Administrative director vs office manager

The differences between administrative directors and office managers 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 office manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an administrative director has an average salary of $80,158, which is higher than the $43,395 average annual salary of an office manager.

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

Administrative director vs office manager overview

	Administrative Director	Office Manager
Yearly salary	$80,158	$43,395
Hourly rate	$38.54	$20.86
Growth rate	7%	-8%
Number of jobs	52,849	53,712
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
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 office manager do?

Office managers oversee the entire workplace. They maintain office processes and services to ensure that everything is running well. They manage office supplies by managing inventory and procurement procedures. They also device filing systems, create needed and relevant office policies, and ensure that all the policies are being followed. As a way to make sure that the office is in top shape, office managers supervise most of the logistical aspects inside the office. They also provide support to both management teams and the rest of the employees. They often act as the bridge between the two and would sometimes even assist in the training of new employees.

Administrative director vs office manager salary

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

	Administrative Director	Office Manager
Average salary	$80,158	$43,395
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $121,000	Between $30,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New York
Best paying company	Mayer Brown	Moody's
Best paying industry	Media	Construction

Differences between administrative director and office manager education

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

	Administrative Director	Office Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Administrative director vs office manager demographics

Here are the differences between administrative directors' and office managers' demographics:

	Administrative Director	Office Manager
Average age	50	47
Gender ratio	Male, 33.8% Female, 66.2%	Male, 13.5% Female, 86.5%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between administrative director and office manager 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.

Office manager example responsibilities.

Manage international team development of RFP for new MPLS global network services.
Produce around $100k month sales/ billings, AIA documents, and manage customer accounts.
Monitor and manage the HVAC environment and nightly office cleaning performance for maximum comfort, appearance and functionality.
Manage PMO office functions including creation of strategic plan, marketing of services, and resource and project planning.
Manage production of an RFP to source $60m in software and services and manage a subset of the subsequent implementation.
Manage daily functions and systems to ensure patients receive appropriate accommodations under HIPAA guidelines.

Administrative director vs office manager skills

Common administrative director skills

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

Common office manager skills

Customer Service, 19%
Patients, 13%
Financial Statements, 6%
Office Operations, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%
Scheduling Appointments, 4%

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Administrative Director
Administrative Director vs Office Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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