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Are you searching for a program administrator job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a program administrator. Feel free to use our program administrator job description template to produce your own program administrator job description. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a program administrator.

 

Who is a Program Administrator?

A program administrator is a management consultant who organizes and oversees a particular program or project within an organization. The process of administering several connected projects under a single umbrella is known as program administration. Program administration frequently has close ties to systems engineering, industrial engineering, change management, and business transformation in both its goals and daily operations. It is the preeminent method for managing extremely big projects in the defence industry. Acquisition management, which denotes that the government buyer purchases products and services through contractors, is frequently used to describe significant defence initiatives because they include interacting with contractors.

Program administrators are in charge of a variety of initiatives and programs, including those in the areas of health and wellness, employee benefits, customer service, data analytics, employee engagement, regulatory compliance, and mentoring. Additionally, program administration refers to tasks required to run the Agency’s operations. This includes determining a consumer’s eligibility and the extent of the services and assistance for which they have applied; identifying and coordinating those services within the Agency and its Contractors and Grantees; planning, organizing, providing, funding, or paying for services and assistance for individuals and families; coordinating benefits; identifying fraud and abuse; participating in quality control and improvement activities, and responding to emergencies or other pressing issues.

The program administrator has oversight over the goals and status of the projects within a program and can use this oversight to support project-level activity to ensure that the program goals are met. For example, the program administrator can provide decision-making authority that cannot be achieved at the project level, offer the project manager a program perspective when necessary, or act as a sounding board for ideas and methods to resolve project issues that have program impacts. Although in large and/or complex projects, a specific role may be needed, the program administrator may be in a good position to offer this insight by actively pursuing such information from the project managers.

Regardless of how this insight develops, the program manager needs to be confident that the overall program goals can be met. In-house offices are where the majority of program administrators conduct their business. This can assist them in informing their colleagues, responding to urgent demands, and establishing connections with other organizational units. Some program managers may have home offices, giving them the freedom to work from anywhere they choose while carrying out their tasks. These program managers may also be independent contractors who a business might pay to guide a program or effort through its inception.

A program administrator’s main responsibility is to make sure the project or program she is in charge of is successful and productive. The program administrator hires and manages staff to carry out program activities. They also keep an eye on their work and coach or mentor them as they go about their daily tasks. Program managers are responsible for overseeing the budget for the program, keeping track of spending, writing grant reports, and occasionally locating financing to pay staff salaries. The administrator watches program operations, gathers data, and produces reports of all findings for senior management, a board of directors, or a grant donor to assess the program’s success.

Depending on the program, program administrators’ secondary responsibilities may vary, but they typically involve interacting with the population they serve and stakeholders, as well as promoting the program or informing the community at large about the services it provides. Some program administrators plan and coordinate program activities as well as engage in community outreach initiatives to include the neighbourhood in the organization’s operations. The program administrator often works in tandem with teachers, school administrators, and parents in the educational setting. Program managers may also be responsible for procuring supplies and equipment, running staff meetings, strategic planning, and the creation of new programs.

For organizations, program administrators are responsible for managing all of one or more programs. Their responsibilities also include managing an office environment to ensure documents and other materials are safe and easily accessible, working through daily administrative tasks for a program such as hiring, training, and assisting staff to complete program objectives, and managing budgets for a program to ensure it has the necessary funding. They may also set key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets for the company’s program or initiative, direct other experts for specific responsibilities, and develop strategic strategies for implementing new projects. Most programs are created to carry out the organization’s strategy or business transformation, but many of them concentrate on delivering a capability to change. Additionally, managing links between projects and the program’s overall costs and hazards, as well as coordinating and prioritizing resources across projects, is a key component of program administration and management. You need to be a master at time management to succeed as a program administrator. By managing team members and upholding the timeline for planning, a superb program administrator can successfully plan several project-related elements.

 

Program Administrator Job Description

What is a program administrator job description? A program administrator job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a program administrator in an organization. Below are the program administrator job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a program administrator job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.

The duties and responsibilities of a program administrator include the following:

• Perform a range of budgetary tasks while putting the organization’s budgetary plans, policy, and procedure into practice.
• Check that responsibilities and expenses are met on a timely basis by the annual work plan and any applicable regulatory restrictions.
• Investigate the current state of financial transactions using a variety of sources.
• Offer suggestions for corrective actions.
• Attend operations meetings to discuss any difficulties or business prospects and the current status of each program.
• Support Program Managers financially by reviewing timesheets, subcontracts, consultant agreements, and invoices.
• Participate in activities organized by the Program Management and Innovation Office (PMIO).
• Keep track of, examine, and suggest ways to make current contracts more efficient financially.
• Develop standards for and report on faculty productivity. Coordinate faculty recruitment.
• Execute ongoing basic and future clinical research or service initiatives.
• Communicate client needs and institutional knowledge effectively.
• Create connections between university instructors, executive education employees, and specialized client needs.
• Determine and address executive-level concerns posed by an organization and business issues in the healthcare sector.
• Establish and maintain connections with high-level company decision-makers.
• Control budget creation, contracting, and program closure negotiations.

 

Qualifications

• A degree in event, project, or logistics management.
• Prior project management, program administration, or related experience.
• Good interpersonal and communication abilities.
• Ability to focus on details.
• Multitasking ability
• Bookkeeping skills
• The ability for setting up appointments.
• Ability to handle program calendar.
• Filing proficiency.
• Skills in keeping records.
• Skills in event planning.
• The capacity to manage a budget.
• Outstanding computer literacy.
• Knowledge of safety and health regulations.

 

Essential Skills

• Leadership Skills: Leadership is the capacity to direct or sway other individuals, groups, or entire organizations toward the accomplishment of a particular, quantifiable, and attainable objective. Since program administrators are management experts, honing your leadership abilities may be crucial if you want to pursue a career in this field. By enrolling in classes throughout your undergraduate studies or by requesting leadership positions in your business, you can develop your leadership abilities. Both can aid in your learning how to effectively lead your program and staff in a variety of leadership scenarios. They can also provide you with the theoretical knowledge you need. Because they frequently have to oversee and organize several projects as well as manage the schedules of supervisors and/or executives, these professionals need leadership abilities. For instance, an administrative assistant might be in charge of organizing the company’s holiday party and would therefore need to be familiar with event planning.
• Recruitment Skills: Finding qualified candidates for a position and persuading them to join a company, initiative, or group requires the art of recruitment. Finding personnel and experts to support the projects and programs your organization needs is one of your responsibilities as a program administrator. Understanding recruitment as a process is the first step in fulfilling that duty. This includes what persuades people to join your project and how to keep professionals in the program after they join. By interacting with recruiters at your company or by gaining recruiting experience, you can build this skill.
• Time management skills: To make sure everything is completed each day, administrators must also possess great time management abilities. Administrative assistants frequently have to organize and set the calendars of executives in addition to their job obligations and schedules. For instance, an administrator might arrange every appointment for a firm leader, and they’d need to be able to make sure the executive had enough time for each one. Prioritization, goal-setting, planning, decision-making, delegating, stress management, strategic planning, and resource management are among the common time management abilities needed by administrative professionals.
• Skills in Technology: This skill calls for specialized knowledge, analytical prowess within that specialization, and comfort with the instruments and methods of the particular profession. Technology use is a prerequisite for the role, which may now be immediately clear, thus having technological abilities is necessary. Spreadsheets, management software, presentation software, and other tools are frequently used by program administrators to help with job-related tasks. With the aid of these technologies, they can instantly interact with a variety of professionals, streamline their procedures, lower the price of their program, and boost employee productivity. Learn about the technology you have and consider how to best use them to fulfil the mission goal of your program, whether you enter the sector through school or experience. An administrative assistant, for instance, might be required to utilize the accounting program QuickBooks as part of their work. The Microsoft Office Suite, faxing, QuickBooks, office supplies, standard operating systems, database management, email proficiency, social networking, and WordPress are examples of common IT skills that administrators should have.
• Communication Skills: Communication skills are essential for almost any administrative position, therefore having them will help you in your role as an administrative assistant. These professions communicate with a range of individuals, including coworkers, superiors, managers, and customers. They frequently speak with each other in person, over the phone, and via email. Program administrators interact with a variety of people daily as a management job. You might speak with executive leaders, other program administrators, program coordinators, clients, customers, and the staff members who work in your program as part of the function. Presentations, phone calls, emails, direct messages, memos, and meetings are just a few of the different ways you can connect with them. You might also use web conferences and video meetings to provide crucial information to the parties involved in the success of your program or campaign. You can learn communication skills through formal instruction or by practising with various tools available at work.
• Customer service skills: Administrative professionals may also require good customer service abilities depending on the environment of their company to connect with customers, address customer problems, and guarantee customer pleasure. An administrative assistant might be required to accept incoming calls from clients, for instance, and will need to be able to communicate while listening to clients’ problems and setting expectations. In some administrative positions, it’s also necessary to have the following additional customer service abilities: empathy, responsiveness, friendliness, patience, confidence, and adaptability.

 

How to Become a Program Administrator

Step 1. Education

Education is the first of a few common entry points into the area of program administration. You can earn a bachelor of science or bachelor of arts in business or a similar discipline to pursue a career as a program administrator. To continue to be a viable alternative for companies, this is essential. Through this degree program, you might learn how to lead teams of professionals, look for opportunities to bring on new employees, and build strong connections with professors, peers, and business industry leaders who you can count on for advice when you need it or want to discuss fresh business concepts. To be prepared when applying for entry-level roles and joining the workforce, concentrate on developing industry-specific skills during your studies. Before entering the workforce, you might need to complete a program administrator internship to receive your bachelor’s degree. After earning your four-year Bachelor’s in a related field, you can work as a program administrator. You might want to investigate becoming a certified professional in healthcare quality, depending on the type of program administrator career you’re pursuing.

Step 2. Obtain Experience

Program administrators can also advance in their job by accumulating sufficient experience in comparable positions. By following this route, you can begin as a program coordinator in a training position, such as a program administrator trainee, which will help you gain experience before taking the reins of a project. Along with helping you establish professional ties with people already employed in your sector, this route also supports the development of fresh business concepts, initiatives, and programs for your company.

Step 3. Advance in Education and Career Path

There are various stages in the Program Administrator’s professional path after entry-level. Moving up to the next seniority level position as a Program Administrator can take two years. To go up the program administrator job ladder, you need to have amassed roughly two years of experience at each level before applying for an advanced position. To develop your career as a program administrator, you might need to complete extra coursework, get a graduate degree (such as a Master’s) in a related profession, or get specialized certifications. Continued education is not always necessary to develop your career as a program administrator in all fields and organizations. However, obtaining this degree might speed up your career advancement to places with higher pay. It can take four years to acquire a graduate degree in computer science.

 

Where to Work as a Program Administrator

Program managers are employed by educational institutions, social service agencies, and neighbourhood organizations. Although the actual job description may differ depending on the business and place of employment, there are some commonalities. The majority of the time, work is done in an office setting with frequent interruptions and erratic work schedules. To complete the work properly, no more coordination beyond that required for routine mobility and manipulation of goods and items is required.

 

Program Administrator Salary Scale

Program administrators who work in management positions may make more than $50,000 a year. Program administrators get average yearly compensation of $60,297 in the United States. In Germany, the average monthly salary for a program administrator is roughly 2,510 EUR. The range of salaries is 1,150 to 3,980 euros. In Nigeria, the average monthly salary for a program administrator is roughly 240,000 NGN. From 123,000 NGN to 370,000 NGN is the range of salaries. This is the typical monthly wage, which also includes housing, transportation, and other amenities. Based on factors like geography, gender, experience, and talents, program coordinator pay varies greatly.

Administration and Management

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