Administrative director vs administrative supervisor

The differences between administrative directors and administrative supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an administrative director, becoming an administrative supervisor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an administrative director has an average salary of $80,158, which is higher than the $52,656 average annual salary of an administrative supervisor.

The top three skills for an administrative director include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative supervisor are patient care, patients, and customer service.

Administrative director vs administrative supervisor overview

	Administrative Director	Administrative Supervisor
Yearly salary	$80,158	$52,656
Hourly rate	$38.54	$25.32
Growth rate	7%	-8%
Number of jobs	52,849	58,242
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	50	47
Years of experience	2	6

What does an administrative director do?

An administrative director primarily functions to oversee daily operations within a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. Among their responsibilities include monitoring the budget and audits, allocating funds to every department, coordinating with supervisors, and analyzing key data such as finances and progress reports. Additionally, they are also responsible for implementing policies and regulations, even crafting new ones when necessary. They typically report all progress and concerns to higher officials such as the president and vice president.

What does an administrative supervisor do?

An administrative supervisor performs various administrative tasks for an organization. These include supervising administrative personnel and office managers, ensuring the smooth and effective management of the company's day-to-day business operations, and organizing training. Additionally, an administrative supervisor is expected to participate in the recruitment of administrative staff and evaluate their performance to ensure their ongoing success. Most employers look to hire someone with strong decision-making skills, relevant industry experience, and in-depth knowledge of policies and terminology.

Administrative director vs administrative supervisor salary

Administrative directors and administrative supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Director	Administrative Supervisor
Average salary	$80,158	$52,656
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $121,000	Between $35,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New York
Best paying company	Mayer Brown	Calamos Investments
Best paying industry	Media	Health Care

Differences between administrative director and administrative supervisor education

There are a few differences between an administrative director and an administrative supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Director	Administrative Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Administrative director vs administrative supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between administrative directors' and administrative supervisors' demographics:

	Administrative Director	Administrative Supervisor
Average age	50	47
Gender ratio	Male, 33.8% Female, 66.2%	Male, 32.7% Female, 67.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between administrative director and administrative supervisor duties and responsibilities

Administrative director example responsibilities.

Manage payroll system and provide staff and directors with essential reporting necessary for managing employee resources.
Manage A/P, A/R and general accounting.
Lead a change in system philosophy on physician equity interest in surgery centers.
Manage administrative operations for the business -purchasing, accounting, payroll, safety and environmental safety training and testing.
Receive and process incoming Medicaid, Medicare, government grants and donation checks.
Charge with improving customer service for patients and physicians as well as re-capturing lose outpatient radiology business.

Administrative supervisor example responsibilities.

Restructure, decentralize payroll and purchasing; achieve more productive use of headquarters staff; assume increased responsibilities without staff additions.
Delegated/Assign, review and evaluate work assignments, administer performance evaluations, approve payroll, facilitate team meetings/individual meetings, etc.
Scan and accurately attach respective laboratory test results to EMR system.
Enter patient demographics, personal details and insurance information into Medisoft EMR program.
Back office duties include taking vitals, perform EKGs, injections, phlebotomy, vaccines and assisting in minor procedures.
Create PowerPoint presentations to be present to company CEO of international company.

Administrative director vs administrative supervisor skills

Common administrative director skills

Patients, 11%
Patient Care, 9%
Customer Service, 6%
Human Resources, 5%
Financial Reports, 5%
Payroll, 5%

Common administrative supervisor skills

Patient Care, 22%
Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 10%
Office Procedures, 7%
Payroll, 6%
HIPAA, 3%

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Administrative Director
Administrative Director vs Administrative Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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