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Business program manager vs director program management

The differences between business program managers and directors program management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a business program manager, becoming a director program management takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a director program management has an average salary of $141,289, which is higher than the $122,869 average annual salary of a business program manager.

The top three skills for a business program manager include project management, program management and portfolio. The most important skills for a director program management are program management, project management, and cloud.

Business program manager vs director program management overview

Business Program ManagerDirector Program Management
Yearly salary$122,869$141,289
Hourly rate$59.07$67.93
Growth rate6%16%
Number of jobs384,234142,312
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4447
Years of experience68

What does a business program manager do?

Business Program Managers oversee specific company programs. They plan for the programs, manage the programs' budget allocation, implement activities, and evaluate the performance. They also lead the employees assigned to handle these programs. They are expected to properly onboard and train these employees to acclimate them with what the programs need. A Business Program Manager should understand the company's main business and the industry it moves in. This understanding helps them create sound strategies that will push their company's performance. This would also help them manage their business programs better.

What does a director program management do?

The duties of a director of program management depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the operations in particular areas, ensuring efficiency and productivity that will translate to sales. They are also responsible for devising strategies to optimize existing programs, spearheading new projects, setting goals and budget, resolving issues and concerns, and evaluating workforce performance. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Business program manager vs director program management salary

Business program managers and directors program management have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business Program ManagerDirector Program Management
Average salary$122,869$141,289
Salary rangeBetween $92,000 And $163,000Between $102,000 And $195,000
Highest paying CityJersey City, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between business program manager and director program management education

There are a few differences between a business program manager and a director program management in terms of educational background:

Business Program ManagerDirector Program Management
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaCarnegie Mellon University

Business program manager vs director program management demographics

Here are the differences between business program managers' and directors program management' demographics:

Business Program ManagerDirector Program Management
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 58.7% Female, 41.3%Male, 69.9% Female, 30.1%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%11%

Differences between business program manager and director program management duties and responsibilities

Business program manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead and manage UAT planning and execution.
  • Manage product order-ability in ERP for all Cisco products.
  • Manage integration of customer accounts from merger and acquisition (300K+) and partner-centric (50K) activities into Salesforce.com.
  • Manage a team of 20 skil professionals supporting lean design, configuration and building a solid solution through ERP implementation.
  • Manage new requirements and change requests, system outages and emergencies (weather/upgrades), and ensure ISO and security compliance.
  • Manage SLA for account creation; invoke and manage escalations regarding incomplete/inaccurate data.
  • Show more

Director program management example responsibilities.

  • Achieve ISO [] and ISO [] certification within 12 and 6 months, respectively, from scratch.
  • Manage a team of designers, developers and QA engineers.
  • Monitor and manage vendor performances to ensure contractual SLA's are met.
  • Set measurable objectives for team and individual reports, providing guidance to achieve KPIs.
  • Make sure that the OS achieve or exceed feature parity with native Linux interfaces.
  • Manage overhead systems projects for various OEM's on a variety of vehicle platforms.
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Business program manager vs director program management skills

Common business program manager skills
  • Project Management, 11%
  • Program Management, 10%
  • Portfolio, 6%
  • KPIs, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Risk Management, 4%
Common director program management skills
  • Program Management, 16%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Cloud, 5%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%
  • Product Management, 4%
  • Lifecycle Management, 4%

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