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What does a senior program officer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

Senior program officers are professionals who are responsible for supervising program development while working with grant recipients to ensure effective use of the organization's resources. These officers must coordinate with the grants administrator or office manager about initial screening and prioritizing of new proposals. They must represent the organization at conferences and community meetings to develop and maintain relationships with existing and prospective partners and stakeholders. Senior program officers must also provide training and coaching that supports the professional development of program associates.

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Senior program officer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior program officer resumes:

  • Lead the development and implementation of over 35 sub-agreements and budgets, with partner NGOs.
  • Achieve superior customer results by improving and integrating proprietary chemistry tests.
  • Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
  • Assist study coordinators with IRB submissions.
  • Insure compliance with Medicaid and BCFS paperwork standards.
  • Introduce CMMI methodology as a means of strategically evolving the PMO.
  • Design and conduct trainings with political parties and NGOs in Peru and Colombia.
  • Provide technical and managerial oversight for multiple projects.
  • Project include all support and infrastructure for the residential development.
  • Provide oversight, monitoring and analyzes for regional, garrison/installation resource execution.
  • Compile accomplishment and progress reports of the infrastructure projects.identify and recommend appropriate measures on issues concerning project implementation.
  • Implement process improvements and Medicare department reorganization that establish a foundation for improve member outcomes and satisfaction and increase product margins.
  • Check complete logs for accuracy and conformance with FCC rules and regulations and resolve program log inaccuracies.
  • Learned how to separate and analyze DNA with gel electrophoresis.
  • Achieve superior customer results by improving and integrating proprietary chemistry tests.

Senior program officer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Senior Program Officers are proficient in Data Analysis, Global Health, and HR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Managerial skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.

We break down the percentage of Senior Program Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Data Analysis, 8%

    Produced several policy briefs using qualitative, quantitative and categorical data analysis.

  • Global Health, 7%

    Provided policy analysis, political guidance, grant management and government relations support for global health program and senior leadership.

  • HR, 7%

    Support the PM in managing the HR aspects (performance assessment, IAPs, capacity building support).

  • Technical Assistance, 5%

    Performed site visits and quality assurance observation, provided technical assistance to grantees and close out reporting on grantees/activities.

  • Data Collection, 5%

    Coordinated in the M&E capacity building and data collection within ChildFund PNG and other partners.

  • SCI, 5%

    Write annual grant request on behalf of SCI Fund to Pfleger Foundation for $50K.

"data analysis," "global health," and "hr" are among the most common skills that senior program officers use at work. You can find even more senior program officer responsibilities below, including:

Creativity. A big part of what senior program officers do relies on "creativity." You can see how essential it is to senior program officer responsibilities 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." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior program officer tasks: "designed pragmatic, end-to-end greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions inventory solutions for local governments. "

Communication skills. Another common skill required for senior program officer responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior program officers all the time, as "producers and directors must convey information and ideas clearly in order to coordinate many people to finish a production on time and within budget." An excerpt from a real senior program officer resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior program officer does: "directed communications & media - press releases & book forewords; op-eds / special articles for publications. "

Leadership skills. While "leadership skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to senior program officer responsibilities. Much of what a senior program officer does relies on this skill, seeing as "directors instruct actors and help them portray their characters in a believable manner." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of senior program officers: "provided technical and programmatic leadership and support to community based organizations on program design, data collection and reporting. "

Most common senior program officer skills

The three companies that hire the most senior program officers are:

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Compare different senior program officers

Senior program officer vs. Assistant director

Assistant directors are employees in show business who directly support directors. They may be working on a film, television show, or theatre production. Assistant directors are the second-in-command on the set. They take over for the director when he/she or she is unable to work. Assistant directors should be familiar with the script and the scenes. They are usually heavily involved in the conception of the production. They ensure that the plans are executed well by assisting in the selection of the cast and crew, production sets, and other set providers. They also make sure that shoot days or performance days go without a hitch by ironing out all the details in advance and preparing alternatives.

If we compare the average senior program officer annual salary with that of an assistant director, we find that assistant directors typically earn a $37,406 lower salary than senior program officers make annually.Even though senior program officers and assistant directors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require professional development, press releases, and strategic plan in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior program officer responsibilities require skills like "data analysis," "global health," "hr," and "technical assistance." Meanwhile a typical assistant director has skills in areas such as "customer service," "cpr," "child care," and "oversight." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, assistant directors reach lower levels of education than senior program officers. Assistant directors are 18.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Senior program officer 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.

A career as a director brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a senior program officer. In fact, directors salary is $13,020 higher than the salary of senior program officers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both senior program officers and directors have skills such as "professional development," "financial management," and "business development. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior program officer responsibilities requires skills like "data analysis," "global health," "hr," and "technical assistance." But a director might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "healthcare," "customer service," "oversight," and "project management."

Directors may earn a higher salary than senior program officers, but directors earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $155,819. On the other hand, senior program officers receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $119,657.directors earn lower levels of education than senior program officers in general. They're 14.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior program officer vs. News director

Sports directors update the management about anything relating to sports. They participate in strategic planning and policy-making as needed by the management. Besides preparing, monitoring, and updating yearly departments plans after consulting their colleagues, sports directors also manage daily administrative tasks like keeping accurate records, arranging sports fixtures and departmental timetables, and ensuring departmental efficiency. These professionals supervise the development teams, academy teams, training ground environment, and performance departments, including sports science and medical science.

On average, news directors earn lower salaries than senior program officers, with a $42,935 difference per year.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior program officers are more likely to have skills like "data analysis," "global health," "hr," and "technical assistance." But a news director is more likely to have skills like "news content," "news coverage," "facebook," and "twitter."

When it comes to education, news directors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior program officers. In fact, they're 27.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Senior program officer vs. Sports director

Sports directors tend to earn a lower pay than senior program officers by an average of $39,258 per year.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "data analysis," "global health," "hr," and "technical assistance" are skills that commonly show up on senior program officer resumes. On the other hand, sports directors use skills like soccer, cpr, softball, and volleyball on their resumes.The average resume of sports directors showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to senior program officers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 24.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 4.4%.

Types of senior program officer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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