How to hire a regional program director

How to hire a regional program director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step regional program director hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the regional program director you need to hire. Certain regional program director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A regional program director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, regional program directors 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 regional program directors.

   Type of Regional Program Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Regional Program Director	Producers and directors create motion pictures, television shows, live theater, commercials, and other performing arts productions. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain or inform an audience.	$21-59
   Director Of After School Program	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... Show more	$14-38
   Program Manager	A program manager is responsible for monitoring the project's progress, improving and developing new strategies, and coordinate various projects across the organization to ensure the success of the business objective. Program managers also manage the program's expenses, ensuring that the projects adhere to the budget goals without compromising the quality and accuracy of the result... Show more	$31-67

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Rehabilitation
   • Oversight
   • Service Delivery
   • Medicare
   • Social Work
   • Mental Health
   • Program Development
   • Strategic Plan
   • Medicaid
   • Staff Development
   • Coordinators
   • Community Resources
   • Alumni
   • Direct Reports

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Establish and manage the mid-Atlantic regional office of a privately own legal education company that provide educational services to law students.
   • Provide general oversight of a drug court program, day treatment program and detention center.
   • Negotiate network contracts with healthcare facilities, physician groups, and ancillary providers utilizing various reimbursement methodologies and risk sharing arrangements.
   • Establish and manage the mid-Atlantic regional office of a privately own legal education company that provide educational services to law students.

   More regional program director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the regional program director job description is a good way to get more applicants. A regional program director 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 regional program director in Hawaii may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level regional program director. Additionally, a regional program director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average regional program director salary

   $75,546yearly

   $36.32 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level regional program director salary

   $45,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average regional program director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$117,566	$57
   2	District of Columbia	$104,490	$50
   3	California	$95,158	$46
   4	Georgia	$89,726	$43
   5	North Carolina	$71,072	$34
   6	Illinois	$67,134	$32
   7	Pennsylvania	$65,618	$32
   8	Colorado	$65,602	$32
   9	Michigan	$65,372	$31
   10	Florida	$61,716	$30
   11	Virginia	$61,521	$30
   12	Minnesota	$58,206	$28
   13	Texas	$57,063	$27
   14	Tennessee	$57,057	$27
   15	Missouri	$57,000	$27
   16	Kansas	$55,510	$27
   17	Mississippi	$52,605	$25
   18	Wisconsin	$47,072	$23

   Average regional program director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	$134,530	$64.68
   2	Kaiser Permanente	$132,835	$63.86	49
   3	University of California	$121,954	$58.63	40
   4	Hunter Engineering	$112,742	$54.20
   5	Encompass Health	$105,900	$50.91	54
   6	Emory Healthcare	$89,475	$43.02	39
   7	City Of Alexandria	$84,803	$40.77
   8	iDE	$80,392	$38.65
   9	The Walsh Group	$79,174	$38.06	22
   10	LifePoint Health	$75,792	$36.44	40
   11	Summer Search	$74,341	$35.74	2
   12	Univ. Of Texas Cancer Ctr.	$73,112	$35.15	38
   13	North-West College - West Covina	$73,094	$35.14
   14	Unitek Learning	$73,094	$35.14	7
   15	Ymca Of Metropolitan Atlanta	$70,603	$33.94	12
   16	SSM Health	$68,480	$32.92	4
   17	Florida Technical College	$61,333	$29.49	1
   18	Urban Resources	$57,719	$27.75
   19	Merakey	$49,514	$23.80	60
   20	UMFS	$48,098	$23.12

4. Writing a regional program director job description

   A regional program director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a regional program director job description:

   Regional program director job description example

   REGIONAL MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS DIRECTOR
   
   SAN FRANCISCO AND CONTRA COSTA MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS
   
   Under the supervision of the Chief Program Officer, the Regional Mental Health Programs Director has the primary responsibility for managing the day to day operations of A Better Way's Contra Costa County and San Francisco County, Mental Health Programs. The Regional Mental Health Programs Director will act as principal liaison to the respective programs' contractor and other external stakeholders. They will coordinate a variety of therapeutic services; oversee the referral, intake and assignment of cases; provide leadership, supervision and support to the programs, and manage all aspects of daily operations, including staffing, contract utilization and personnel issues.
   
   The Regional Mental Health Programs Director will work closely with the quality assurance department to ensure high standards of service and documentation. They will monitor the program budget and manage expenditures responsibly. As a member of our Senior Leadership Team, they will take an active role in strategic planning and will closely collaborate with other senior leaders to bring alive A Better Way's mission and values in all aspects of operations.
   
   Duties and Responsibilities:
   
   Direct and lead two community based mental health programs, serving children, youth and their families
   Manage staffing, personnel, contract fulfillment, budget utilization, services and performance of the Mental Health Program
   Develop and maintain KPIs that reflect the activities of San Francisco and Contra Costa County Health Programs
   Provide leadership that advances A Better Way's mission to empower children and families to develop the insights, life skills, and permanent relationships that promote their social, emotional, educational and economic well- being
   Foster a program culture that embodies A Better Way's values of Family Empowerment, Cultural Humility, Successful Outcomes; Community Collaboration, & Professional Workforce
   Develop and maintain partnership with Contra Costa County, and the City & County of San Francisco
   Attend County meetings as required
   Directly supervise Mental Health Clinical Supervisors, and oversee the programs' respective administrative teams.
   Provide clinical supervision to mental health clinicians as needed
   Ensure that clinical supervision is supported by a supervisory plan which identifies skills, knowledge, and attitude that are the focus for professional development.
   Maintain regular coordination with the Quality Assurance/ department, tracking, and trending of outcomes.
   Maintain and develop adequate operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and compliance to meet and exceed the clinical and financial goals of the program
   Ensure that therapeutic activities include, but are not limited to, individual and family therapeutic activities that are congruent with the client's individual treatment plan
   Ensure adherence to all procedures and protocols related to MediCal/EPSDT
   Meet all contractual expectations; including documentation standards, timeliness of progress notes , and effective chart management.
   Ensure adherence to all regulatory guidelines, mandated reporting requirements, program/agency protocols, and A Better Way's personnel manual
   Work in collaboration with the training department, to facilitate delivery of relevant training
   Ensure that staff professional development is supported and confirm the development of relevant professional competencies
   Partner with the Facilities department to ensure the site is properly maintained
   Performance of other duties as directed by the Chief Program Officer.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   Licensed Psychologist, Social Worker, or Marriage and Family Therapist
   3-5 years post licensure
   Experience in a leadership/administrative role providing supervision and guidance to mental health programs
   Experience and alignment with a culture of collaborative leadership
   Ability to balance reflective and directive leadership styles
   Strong familiarity with the child welfare/social service systems
   Knowledge and experience providing MediCal/EPSDT-funded mental health services to children and families
   Experienced with in-home and community-based modalities
   Experience with Early Childhood Mental Health preferred
   Alignment with high standards for Cultural Humility and experience working with people from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
   Ability to communicate with strength, kindness and authenticity to clients, families, collateral contacts and coworkers throughout A Better Way
   Knowledge of Excel and ability to oversee many aspects of budget utilization
   Expert understanding of mental health treatment modalities that are evidence-based, family centered, team-driven, capacity-building, and strengths-based
   Understanding of DSM-V
   Livescan needed to work with children, Valid California driver's license and a good driving record.
   
   Work Environment
   
   While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works in an office setting. This position is eligible for telecommuting.
   
   Physical Demands
   
   The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
   
   While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands and fingers to handle, feel, or operate objects, tools or controls, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is frequently required to stand, talk and hear.
   
   Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
   
   This is a full-time position. Offices hours of operations are usually Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Evening and weekends may be required based on business needs.
   
   Travel
   
   Local travel to various worksites is required.
   
   Work Authorization/Security Clearance
   
   Livescan and TB screenings prior to employment. Driving records will be examined in application of the Agency's Driver Safety Program. Compliance with Agency's Vaccination policy.
   
   A Better Way is committed to workforce diversity. Qualified applicants will receive full consideration without regard to age, race, color, ethnic background, religion, gender, sexual orientation, HIV-status, national origin or disability. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right regional program director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your regional program director job on Zippia to find and recruit regional program director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with regional program director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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.

   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 regional program director

   Once you've decided on a perfect regional program director 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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