How to hire a program director

How to hire a program director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step 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 a program director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new program director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a program director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a program director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a program director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a program director that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of program director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Program Director	Description	Hourly rate
   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.	$24-62
   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
   Service Program Manager	Service program managers serve as coordinators for the projects or services offered by organizations. The managers oversee and organize their activities, making sure that program goals are in alignment with corporate objectives... Show more	$24-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Oversight
   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Mental Health
   • Program Management
   • Program Development
   • Professional Development
   • HR
   • Client Facing
   • Clinical Supervision
   • Direct Reports
   • Curriculum Development
   • Developmental Disabilities

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage personnel performing SAS programming, technical document preparation and quality assurance.
   • Manage program budgets and supervise staff to ensure that immunization and registry activities are successfully implement.
   • Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
   • Manage day-to-day oversight and management involving planning, programming, execution, distribution, and analysis for assign organizations budgets.
   • Implement client ADL, ISP, and behavior plans in a group home.
   • Organize schedule for swim lessons and kids camp.

   More program director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the program director job description is a good way to get more applicants. A program director salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a program director in Montana may be lower than in Georgia, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level program director. Additionally, a program director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average program director salary

   $80,664yearly

   $38.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level program director salary

   $50,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average program director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$99,127	$48
   2	Georgia	$97,407	$47
   3	New York	$92,406	$44
   4	District of Columbia	$91,512	$44
   5	Maryland	$85,878	$41
   6	Texas	$75,054	$36
   7	Washington	$74,881	$36
   8	Massachusetts	$74,860	$36
   9	Colorado	$74,810	$36
   10	Virginia	$74,802	$36
   11	Illinois	$74,775	$36
   12	Wyoming	$71,601	$34
   13	New Jersey	$69,290	$33
   14	Oregon	$68,024	$33
   15	Missouri	$65,849	$32
   16	Arizona	$64,586	$31
   17	Ohio	$64,376	$31
   18	North Carolina	$63,207	$30
   19	Minnesota	$62,740	$30
   20	Alabama	$62,295	$30

   Average program director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mayo Clinic	$188,995	$90.86	5
   2	Quidel	$175,812	$84.53
   3	Genentech	$170,423	$81.93	2
   4	National Governors Association	$170,180	$81.82
   5	Metropolitan Water District of Southern California	$169,422	$81.45
   6	BD	$168,967	$81.23	2
   7	North Shore Community Health	$166,670	$80.13
   8	Rich Products	$166,314	$79.96
   9	Capgemini	$166,176	$79.89	13
   10	VMware	$163,328	$78.52
   11	Koch Industries	$163,091	$78.41
   12	Medtronic	$162,927	$78.33	38
   13	Public Health Institute	$160,949	$77.38
   14	Abbott	$160,926	$77.37	12
   15	Juniper Networks	$160,032	$76.94
   16	Earthjustice	$157,457	$75.70
   17	Apple	$156,890	$75.43	34
   18	Applied Materials	$156,438	$75.21	16
   19	IBM	$156,293	$75.14	79
   20	Citi	$155,333	$74.68	11

4. Writing a program director job description

   A program director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a program director job description:

   Program director job description example

   The Department seeks an MD/DO board certified anesthesiologist to join the Department as Residency Program Director.
   
   The Stanford Anesthesiology Residency Program is built on a foundation of collaboration and innovation offering a diverse range of residency training options. These include both categorical and combined specialty programs. Opportunities for scholarship are offered through our FARM research track, Global Health program, Patient Safety initiatives and many others. Community, well-being, support and inclusion are integral values of our program fostered by faculty dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.
   
   The successful applicant should have a strong record of leadership in medical education, be a superior clinician and role model, and desire to work collaboratively with other departments to foster a positive learning environment.
   The successful applicant will spend a portion of their time providing clinical care.
   
   Academic rank and line will be determined by the applicant's qualifications with appointment as Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in the University Medical Line, or the Clinical Educator Line.
   
   + The major criterion for appointment in the University Medical Line is excellence in the overall mix of clinical care, clinical teaching and scholarly activity that advances clinical medicine, and institutional service appropriate to programmatic need.
   
   + The major criterion for appointment in the Clinical Education Line involves excellence in the overall mix of clinical care, teaching, administrative and/or scholarship appropriate to programmatic need.
   
   The Department, School of Medicine, and Stanford University value faculty who are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Candidates may optionally include as part of their letter of interest a brief discussion of how their work will further these ideals.
   
   Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Stanford welcomes applications from all who would bring additional dimensions to the University's research, teaching and clinical missions.
   
   Please submit a CV and a brief letter.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right program director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with program directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit program directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting program directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 program director

   Once you've decided on a perfect program director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new program director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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How much does it cost to hire a program director?