How to hire a program support specialist

How to hire a program support specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step program support specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a program support specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new program support specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a program support specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a program support specialist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A program support specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, program support specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of program support specialists.

   Type of Program Support Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Program Support Specialist	Computer support specialists provide help and advice to people and organizations using computer software or equipment. Some, called computer network support specialists, support information technology (IT) employees within their organization... Show more	$12-27
   Support Lead	A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members... Show more	$30-56
   Program Analyst	The job of program analysts is to plan, manage, and evaluate a company's computer programs. They usually perform different tasks, including researching and analyzing complex data to identify trends and offer the best recommendations for improvements... Show more	$25-50

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Program Support
   • Veterans
   • PowerPoint
   • Program Management
   • Data Entry
   • Community Resources
   • Support Services
   • SharePoint
   • Social Work
   • CPR
   • HR
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Data Analysis
   • Management System

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead SharePoint implementation project to include customize conference room application through design, beta testing, and phase roll out.
   • Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
   • Enforce HIPAA compliance to ensure patient confidentiality without any violations to date.
   • Serve in advance level technical position in a high volume DMV regulatory unit.
   • Create and develop visual presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint.
   • Process independent corrections/updates to DMV records as determined through customer contact and research.

   More program support specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the program support specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A program support specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a program support specialist in Minnesota may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level program support specialist. Additionally, a program support specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average program support specialist salary

   $39,327yearly

   $18.91 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level program support specialist salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average program support specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Hawaii	$54,895	$26
   2	New Jersey	$53,317	$26
   3	New York	$51,593	$25
   4	California	$50,108	$24
   5	Maryland	$48,885	$24
   6	New Mexico	$48,416	$23
   7	Virginia	$46,772	$22
   8	District of Columbia	$46,147	$22
   9	Texas	$44,082	$21
   10	Massachusetts	$43,593	$21
   11	Illinois	$43,100	$21
   12	Colorado	$42,991	$21
   13	Georgia	$42,556	$20
   14	Pennsylvania	$41,592	$20
   15	South Carolina	$40,728	$20
   16	North Carolina	$40,329	$19
   17	Oklahoma	$39,282	$19
   18	Oregon	$38,092	$18
   19	Iowa	$38,030	$18
   20	Ohio	$37,514	$18

   Average program support specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$67,710	$32.55	12
   2	Johnson Controls	$64,525	$31.02	27
   3	Citi	$60,214	$28.95	25
   4	Santa Fe Public Schools	$59,324	$28.52	1
   5	State University of New York College at Cortland	$56,757	$27.29	2
   6	Chicago Public Schools	$55,270	$26.57	9
   7	Axle Informatics	$51,876	$24.94
   8	Marysville Joint Unified School District	$51,592	$24.80	1
   9	Coursera	$51,384	$24.70
   10	Clario	$50,415	$24.24	2
   11	Westminster School District	$50,378	$24.22	3
   12	University of California-Berkeley	$50,373	$24.22
   13	American Career College	$49,517	$23.81	1
   14	Collins Aerospace	$49,232	$23.67
   15	Uber Technologies	$48,819	$23.47	1
   16	Appalachian Trail Conservancy	$47,382	$22.78
   17	NextGen Federal Systems	$46,689	$22.45	2
   18	Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (finra)	$46,585	$22.40	7
   19	University of Alaska	$46,519	$22.36	9
   20	Army National Guard	$46,274	$22.25	154

4. Writing a program support specialist job description

   A job description for a program support specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a program support specialist job description:

   Program support specialist job description example

   $500 Hiring Bonus! Weekend Premium Pay!

   Residential Services, Inc. (RSI) is currently recruiting qualified applicants to supervise/train/evaluate staff and provide support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a group home setting!
   

   RSI, guided by our Core Values, supports people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Orange County, NC. We are seeking the next energetic and self-motivated person to join our team. We are excited to add additional help to our team and find the next person to further our mission!

   Our Core Values:

   We Care About People | We Build Relationships | We Respond We Lead by Example | We Enjoy What We Do

   Supervisor Job Summary:

   1) Coordinate the development of residents' ongoing daily schedules within a group home setting according to their Individual Support Plans.

   2) Provide support and supervision of RSI residents to lead self-directed lives and to participate fully in their home and community environments.

   3) Create a hospitable and professional work environment and function as a positive role model for residents and staff.

   4) Promote health, safety, and wellness of all residents.

   5) Provide supervision to employees, including hiring and evaluating staff.

   6) Promote RSI's Mission, Vision, Values, and Policies &Procedures.

   7) Ensure proper care and maintenance of assigned building, grounds, and vehicle.

   Benefits:

   Employees enjoy the benefit of a fun, casual work environment based on teamwork. $500 hiring bonus! On-call Stipend, hourly pay for direct support work, weekend premium pay, paid training, Employee Referral Bonus ($300 per new hire!), health/dental/life/vision insurance, Short-term disability/Accidental coverage, Paid Time Off (15 days per year), Employee Assistance Plan, Educational Assistance and more!

   Minimum Qualifications:

   Bachelor's Degree in a human service related field and at least two years of supervised experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities, supervisory experience, and a valid driver's license.

   OR

   Bachelor's Degree in a field other than one related to developmental disabilities and at least four years of supervised experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities, supervisory experience, and a valid driver's license.

   To apply and learn more visit our website at: jobs.rsi-nc.org
   

   
   
   Job Posted by ApplicantPro
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find program support specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find program support specialist candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit program support specialists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with program support specialist applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new program support specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect program support specialist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a program support specialist?