A senior program coordinator coordinates the planning, development, and implementation of various meeting, seminars, conferences, and other duties assigned by the Program Director. They ensure that everything runs smoothly and with efficiency. They oversee almost every aspect of a particular program running in the company, from budgeting, to personnel, to establishing guidelines and making sure they are implemented properly.
As a senior program coordinator, some of the functions that they perform are overseeing and directing the project team, hiring and training personnel for a specific project, scheduling events, developing the guidelines and boundaries of the project, and making sure they are adhered to in every way, so as to not go out of budget or cause harm to the organization's reputation. Qualifications include a bachelor's degree in international studies, political science or a related field; however, a master's degree will be given preference for such a senior position. In addition, relevant proven work experience of four or more years will also be required. Essential skills required include communication, research, interpersonal, computer software knowledge, and organizational.
The average hourly salary for the position is $26.27, which amounts to $54,647 annually. The career is likely to grow in the following years and create new opportunities all across the United States.
Senior Program Coordinator Overview
Working as a Senior Program Coordinator
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior program coordinator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.27 an hour? That's $54,647 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 11,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Senior Program Coordinator Do
There are certain skills that many senior program coordinators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed decision-making skills, leadership skills and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a senior program coordinator, we found that a lot of resumes listed 6.5% of senior program coordinators included alumni, while 5.3% of resumes included special events, and 4.9% of resumes included powerpoint. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the senior program coordinator job title. But what industry to start with? Most senior program coordinators actually find jobs in the non profits and health care industries.
How To Become a Senior Program Coordinator
If you're interested in becoming a senior program coordinator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 40.1% of senior program coordinators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 39.3% of senior program coordinators have master's degrees. Even though most senior program coordinators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a senior program coordinator. When we researched the most common majors for a senior program coordinator, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on senior program coordinator resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a senior program coordinator. In fact, many senior program coordinator jobs require experience in a role such as program coordinator. Meanwhile, many senior program coordinators also have previous career experience in roles such as administrative assistant or internship.
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Senior Program Coordinator Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a senior program coordinator can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as program manager, progress to a title such as general manager and then eventually end up with the title center director.
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Average Salary for a Senior Program Coordinator
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
H-GAC Senior Program Coordinator Senior Program Coordinator | H-GAC H-GAC | 12/21/2020 12/21/2020 | $51,61412/21/2020 $51,614 |
Health Research, Inc. Senior Program Coordinator Senior Program Coordinator | Health Research, Inc. Health Research, Inc. | 11/20/2020 11/20/2020 | $84,31811/20/2020 $84,318 |
Health Research, Inc. Senior Program Coordinator Senior Program Coordinator | Health Research, Inc. Health Research, Inc. | 10/26/2020 10/26/2020 | $84,31810/26/2020 $84,318 |
Health Research, Inc. Senior Program Coordinator-Temporary Senior Program Coordinator-Temporary | Health Research, Inc. Health Research, Inc. | 09/19/2020 09/19/2020 | $84,31809/19/2020 $84,318 |
University of Missouri-Kansas City SR. Program Project Support Coordinator, 77058 (AVR Coordinator) SR. Program Project Support Coordinator, 77058 (AVR Coordinator) | University of Missouri-Kansas City University of Missouri-Kansas City | 08/31/2020 08/31/2020 | $50,00008/31/2020 $50,000 |
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Top Colleges for Senior Program Coordinators
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Public
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Public
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Public
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Top Skills For a Senior Program Coordinator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 6.5% of senior program coordinators listed alumni on their resume, but soft skills such as decision-making skills and leadership skills are important as well.
- Alumni, 6.5%
- Special Events, 5.3%
- Powerpoint, 4.9%
- SR, 4.7%
- HR, 4.6%
- Other Skills, 74.0% See All Senior Program Coordinator Skills
Best States For a Senior Program Coordinator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a senior program coordinator. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Senior program coordinators make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $68,487. Whereas in Minnesota and Massachusetts, they would average $64,593 and $60,334, respectively. While senior program coordinators would only make an average of $60,010 in New Hampshire, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Minnesota
$64,594
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$68,488
Avg. Salary
3. District of Columbia
$68,322
Avg. Salary