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The differences between program officers and lead program managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead program manager has an average salary of $119,480, 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 lead program manager are project management, program management, and portfolio.
| Program Officer | Lead Program Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $79,553 | $119,480 |
| Hourly rate | $38.25 | $57.44 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 118,383 | 200,688 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 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.
A lead program manager is responsible for coordinating departmental projects and ensuring that the programs adhere to the business guidelines and functions to achieve long-term goals and objectives. Lead program managers strategize techniques in developing business plans and managing budget allocation across departments. They also coordinate with clients for progress updates and modify program plans as needed. A lead program manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to finalize program outputs and assist the team in resolving project issues and delays.
Program officers and lead program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Officer | Lead Program Manager | |
| Average salary | $79,553 | $119,480 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $117,000 | Between $89,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | BNP Paribas | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a program officer and a lead program manager in terms of educational background:
| Program Officer | Lead Program Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between program officers' and lead program managers' demographics:
| Program Officer | Lead Program Manager | |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9% | Male, 63.7% Female, 36.3% |
| 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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.1% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 14% | 10% |