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Program supervisor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted experts
Jordan Levy Ph.D.,
Jamelyn Tobery-Nystrom
Program supervisor example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical program supervisor skills. We ranked the top skills for program supervisors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 8.0% of program supervisor resumes contained autism as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a program supervisor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 program supervisor skills for your resume and career

1. Autism

Here's how program supervisors use autism:
  • Developed and implemented treatment plans for children with developmental disabilities and autism.
  • Implement individualized intervention programs for individuals with autism and other developmental disorders.

2. Social Work

Here's how program supervisors use social work:
  • Provide clinical and administrative supervision to clinical staff and masters level social work student interns.
  • Provided ongoing clinical consultation and weekly supervision to clinical staff and social work intern.

3. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how program supervisors use developmental disabilities:
  • Supervised, coordinated, trained individuals with developmental disabilities in developing independent community living skills including domestic and social skills.
  • Supervised a team of six Intensive Case Managers working with the adult and adolescent population with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

4. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how program supervisors use mental health:
  • Provide after hours services to hospital emergency department in dealing with substance abuse and mental health involuntary commitment evaluations and referral.
  • Monitor and stabilize functioning, mental health, medical and academic progress of family through secured referrals to community-based support services.

5. Work Ethic

Here's how program supervisors use work ethic:
  • Awarded to an individual for outstanding service and professional work ethic displayed throughout previous year.
  • Promoted to this management role for outstanding work ethic and time management skills.

6. Oversight

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

Here's how program supervisors use oversight:
  • Conducted daily clinical documentation audits, managed consumer financial accounts, provided oversight and approval for all treatment and discharge planning.
  • Provided compliance oversight by performing audits on programs for compliance; identified 74 discrepancies implementing management techniques for corrective measures.

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7. Patients

Here's how program supervisors use patients:
  • Coordinated program referrals and supervised staff completing assessments for patients with identified substance abuse/dual diagnosis admitted to Olive View Psychiatric Hospital.
  • Provided socialization opportunities, fitness and wellness activities as well as educational and recreational programs for patients and families.

8. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how program supervisors use customer service:
  • Manage and develop Team Supervisors to ensure that the Customer Service Representatives are being monitored, mentored/coached correctly and efficiently.
  • Manage daily customer service operations to ensure exceptional level of customer service to clients customer base.

9. Mental Illness

Here's how program supervisors use mental illness:
  • Developed solid understanding of the complexities of dual diagnosis and major mental illness and functional limitations therein.
  • Facilitate clinical and psycho-educational co-occurring groups regarding mental illness and addiction treatment, recovery and management.

10. Incident Reports

An Incident Report, in a medical facility such as hospitals and nursing homes, is a type of paperwork filled out immediately after and in the case of an incident of some sort, with the goal of describing the incident and its consequences, as well as the measurements taken after or during the incident, as well as any other information relevant to said incident. Such an incident might be a patient acting out or a patient being injured.

Here's how program supervisors use incident reports:
  • Monitored incident reports and ensured that the necessary and appropriate response to incident or other appropriate action has been implemented.
  • Monitor and investigates, when necessary, incident/accident/unusual incident reports and implements appropriate plans of correction.

11. HR

HR stands for human resources and is used to describe the set of people who work for a company or an organization. HR responsibilities revolve around updating employee records and carrying out management processes like planning, recruitment, evaluation, and selection processes. HR is a key contributor to any company or organization's growth as they are in charge of hiring the right employees, processing payrolls, conducting disciplinary actions, etc.

Here's how program supervisors use hr:
  • Document supervisory activities in accordance with required HR policies.
  • Assisted HR in creating an employee retention plan including revised performance reviews, employee performance improvement plans, and performance reviews.

12. Direct Supervision

Direct supervision is a term used to indicate that a person is supervising a certain task or a certain person while being physically present or in close proximity. It refers to the presence of a person and the availability of their supervision in something if it is needed.

Here's how program supervisors use direct supervision:
  • Provided direct supervision, training and guidance to Community Living Specialists, ensuring implementation of IEP/IHP goals and behavioral protocols.
  • Provided direct supervision of educational instructors and ensuring that all program youth educational requirements were met at public school standards.

13. Staff Schedules

Here's how program supervisors use staff schedules:
  • Create monthly staff schedules to ensure that coverage is provided 24 hours a day 7 days a week at the residence.
  • Organize, and supervise professional, volunteer and support staff schedules to ensure use of best practices and program excellence.

14. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how program supervisors use cpr:
  • Developed and implemented an Emergency Response team trained in First Aid, CPR, AED, and fire extinguisher training.
  • Lead Yearly re certification training's for CPR, AED, and American Red Cross First Aid and Water Rescue.

15. Crisis Intervention

Here's how program supervisors use crisis intervention:
  • Directed daily operation of residential treatment center, supervised Socio-Therapy staff Facilitated group therapy and preformed crisis intervention
  • Supervised seven staff members responsible for ensuring the safety of our community as well providing crisis intervention.
top-skills

What skills help Program Supervisors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What program supervisor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Jordan Levy Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Anthropology, Pacific Lutheran University

Some students enter college having taken a "gap year" between high school and university. Any kind of volunteer or work experience that further develops their interpersonal communication skills is beneficial for the range of discussion and small group work that university-level classes require. Some students do service projects in other countries, which is great because they also gain international experiences that contribute to their overall formation as informed global citizens. These experiences can then tell what kinds of classes they take in university and can remain a source of inspiration for what careers they pursue.

What type of skills will young program supervisors need?

Jamelyn Tobery-Nystrom

Coordinator of M.Ed. Special Education, Frostburg State University

Special education needs are wide and varying, depending on position and state/jurisdiction needs. In general, knowledge and experience in the Autism Spectrum is a high need area. Knowledge and skills in behavioral/mental health are also in demand. Indeed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to adapt instruction online is a new skill area for special education teachers.

What technical skills for a program supervisor stand out to employers?

Angela Sebby Ph.D.Angela Sebby Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, Western Carolina University

Business, creative, and organizational skills - I would recommend that upcoming graduates are proficient in Word, Excel (highly used), Powerpoint, Outlook (especially how to send meeting requests and calendar organization), TEAMS, Gantt charts for team management, Mindmapping for creativity, and design software. Additionally, I would recommend that they learn how to properly utilize social media for marketing and PR, not just personal posting. Finally, email etiquette would be essential.

What soft skills should all program supervisors possess?

Todd TerryTodd Terry LinkedIn profile

Department Chair, Management, Davenport University

Graduates as they prepare to enter the workforce should pay particular attention to their ability to communicate with coworkers. This communication could happen through face-to-face interactions, remote meetings with the aid of technology for example, meeting by computer software, written communication through instant messaging, or emails. Also, part of communicating is being a good listener.
Graduates should have good critical thinking skills. They will need to be adaptive and able to analyze data to make good informed decisions.
In today's work environment, working on teams is a regular function. Therefore, employers are looking for the candidate who can professionally interact with other team members, have a positive attitude and a good work ethic.

List of program supervisor skills to add to your resume

Program supervisor skills

The most important skills for a program supervisor resume and required skills for a program supervisor to have include:

  • Autism
  • Social Work
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Mental Health
  • Work Ethic
  • Oversight
  • Patients
  • Customer Service
  • Mental Illness
  • Incident Reports
  • HR
  • Direct Supervision
  • Staff Schedules
  • CPR
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Math
  • Professional Development
  • Foster Care
  • Service Delivery
  • Immunization
  • Applied Behavior Analysis
  • Medication Administration
  • Community Resources
  • Clinical Supervision
  • Data Collection
  • Substance Abuse
  • Staff Development
  • Performance Evaluations
  • Staff Training
  • Employee Scheduling
  • Community Agencies
  • Program Development
  • Program Policies
  • Staff Performance
  • ABA
  • Performance Reviews
  • Direct Reports
  • ISP
  • Program Operations
  • Administrative Supervision
  • Residential Program
  • Support Services
  • Program Budget
  • Disciplinary Actions
  • Crisis Management
  • Technical Assistance
  • Federal Regulations

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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