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Business program manager vs senior manager

The differences between business program managers and senior managers 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 program manager and a senior manager. Additionally, a business program manager has an average salary of $122,869, which is higher than the $118,906 average annual salary of a senior manager.

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

Business program manager vs senior manager overview

Business Program ManagerSenior Manager
Yearly salary$122,869$118,906
Hourly rate$59.07$57.17
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs384,234372,801
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

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 senior manager do?

A senior manager is responsible for directing the overall efficiency of business operations. Senior managers monitor the performance of the staff, improve operational strategies, identify business opportunities, allocate budgets and resources, present reports to senior management, set goals to drive results on increasing the company's revenues and profitability. Senior managers must coordinate with various operations departments to maintain good feedback for the company, meeting client's expectations, and delivering the best results. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle team members, as well as managing their needs and concerns.

Business program manager vs senior manager salary

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

Business Program ManagerSenior Manager
Average salary$122,869$118,906
Salary rangeBetween $92,000 And $163,000Between $86,000 And $163,000
Highest paying CityJersey City, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyMetaCornerstone Research
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between business program manager and senior manager education

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

Business Program ManagerSenior Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business program manager vs senior manager demographics

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

Business Program ManagerSenior Manager
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 58.7% Female, 41.3%Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5%
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, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between business program manager and senior manager 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

Senior manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead ISO project to achieve ISO compliance for the organization.
  • Implement a PeopleSoft Financials system and lead the integration team.
  • Manage the VMS, UNIX and NT operating systems and hardware.
  • Manage multiple trading application development and integration projects for TT's API customers.
  • Work with internal and external audit to manage SOX controls testing, compliance issues and corrective actions.
  • Coordinate and manage the monthly and quarterly close process, including quarterly check list for SOX compliance.
  • Show more

Business program manager vs senior manager skills

Common business program manager skills
  • Project Management, 11%
  • Program Management, 10%
  • Portfolio, 6%
  • KPIs, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Risk Management, 4%
Common senior manager skills
  • Analytics, 9%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Portfolio, 5%
  • Business Development, 4%
  • Professional Development, 4%
  • Healthcare, 3%

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