How to hire a senior program associate

How to hire a senior program associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior program associate hiring guide:

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

What does a senior program associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior program associate you need to hire. Certain senior program associate 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 senior program associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior program associates 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 senior program associates.

   Type of Senior Program Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Program Associate	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.	$17-40
   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... Show more	$31-92
   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... Show more	$15-53

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Phone Calls
   • Program Management
   • PowerPoint
   • Data Collection
   • Data Analysis
   • Technical Assistance
   • Professional Development
   • Salesforce
   • Financial Reports
   • HR
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Event Planning
   • Direct Care
   • Developmental Disabilities

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Conduct daily clinical documentation audits, manage consumer financial accounts, provide oversight and approval for all treatment and discharge planning.
   • Assist with the logistics of the sessions provide.
   • Coordinate with other USG and USAID agencies to maximize level of benefits and service provide to the targeted groups.
   • Coordinate logistics and itineraries for field monitoring missions, internal and external meetings, workshops, and program launching events.
   • Develop and copyright modular debugging routines in SAS.
   • Develop PowerPoint presentations for use during program-relate events and activities.

   More senior program associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior program associate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior program associate salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior program associates' average salary in arkansas is 56% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior program associates earn 56% less than senior-level senior program associates.
   • Certifications. A senior program associate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior program associate's salary.

   Average senior program associate salary

   $56,190yearly

   $27.01 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior program associate salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average senior program associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$88,479	$43
   2	New York	$72,912	$35
   3	Massachusetts	$69,043	$33
   4	Washington	$68,484	$33
   5	New Jersey	$66,880	$32
   6	District of Columbia	$60,540	$29
   7	Maryland	$59,884	$29
   8	Virginia	$58,376	$28
   9	Illinois	$55,422	$27
   10	Pennsylvania	$52,680	$25
   11	Rhode Island	$52,102	$25
   12	Georgia	$50,045	$24
   13	Texas	$49,668	$24
   14	Ohio	$46,100	$22
   15	Minnesota	$45,173	$22
   16	Colorado	$43,049	$21
   17	North Carolina	$38,664	$19
   18	Mississippi	$38,207	$18
   19	Nebraska	$37,141	$18
   20	Missouri	$36,637	$18

   Average senior program associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$142,193	$68.36	108
   2	Neuberger Berman	$132,282	$63.60	3
   3	VMware	$130,219	$62.61
   4	Citi	$126,183	$60.66	7
   5	J.P. Morgan	$122,223	$58.76
   6	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$120,727	$58.04
   7	Merrill Lynch	$119,550	$57.48
   8	AARP	$119,413	$57.41	1
   9	Guild Education	$115,925	$55.73
   10	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$114,032	$54.82	102
   11	Pacific Gas and Electric	$113,692	$54.66
   12	Amazon	$112,674	$54.17	256
   13	AIG	$110,594	$53.17	5
   14	Celanese	$108,481	$52.15
   15	Fidelity Investments	$105,972	$50.95	14
   16	Wells Fargo	$105,615	$50.78	6
   17	Sears Holdings	$102,344	$49.20
   18	Grant Thornton	$102,243	$49.16	2
   19	The Aspen Institute	$100,951	$48.53	5
   20	U.S. Pharmacopeia	$100,403	$48.27

4. Writing a senior program associate job description

   A good senior program associate job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior program associate job description:

   Senior program associate job description example

   The Program Associate is responsible for supporting the program(s) to which they are assigned by serving in a detailed, subject specific role. For most CMA programs, such as hubs, reimbursement hotlines, patient assistance programs, co-payment programs, and other programs, a Program Associate will be responsible for reviewing and communicating program expertise in areas such as training, call quality and quality monitoring, reports, workflow management, and program-specific customer services. The Program Associate is responsible for identifying service trends, escalating issues to the Supervisor, and participating in client-facing meetings as needed. In support of the Supervisor, the Program Associate will coach and mentor team members.
   
   The Program Associate must think critically and analytically and have strong oral and written communication skills. The Program Associate must be a self-starter who will take initiative in advancing their subject matter expertise, and they will work in a very detail-oriented manner while considering how their role and expertise will support the success of the program as a whole.
   
   The Program Associate is expected to support the staff, program(s) and the Supervisor in the following areas (but not limited to):
   * Agent Training and Coaching
   Stay current on the program's latest procedures to ensure all training materials and reference guides remain in compliance. Regularly monitor and review training materials to determine effectiveness, and provide feedback on recommendations for improvement in future training sessions. Ensure that program training, quality, and audit requirements stay in compliance. Responsible for leading training sessions for staff within assigned program and assisting in delivering training focused on the program's available service offerings, standard operating procedures, and software systems if needed. Responsible for monitoring new agent performance. Serve as an ongoing coach and mentor once agent trainings have been completed. Coordinate with other functional teams/groups to maintain and update training programs as needed, and stay current with business requirements. Collaborate with other groups to identify training needs to ensure consistent call quality expectations are met. Support Supervisors and the Program Manager, Service Delivery by listening to agent calls to assess customer service levels on program(s) and provide feedback. Client and Program Communication Expresses thoughts and instructions clearly in both oral and written communication; i.e. uses grammatically correct, clear, and concise language. Respond to questions from client contacts, Program Manager, Service Delivery and/or Account Director, program customers as appropriate. Identify and escalate program trends based on the questions commonly received; contribute to recommendations to address issues as necessary. Manage program call escalations; listen to customers, identify solutions, and follow through on next steps, as needed. Attend client meetings to support the program and Supervisor, as needed. Reporting and Analytics Prepare and interpret standard monthly and ad hoc reports for the program(s), identify and communicate trends and noticeable issues to Supervisor regularly. Proactively identify opportunities for program process and performance improvement; coordinate with Supervisor and Program Manager, Service Delivery to assess and implement changes, if necessary. Apply analytical problem solving skills to address program issues and challenges. Program Specific Knowledge Thoroughly understand program processes to serve as the team lead/subject matter expert; lend technical expertise when needed. Identify team member program-specific knowledge gaps from agent calls; escalate issues to Supervisor and participate in working sessions to come up with recommendations to improve. Participate in interview panels to interview Program Specialists and Program Representatives, as needed. Other duties as assigned.
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   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior program associates 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.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting senior program associates requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 senior program associate

   Once you've found the senior program associate candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior program associate. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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