Hiring Guide
Program Director
Specific duties of a Program Director can vary from business to business — along with factors like company culture, work environment, and team dynamics — it’s vital to tailor any job description and interview content to your company’s needs and expectations.
Hiring Guide: Program Director
Program Director interview templates
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Why you should hire a Program Director
Product Directors help companies achieve success by overseeing all programs to ensure they are executed well and successfully deliver value to the company. They often manage teams and work closely with senior leaders to monitor the performance and progress of a company's projects/programs.
In this hiring guide, we'll provide everything you need to hire a great Program Director.
Top skills for Program Directors
Designing Programs and Operating Models
Implementing and Evaluating Programs
Leadership and Navigation
Coordinating Cross-functional Initiatives
Sample Program Director job description
Program Directors are primarily responsible for designing and organizing programs and their accompanying operational work structures to execute a particular business strategy and help the business achieve its strategic goals. Their work involves an extensive amount of cross-functional engagement and coordination to implement programs and effectively manage program success. An important part of their work is developing and gaining support for a program vision while carefully adapting that vision to align with different functions in the business. They do so by consulting and involving cross-functional stakeholders to ensure the execution of the program can be done effectively across different parts of the organization. Program Directors must excel at managing stakeholder expectations, influencing leadership and other key players, and communicating their program vision and plans effectively. They must also implement and monitor program evaluation models to ensure program success.
Sample interview questions for Program Directors
Question 1
Imagine you’ve just started developing a program for a new area in the business that will involve a large segment of the teams across the company (e.g., a CSR initiative). You are responsible for creating a vision for the program. What steps would you take, and what would you consider, when defining that vision?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to define and gain support for a program vision by engaging others
Answer tips
- Develop initial thinking to share with others (not too rigid, not too loosely defined)
- Tie the vision to a realistic business strategy (not too high-level, not too specific)
- Consult relevant stakeholders to obtain input/feedback on initial thinking
- Iterate on the vision to adapt it based on others input/feedback
- Summarize/communicate the vision clearly to others in a way that is accessible/digestible
Question 2
When you’re creating a new program, there are often implications and expectations for a variety of different internal stakeholders/departments. What approach would you take to communicate details and gain support for the program across different functions in the organization?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to gain support for programs by providing direction and adapting where appropriate
Answer tips
- Consult stakeholders to understand what is important to them
- Be open and responsive to suggestions / feedback
- Adapt expectations / strategy where appropriate to ensure it works for others
- Provide appropriate direction to align on vision and facilitate ownership
- Balance direction and engagement (define objectives but be flexible)
