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Program Specialist Duties and Responsibilities

In order to ensure that each program in their care is executed efficiently, Program Specialists regularly perform a variety of tasks. We analyzed several online job postings to identify the following core duties and responsibilities.

Manage Budgets No organization has an unlimited amount of money, so Program Specialists must constantly create and analyze budgets for each program in order to minimize unnecessary expenditure as much as possible. This often involves relatively complex budgetary planning and forecasting.

Allocate Resources The proper allocation of resources is just as important as the proper allocation of money. For these reasons, one of the major duties of a Program Specialist is allocating a specific amount of resources for each program while avoiding the depletion of resources as well as the degradation of quality.

Develop Programs Besides overseeing finances and resources, Program Specialists also need to be involved in the programs themselves. They may simply be asked to approve a certain set of criteria, or they may be expected to help develop a fully-fledged program complete with fine-tuned procedures and techniques.

Oversee Staff

A significant portion of a Program Specialist’s job is training, assisting and reviewing of staff members who are involved in one or more programs. This requires Program Specialists to have an intimate knowledge of the programs they’re handling. In their staff supervision, Program Specialists must facilitate communication, aid organization, coordinate objectives and ensure that standards are met.

Process Documentation Whether a program is designed to fit the needs of a government-funded community center or a nonprofit foundation, it’s bound to come with a lot of paperwork. A great deal of that paperwork will fall into the hands of the Program Specialist, who will be charged with tracking deliverables, monitoring progress and entering data.

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Program Specialist Salary

According to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Social and Community Service Managers, which includes Program Specialists, earn a median annual salary of $63,530. The lowest ten percent earn $38,770 per year or less, and the highest paid earn $108,960 per year or more. Program Specialists in the District of Columbia, New York and Alaska enjoy the highest median annual salary in the United States, making $88,900, $84,900 and $80,000 per year, respectively.