materials meet the budget goals.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a program development specialist is likely to be skilled in "hr," "youth development," "child care," and "program development," while a typical team trainer is skilled in "excellent guest," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "guest service."
Most team trainers achieve a lower degree level compared to program development specialists. For example, they're 19.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program development specialist vs. Training coordinator
A training coordinator is an individual who develops and conducts training programs for employees or volunteers. Training coordinators create printed and instructional materials as well as maintain an online library of training resources. Aside from conducting training, training coordinators need to assess employees' development and report their progress to the management. An organization also requires its training coordinators to obtain a bachelor's degree in Human Resource or related field and have excellent communication skills.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between program development specialists and training coordinators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a program development specialist might have more use for skills like "youth development," "child care," "program development," and "data collection." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of training coordinators require skills like "customer service," "patients," "learning management system," and "cpr. "
Training coordinators enjoy the best pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $51,627. For comparison, program development specialists earn the highest salary in the education industry.In general, training coordinators hold lower degree levels compared to program development specialists. Training coordinators are 11.8% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of program development specialist
Updated January 8, 2025











