What does a program director do?
Program directors are employees who oversee all aspects of a specific program in the company. They usually work in nonprofit organizations or are assigned to a department doing corporate social responsibility activities. Program directors ensure that the program is in line with the company's goals. They also ensure that the resources assigned to the program are properly managed and that all finances are accounted for. They create strategies to ensure the success of the program and communicate these to everyone involved. They lead the implementation and evaluation of the program.
Program director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real program director resumes:
- 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.
- Prepare proposals and budgets for programs and competitive RFP's.
- Market program via mailings, flyers, and school assemblies.
- Participate in IEP meetings, attends parent-teacher conferences and monitors IEP progress.
- Perform full RFP analysis, develop response outlines, and create response content.
- Contract experience consultants to address specific issues identify in the youth s IEP.
- Develop and oversee all curriculum for grades k-5 along with developing parent events.
- Assist children with homework including reading, writing and mathematics in a safe environment.
- Assure compliance of all research staff for GCP, FDA, and ICH regulatory guidelines.
- Plan academic enrichment activities such as reading, writing, math problem solving and history.
Program director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Program Directors are proficient in Oversight, Social Work, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Leadership skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Program Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Oversight, 9%
Budget oversight, development and execution of Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding, partnership development, developing and implementing policy and procedure documents.
- Social Work, 6%
Expanded services to individuals with co-occurring disorders including developing a multidisciplinary team of addictions counselors, social workers and a psychiatrist.
- Patients, 6%
Gathered qualitative and quantitative data from current behavioral health patients regarding the appropriate and effective time of implementing a voice-analyzer.
- Customer Service, 5%
Work directly with county representatives, family members and residents to build positive relations and provide excellent customer service and satisfaction.
- Mental Health, 5%
Worked collaboratively with multiple agencies and individuals including Regional Center, County Mental Health, educators, physicians and families.
- Program Management, 5%
Ensured Program Management processes, methods, and best practices were implemented and utilized in delivering the Motorola Mobility product portfolio.
"oversight," "social work," and "patients" are among the most common skills that program directors use at work. You can find even more program director responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a program director to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "because a script may be interpreted in different ways, directors must decide on their approach and on how to represent the script’s ideas for the production." Program directors often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "manage all inventory including narcotics to remain compliant with federal regulations. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform program director duties is leadership skills. Program directors responsibilities require that "directors instruct actors and help them portray their characters in a believable manner." Program directors also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "performed various leadership roles of increasing responsibilities for client engagement, customer advocacy, program management and solution architecture. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for program directors to perform their duties. For an example of how program director responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "producers and directors must convey information and ideas clearly in order to coordinate many people to finish a production on time and within budget." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a program director: "directed all aspects of strategic program management; set goals and milestones; coordinated stakeholder communication; developed program branding. ".
The three companies that hire the most program directors are:
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.172 program directors jobs
- Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family106 program directors jobs
- National Mentor Holdings Inc.
57 program directors jobs
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Compare different program directors
Program director vs. 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. Moreover, a director of after school programs empowers staff to reach program goals and implements policies and standards to provide a safe and healthy environment for the students.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between program directors and director of after school program. For instance, program director responsibilities require skills such as "oversight," "patients," "customer service," and "mental health." Whereas a director of after school program is skilled in "youth development," "child care," "doh," and "provide academic support." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Directors of after school program tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $47,587. In contrast, program directors make the biggest average salary, $118,191, in the technology industry.On average, directors of after school program reach similar levels of education than program directors. Directors of after school program are 3.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Program director vs. Director of senior programs
In the healthcare industry, a director of senior programs is primarily in charge of overseeing the daily operations at senior centers, aiming to give residents a quality and efficient service. It is their duty to set objectives and guidelines, spearhead the development of programs and services, manage staff and delegate tasks, liaise with external parties such as sponsors and vendors, and address problems or concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, a director of senior programs must enforce the establishment or facility's safety policies and regulations to maintain a healthy and safe environment for everyone.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, program director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "customer service," "mental health," and "hr." Meanwhile, a director of senior programs has duties that require skills in areas such as "crm," "lead generation," "roi," and "project management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Directors of senior programs tend to reach similar levels of education than program directors. In fact, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for program directors in the next 3-5 years?
Namita Sugandhi Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Hartwick College
Program director vs. Assistant program manager
An assistant program manager takes supervision of the employees within an organization. Assistant program managers provide help in projects' practical management systematically. They plan and monitor project budgets and work calendar. Part of their job is to work on projects with cross-functional teams. They manage and deliver the application programs of the companies. Also, they make an arrangement of program activities based on the set deadline. Skills necessary for this job include customer service, program management, and communication skills.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, program directors are more likely to have skills like "oversight," "patients," "client facing," and "clinical supervision." But a assistant program manager is more likely to have skills like "apm," "kids," "medication administration," and "cleanliness."
Most assistant program managers achieve a lower degree level compared to program directors. For example, they're 7.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program director vs. 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. It is their job to establish promotional materials for the programs and manage their logistics. They handle several customer insights programs and create determination and targeting of prospective subscription sales opportunities. They need to develop skills in project management, customer service, marketing skills, and strong communication skills.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between program directors and service program managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a program director might have more use for skills like "curriculum development," "medicaid," "program policies," and "cpr." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of service program managers require skills like "project management," "veterans," "cloud," and "customer satisfaction. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for service program managers, with average annual pay of $79,284. Comparatively, the highest program director annual salary comes from the technology industry.service program managers reach similar levels of education compared to program directors, in general. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of program director
Updated January 8, 2025
