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What does a program supervisor do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Sheying Chen Ph.D.
What does a program supervisor do

A program supervisor is an individual who coordinates and monitors the scheduling and technical performance of company programs. Program supervisors aid in negotiating contracts and are responsible for any contractual changes. They recommend changes to the plans to improve process efficiency and develop solutions to any program problems. Program supervisors work under a manager's supervision and the role requires a bachelor's degree with relevant job experience. They are also independent at the same time and can collaborate with other staff members.

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Program supervisor responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real program supervisor resumes:

  • Conduct daily clinical documentation audits, manage consumer financial accounts, provide oversight and approval for all treatment and discharge planning.
  • MAP (medication administration), first aid, and CPR certify.
  • Train staff on CPR first aid.
  • Maintain state compliance (HIPAA, HUD, DDS, and Medicaid).
  • Develop curriculum for kids classes and adult classes.
  • Update and maintain timekeeping system with employee files.
  • Ensure all records are maintain and consistent with OMH and HIPAA regulations.
  • Assist in the coordination of household repairs and maintaining the general upkeep and cleanliness of the house.
  • Maintain Irene's equipment, including service calls, security, cleanliness, orderliness and integrity of Irene's space.
  • Perform employee and subcontractor timekeeping audits.
  • Provide logistics consultation services to foreign military sales and technical support personnel.
  • Relocate government own inventory into company business system while maintaining DOD compliance.
  • Research and analyze factors which contribute to improving public health and rehabilitation programs.
  • Deliver advanced clinical counseling services to chemically dependent patients in coordination with interdisciplinary team!
  • Provide oversight to internal peer utilization review process to assure that clinical documentation meet Medi-Cal/EPSDT standards.

Program supervisor skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Program Supervisors are proficient in Autism, Social Work, and Developmental Disabilities. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Leadership skills, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Program Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Autism, 8%

    Developed and implemented treatment plans for children with developmental disabilities and autism.

  • Social Work, 7%

    Provide clinical and administrative supervision to clinical staff and masters level social work student interns.

  • Developmental Disabilities, 7%

    Supervised, coordinated, trained individuals with developmental disabilities in developing independent community living skills including domestic and social skills.

  • Mental Health, 7%

    Provide after hours services to hospital emergency department in dealing with substance abuse and mental health involuntary commitment evaluations and referral.

  • Work Ethic, 7%

    Awarded to an individual for outstanding service and professional work ethic displayed throughout previous year.

  • Oversight, 6%

    Conducted daily clinical documentation audits, managed consumer financial accounts, provided oversight and approval for all treatment and discharge planning.

Common skills that a program supervisor uses to do their job include "autism," "social work," and "developmental disabilities." You can find details on the most important program supervisor responsibilities below.

Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a program supervisor to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "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." Additionally, a program supervisor resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "monitored patients daily maintained inventory database recorded daily progression and activities"

Leadership skills. Many program supervisor duties rely on leadership skills. "directors instruct actors and help them portray their characters in a believable manner," so a program supervisor will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways program supervisor responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "determined nature of hiring obstacles and partners with hr & program leadership to resolve them. "

Communication skills. This is an important skill for program supervisors to perform their duties. For an example of how program supervisor 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 supervisor: "respond to and de-escalate youth crises through communication and safe crisis management. ".

See the full list of program supervisor skills

The three companies that hire the most program supervisors are:

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Compare different program supervisors

Program supervisor vs. Assistant director

Assistant directors are employees in show business who directly support directors. They may be working on a film, television show, or theatre production. Assistant directors are the second-in-command on the set. They take over for the director when he/she or she is unable to work. Assistant directors should be familiar with the script and the scenes. They are usually heavily involved in the conception of the production. They ensure that the plans are executed well by assisting in the selection of the cast and crew, production sets, and other set providers. They also make sure that shoot days or performance days go without a hitch by ironing out all the details in advance and preparing alternatives.

We looked at the average program supervisor salary and compared it with the wages of an assistant director. Generally speaking, assistant directors are paid $17,603 higher than program supervisors per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between program supervisors and assistant directors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like oversight, customer service, and direct supervision.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a program supervisor are more likely to require skills like "autism," "social work," "developmental disabilities," and "mental health." On the other hand, a job as an assistant director requires skills like "child care," "payroll," "alumni," and "human resources." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Assistant directors tend to reach lower levels of education than program supervisors. In fact, assistant directors are 6.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Program supervisor vs. Sports director

Sports directors update the management about anything relating to sports. They participate in strategic planning and policy-making as needed by the management. Besides preparing, monitoring, and updating yearly departments plans after consulting their colleagues, sports directors also manage daily administrative tasks like keeping accurate records, arranging sports fixtures and departmental timetables, and ensuring departmental efficiency. These professionals supervise the development teams, academy teams, training ground environment, and performance departments, including sports science and medical science.

Sports director positions earn higher pay than program supervisor roles. They earn a $15,751 higher salary than program supervisors per year.A few skills overlap for program supervisors and sports directors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "cpr," "staff training," and "program development. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, program supervisor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "autism," "social work," "developmental disabilities," and "mental health." Meanwhile, a sports director has duties that require skills in areas such as "soccer," "softball," "volleyball," and "sports stories." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Sports directors earn lower levels of education than program supervisors in general. They're 13.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for program supervisors in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Sheying Chen Ph.D.Dr. Sheying Chen Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Public Administration/Social Policy, Pace University

The economy will eventually recover, though its structure and job composition may be quite different. Public administration has to adapt to those fundamental changes with retraining, renovation, etc. with more muscular accountability control, particularly for new entrants to the labor force. Experts suggest that the pandemic's primary consequence is to accelerate the timeline of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) we had already anticipated. Policymakers should push for investments in institutions that closely tie worker skills to employers' needs, as the economy recovers after COVID-19.

Program supervisor vs. News director

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.

On average scale, news directors bring in higher salaries than program supervisors. In fact, they earn a $12,074 higher salary per year.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from program supervisor resumes include skills like "autism," "social work," "developmental disabilities," and "mental health," whereas a news director is more likely to list skills in "news content," "news coverage," "facebook," and "twitter. "

When it comes to education, news directors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to program supervisors. In fact, they're 16.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Program supervisor vs. Director of after school program

Directors of after school program typically earn higher pay than program supervisors. On average, directors of after school program earn a $4,188 higher salary per year.While their salaries may vary, program supervisors and directors of after school program both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "social work," "hr," and "cpr. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "autism," "developmental disabilities," "mental health," and "work ethic" are skills that commonly show up on program supervisor resumes. On the other hand, directors of after school program use skills like youth development, child care, doh, and provide academic support on their resumes.directors of after school program enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $47,587. For comparison, program supervisors earn the highest salary in the government industry.The average resume of directors of after school program showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to program supervisors. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.

Types of program supervisor

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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