If you see yourself as a visionary person who can put achievable plans and implement them successfully, then being a program director might be the perfect job for you. To help you decide if you should consider being a program director, we have prepared this job description for you:
Job Title: Program Director
Job Purpose: Companies recruit program directors to supervise their programs and to make sure that these programs reach the desired target. The main role of program directors is to plan, organize, implement, and evaluate the company’s different programs. In other words, if we would think of the program as a ship, then the program director would be the captain that guides the ship and the staff to the seashore.
Job Duties and Responsibilities of Program Director:
Because it is a vital job, the program director has many diverse roles; therefore, they must have adequate knowledge and be responsible enough to do them efficiently. The duties of the program director may vary from one company to another; also, they depend on the nature of the program and the targeted industry. However, here are some of the most important duties and responsibilities:
- Setting initial goals and objectives for the program: The program director must work with the team members to set clear program goals that serve the organization’s overall strategy.
- Assign tasks to the program staff: As a part of the planning and the organizing process, they should make sure that every staff member is assigned a task according to his/her abilities and skills.
- Supervising staff members: It is not enough to assign tasks; the program director should observe the staff to perform their duties mot properly.
- Putting schedules: For sure, there must be precise deadlines for each activity, or the program will lose its efficiency.
- Budgeting the program activities: One of the most crucial duties of the program director is to ensure that the program is operating within the allocated budget and it is not exploiting the company’s financial resources.
- Following the laws and the regulations of the country of operation: Indeed, the project must not infringe any legal rules, and it is the responsibility of the program director to be aware of all the laws and regulations related to the project industry.
- Monitoring and controlling the program operations: During the implementation process, the program director must monitor all the activities in the right direction.
- Deliver progress reports to top management: the program director must write progress reports weekly or monthly to top management as proof that the program is working according to the initial plan to reach its goals.
- Represent the program: the program director’s roles are not exclusive inside the organization. On the contrary, he must communicate with the community to represent the program and the organization.
Required Qualification:
As indicated earlier, the program director’s job is crucial for the program’s success, particularly and the organization in general. For that, to be qualified for this role, you should have a specific educational background, experience, and skills:
Educational Background:
Must have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in human resources management, project management, business administration. Sometimes the company may expect you to have a background in the related field on the program. A Masters’s degree is always a plus but not always required.
Experience:
Most jobs require you to have previous experience as a program director.
Knowledge and Skills:
As a program director, you should have a wide array of soft and hard skills to perform well in the distinct duties of the program director, such as,
- Communication Skills: Program directors works as a connection point between program staff members and top management. Also, they are considered representatives of the program in society. Therefore, they must have sufficient communication skills to deliver the needed information correctly.
- Leadership Skills: Program directors are the program leaders; they should be role models for the program members and know how to direct them in the right way. Furthermore, they should have a clear vision and work hard to motivate others.
- Analytical Skills: Program directing is all about solving the problems that pop up during the implementation process. Thus, program directors should have analytical skills to break the problems they face into pieces and solve them from the roots.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office is a must because program directing requires writing reports, gathering data, and performing several tasks that programs, such as Microsoft Word and, Excel do efficiently and quickly.
- Experience with Project Management Software: This software helps organize the program processes to track progress.
- Scheduling and Planning Skills: Since the program director’s job requires a lot of planning, the program director must have exceptional ability to conduct realistic plans and schedules.
- Budgeting Skills: It is unnecessary to have a background in finance or accounting, but a program director must have the ability to create budgets and deal with money and funds.
Preferable Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in business administration or other related fields.
- Professional Certifications related to program director job such as:
Certified Project Director (CPD):
This is a highly recognized certificate for professional program directors who want to be experienced in the field and work in any program. Global Association for Quality Management grants CPD. This certificate will guarantee you a distinguished position at top companies.
Salary:
According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary of a program director is 103,000 dollars.
Working Environment:
- Close work with team members
- Collaborative working environment.
- Dynamic working environment
- Indoors most of the team but depends on the nature of the project.
- It May require international traveling if the project is global; otherwise, most travels are domestic.
Now that you know all that you need to know about the program director job, it is your turn to determine if you have the adequate skills, abilities, and educational background to have this job.
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