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The differences between program officers and communications leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a program officer and a communications lead. Additionally, a communications lead has an average salary of $96,988, which is higher than the $79,553 average annual salary of a program officer.
The top three skills for a program officer include project management, program management and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for a communications lead are project management, strategic communications, and HR.
| Program Officer | Communications Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $79,553 | $96,988 |
| Hourly rate | $38.25 | $46.63 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 118,383 | 20,413 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A program officer is an essential part of a foundation or charitable organization. It is up to program officers to supervise program progress and proposals, seek grants, manage projects, and oversee budgets. They generally guarantee that an organization's activities and programs are met with the vision and mission statements of that foundation. It is the program officer's responsibility to complete various tasks in completing the demands of this position. Moreover, their job includes developing their staff, implementation, and daily management of activities.
The global senior program manager acts as a coordinator for the organization's projects and performs various tasks including supervision, account management, daily staff assignments, budget planning, cost control, and tracking program expenses by collaborating with various global departments to enhance all global programs. He/she should have excellent analytical, decision-making, leadership, and organization skills and knowledge about project management to be able to oversee and organize activities to ensure its compliance with the organization's goals.
Program officers and communications leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Officer | Communications Lead | |
| Average salary | $79,553 | $96,988 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $117,000 | Between $67,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | BNP Paribas | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Internet |
There are a few differences between a program officer and a communications lead in terms of educational background:
| Program Officer | Communications Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between program officers' and communications leads' demographics:
| Program Officer | Communications Lead | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9% | Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 5.0% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 14% | 14% |