What does a senior program specialist/program specialist do?
A senior program specialist must have multi-dimensional skills to handle programs. They work under the supervision of a program leader, associate director, or senior program director. They conduct critical research, manage contracts, and identify possible partners. They also give training to junior specialists in their company.
Senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior program specialist/program specialist resumes:
- Manage monetary, laptop and training supports for members living with HIV.
- Provide CPR training to staff.
- Proofread, code, document, and submit contractors' invoices to accounting.
- Produce accurate, properly format documents, PowerPoint presentations and reports under tight time constraints.
- Supervise a group home providing support services for adults with intellectual disabilities, schizophrenia and autism.
- Provide critical therapy to children with autism, ADHD, and other mental and behavioral problems.
- Utilize computer software programs to prepare, format and proofread correspondence, emails, memos reports, spreadsheets, etc.
- Develop PowerPoint orientation and written materials for new employees and conduct one-on-one orientations.
- Provide implementation and oversight of multiple tracking systems for safety regulation adherence, record maintenance, and internal and external interactions.
- Attend donors meeting and other stakeholders meeting representing NDI.
- Represent NDI at local conferences and meetings with NGO community, funders and donors
- Train store management on WIC policy and procedures.
- Train cashiers and other store personal on proper WIC procedures and policy.
- Report metrics associate with assign compounds to QA management, clinical development clinical development staff, and contract research organization staff.
Senior program specialist/program specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Senior Program Specialists/Program Specialists are proficient in Project Management, Process Improvement, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Program Specialists/Program Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 22%
Coordinated, oversaw, and performed a wide variety of project management, administrative, and fiscal support to the Operations Team
- Process Improvement, 11%
Lead Risk and Opportunity Management efforts for process improvement.
- PowerPoint, 11%
Developed PowerPoint orientation and written materials for new employees and conducted one-on-one orientations.
- Program Management, 8%
Worked closely with program management to identify and track appropriate performance measures, key performance indicators and associated drivers.
- SR, 7%
Advanced from Research Assistant to Instructional Specialist to Program Coordinator, Sr.
- Management System, 5%
Provide support and guidance on Littoral Combat Ship program within guidelines of Earned Value Management System.
Most senior program specialists/program specialists use their skills in "project management," "process improvement," and "powerpoint" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities here:
Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior program specialist/program specialist to have is compassion. Their role and responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Senior program specialists/program specialists often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assist patients with mask selection and fittings provide superior patient care by exhibiting compassionate bed side manner. "
Time-management skills. Many senior program specialist/program specialist duties rely on time-management skills. "social and human service assistants often work with many clients," so a senior program specialist/program specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "assist program manager in managing and delivering line items on time. "
Organizational skills. This is an important skill for senior program specialists/program specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior program specialist/program specialist: "served as direct organizational resource for the retrieval of employee performance evaluation records through the cold archival retrieval system. ".
Communication skills. senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This resume example shows what senior program specialists/program specialists do with communication skills on a typical day: "processed miscommunication errors (triggers) between the computer systems of dss and child support. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in senior program specialist/program specialist job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what senior program specialists/program specialists do. Senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." You can also see how senior program specialist/program specialist duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "researched and published affordable housing reports on need and solutions that stimulated advocates and government officials in northern virginia. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill commonly found on senior program specialist/program specialist job descriptions is "interpersonal skills." It can come up quite often in senior program specialist/program specialist duties, since "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities: "utilized excellent interpersonal communication, negotiation and mediation skills while interacting with y.o.u. "
See the full list of senior program specialist/program specialist skills
The three companies that hire the most senior program specialist/program specialists are:
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Compare different senior program specialists/program specialists
Senior program specialist/program specialist 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 similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior program specialists/program specialists and program manager. For instance, senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities require skills such as "powerpoint," "sr," "cms," and "wbs." Whereas a program manager is skilled in "oversight," "customer service," "infrastructure," and "excellent organizational." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Program managers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $115,112. Comparatively, senior program specialists/program specialists tend to make the most money in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $110,931.On average, program managers reach similar levels of education than senior program specialists/program specialists. Program managers are 1.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior program specialist/program specialist vs. Child life specialist
The job of a child life specialist is to help children and their families navigate the process of injury, illness, trauma, hospitalization, and disability. These health care professionals perform varied duties that include helping children and their families better understand the procedure and process of their medical experience. They also work on developing strategies to lessen the trauma and improve their understanding of a diagnosis by providing support, guidance, and information to family members. They are also expected to work closely with other members of the health care team in coordinating and managing care.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior program specialist/program specialist resumes. While senior program specialist/program specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "project management," "process improvement," "powerpoint," and "program management," child life specialists use skills like "patients," "child development," "patient care," and "child life services."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Child life specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than senior program specialists/program specialists. In fact, they're 7.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior program specialist/program specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Sheying Chen Ph.D.
Professor of Public Administration/Social Policy, Pace University
Senior program specialist/program specialist vs. Youth care specialist
Youth care specialists are social experts who coordinate programs for children and young people who need care while being away from their own families for some reason. These specialists are required to maintain a safe environment in the community so that children will feel safe, cared for, and nurture. They must lead various seminars for youths about topics such as job readiness, financial literacy, and higher education. They must also communicate the concerns and other important information to a child's assigned social worker and provide back-up support to case managers if needed.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior program specialist/program specialist resumes include skills like "project management," "process improvement," "powerpoint," and "program management," whereas a youth care specialist is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "patients," "excellent time management," and "minor maintenance. "
Youth care specialists earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $39,391. Senior program specialists/program specialists earn the highest pay from the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $110,931.Most youth care specialists achieve a lower degree level compared to senior program specialists/program specialists. For example, they're 11.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior program specialist/program specialist vs. Specialist
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Types of senior program specialist/program specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
