Business director vs operations director

The differences between business directors and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business director and an operations director. Additionally, a business director has an average salary of $124,563, which is higher than the $104,050 average annual salary of an operations director.

The top three skills for a business director include project management, healthcare and sigma. The most important skills for an operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

Business director vs operations director overview

	Business Director	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$124,563	$104,050
Hourly rate	$59.89	$50.02
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	137,880	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a business director do?

Business directors are responsible for overseeing the development of an organization's business goals and objectives. They typically work to increase business revenue, identify and develop business opportunities, and expand the company's presence and its brands. Other duties and responsibilities may include establishing effective company policies, goals, and sales targets, overseeing financial and budgetary activities, and identifying ways to minimize cost and boost financial performance. Business directors are also expected to negotiate contracts with clients and suppliers and propose and develop new partnerships.

What does an operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Business director vs operations director salary

Business directors and operations directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Business Director	Operations Director
Average salary	$124,563	$104,050
Salary range	Between $86,000 And $178,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Providence, RI	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	California
Best paying company	Ep Energy	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between business director and operations director education

There are a few differences between a business director and an operations director in terms of educational background:

	Business Director	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Business director vs operations director demographics

Here are the differences between business directors' and operations directors' demographics:

	Business Director	Operations Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 63.3% Female, 36.7%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between business director and operations director duties and responsibilities

Business director example responsibilities.

Plan and project manage the migration, testing and deployment of a new ERP system.
Develop various tools and processes to identify operational risk, effectively manage KPI's and monitor vendor relationships.
Manage cost-centers and leverage unique Indian production and post- production capabilities and position the company as a prefer production partner.
Lead ERP selection process and implementation project.
Enter claims into Medicare system; bill Medicaid and long-term care policies.
Provide direct operational oversight and supervision for assign dining facility.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

Business director vs operations director skills

Common business director skills

Project Management, 10%
Healthcare, 8%
Sigma, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Oversight, 5%
Business Development, 5%

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Business Director
Business Director vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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