What does a residential program director do?
Residential program director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real residential program director resumes:
- Manage program budgets and supervise staff to ensure that immunization and registry activities are successfully implement.
- Provide leadership and oversight of residential living/learning experience including curriculum design, budget management, and staff training.
- Provide oversight and supervision to dining and catering operations.
- Tackle strategic challenge to bolster state chapters wrought with leadership inconstancy and often, first-time delegates, unprepare for national-level participation.
- Coordinate with residential and recreational aides to implementation and consistent development and participation of evening recreation, ADL and educational activities.
Residential program director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Residential Program Directors are proficient in Autism, Mental Health, and Social Work. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Leadership skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Residential Program Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Autism, 14%
Conducted training programs for Active Treatment and Program Planning, Safe Driving, Autism Training, and Violence in the Workplace.
- Mental Health, 12%
Program Director with responsibilities for managing a residential program housing chronic mental health and substance abuse patients.
- Social Work, 10%
Interact with Social Workers on an as needed basis to provide better services for our consumers.
- Developmental Disabilities, 8%
Promoted to Program Director of three residential programs for individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities.
- Residential Program, 7%
Supervised/Managed over 20 employees in a State Residential Program setting for children with physical/emotional disabilities and behavior problems.
- Residential Treatment, 4%
Provide program oversight to ensure the orderly operations of the Men's Intensive Residential Treatment Program.
Common skills that a residential program director uses to do their job include "autism," "mental health," and "social work." You can find details on the most important residential program director responsibilities below.
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a residential program director to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what residential program directors do 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 residential program director resume shows how residential program directors use creativity: "managed program budgets, inventory and ordering of supplies and equipment. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform residential program director duties is leadership skills. Residential program directors responsibilities require that "directors instruct actors and help them portray their characters in a believable manner." Residential program directors also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide leadership to ensure efficiency of day-to-day operations, patient care and discharge planning. "
Communication skills. residential program directors are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to residential program director responsibilities, because "producers and directors must convey information and ideas clearly in order to coordinate many people to finish a production on time and within budget." A residential program director resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "facilitated communication within residential program and families ensuring coordinated treatment. "
The three companies that hire the most residential program directors are:
- Vinfen11 residential program directors jobs
- Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family4 residential program directors jobs
- Helio Health2 residential program directors jobs
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Residential program director vs. 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. 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, residential program director responsibilities require skills like "autism," "mental health," "developmental disabilities," and "residential program." Meanwhile a typical director of after school program has skills in areas such as "youth development," "child care," "doh," and "hr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Directors of after school program earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $47,587. On the other hand, residential program directors are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $64,343.The education levels that directors of after school program earn slightly differ from residential program directors. In particular, directors of after school program are 8.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a residential program director. Additionally, they're 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Residential program director vs. 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. A program manager should regularly connect with the different teams of every project under the program to keep track of the processes and procedures for the timely delivery of the product.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that residential program director responsibilities requires skills like "autism," "residential program," "residential treatment," and "mental illness." But a program manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "project management," "program management," "customer service," and "infrastructure."
On average, program managers earn a higher salary than residential program directors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, program managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $115,112. Whereas residential program directors have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $64,343.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Program managers tend to reach lower levels of education than residential program directors. In fact, they're 7.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Residential program director vs. Director of senior programs
In the healthcare industry, a director of senior programs is primarily in charge of overseeing the daily operations at senior centers, aiming to give residents a quality and efficient service. It is their duty to set objectives and guidelines, spearhead the development of programs and services, manage staff and delegate tasks, liaise with external parties such as sponsors and vendors, and address problems or concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, a director of senior programs must enforce the establishment or facility's safety policies and regulations to maintain a healthy and safe environment for everyone.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from residential program director resumes include skills like "autism," "mental health," "developmental disabilities," and "residential program," whereas a director of senior programs is more likely to list skills in "crm," "lead generation," "roi," and "project management. "
When it comes to education, directors of senior programs tend to earn lower degree levels compared to residential program directors. In fact, they're 7.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Residential program director vs. Director
Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between residential program directors and directors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a residential program director might have more use for skills like "autism," "mental health," "social work," and "developmental disabilities." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors require skills like "healthcare," "customer service," "project management," and "human resources. "
The finance industry tends to pay the highest salaries for directors, with average annual pay of $155,819. Comparatively, the highest residential program director annual salary comes from the health care industry.directors reach lower levels of education compared to residential program directors, in general. The difference is that they're 9.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of residential program director
Updated January 8, 2025











