Administrative director vs managing director

The differences between administrative directors and managing directors 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 a managing director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a managing director has an average salary of $129,690, which is higher than the $80,158 average annual salary of an administrative director.

The top three skills for an administrative director include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for a managing director are healthcare, portfolio, and business development.

Administrative director vs managing director overview

	Administrative Director	Managing Director
Yearly salary	$80,158	$129,690
Hourly rate	$38.54	$62.35
Growth rate	7%	6%
Number of jobs	52,849	81,022
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	50	44
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 a managing director do?

A Managing Director oversees workflow and progress, making sure that all operations align within the company or organization's mission or set of goals. They are responsible for crafting strategies, devising effective business plans, and executing guidelines that would nurture a company's growth, and as well as to be the driving force that would direct employees to the company's objectives. Furthermore, a Managing Director must coordinate with those in a higher position, such as the members of the board.

Administrative director vs managing director salary

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

	Administrative Director	Managing Director
Average salary	$80,158	$129,690
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $121,000	Between $72,000 And $233,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New York
Best paying company	Mayer Brown	Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Best paying industry	Media	Finance

Differences between administrative director and managing director education

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

	Administrative Director	Managing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Administrative director vs managing director demographics

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

	Administrative Director	Managing Director
Average age	50	44
Gender ratio	Male, 33.8% Female, 66.2%	Male, 73.5% Female, 26.5%
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, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	10%

Differences between administrative director and managing director 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.

Managing director example responsibilities.

Create and manage the social media presence via a festival page on Facebook.
Manage all consulting resources and have overall P/L responsibilities for the Atlanta office.
Manage the lessee and lessor relationships regarding exchange seat leases with major markets, such as NYSE, AMEX, CBOE.
Manage denials and expedite managed care appeals (reimbursement reconsideration).
Manage payroll processing for thousands of industrial temporary workers and bill respective clients.
Manage the Ketera SaaS relationship for IBM with engagement development and profitability responsibilities.

Administrative director vs managing director skills

Common administrative director skills

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

Common managing director skills

Healthcare, 7%
Portfolio, 7%
Business Development, 6%
Oversight, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Administrative Director
Administrative Director vs Managing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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