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Business unit director vs business partner

The differences between business unit directors and business partners 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 unit director, becoming a business partner takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a business unit director has an average salary of $135,050, which is higher than the $96,324 average annual salary of a business partner.

The top three skills for a business unit director include project management, digital marketing and sigma. The most important skills for a business partner are analytics, project management, and customer service.

Business unit director vs business partner overview

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Partner
Yearly salary$135,050$96,324
Hourly rate$64.93$46.31
Growth rate6%10%
Number of jobs95,707106,251
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4439
Years of experience610

What does a business unit director do?

A business unit director is a person that makes sure that a segment or unit of a company meets its daily goals. The business unit director monitors the production of units in a company and provides support to increase efficiency. The business unit director's responsibility is to determine each member of a business unit's skill development to ensure the increased productive output of the entire company. The business unit director works with the company's administrative and executive departments to ensure all business units work cohesively and well-coordinated.

What does a business partner do?

A business partner is an individual who is involved in a legal business partnership with other individuals to manage a business as co-owners. Business partners invest their money into the business, and each partner benefits from any profits and sustains part of any losses. They must file with the state in which they do business and are governed mostly by state laws. Business partners can also be either liable or not for the actions taken by the company.

Business unit director vs business partner salary

Business unit directors and business partners have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Partner
Average salary$135,050$96,324
Salary rangeBetween $95,000 And $190,000Between $66,000 And $140,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaWashington
Best paying companyLasko ProductsZS
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalTechnology

Differences between business unit director and business partner education

There are a few differences between a business unit director and a business partner in terms of educational background:

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Partner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Georgia

Business unit director vs business partner demographics

Here are the differences between business unit directors' and business partners' demographics:

Business Unit DirectorBusiness Partner
Average age4439
Gender ratioMale, 81.8% Female, 18.2%Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between business unit director and business partner duties and responsibilities

Business unit director example responsibilities.

  • Manage a portfolio of inpatient and outpatient products market to major academic medical centers, community hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Manage a portfolio of inpatient and outpatient products market to major academic medical centers, community hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Increase EBITDA for the division.
  • Obtain first ISO certification for the production lines.
  • Conduct and complete internal reviews of domestic mutual funds and institutional operations, including compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and anti-money laundering requirements.

Business partner example responsibilities.

  • Manage publicity online, in medias such as Facebook and Instagram.
  • Negotiate and manage vendor relations using SLA's and metric management.
  • Lead the establishment of key ERP, database and java applications environments.
  • Implement and manage social media strategies and blog content as well as customer relationships on Salesforce.com.
  • Lead all operational, financial and customer relationship aspects of MMI's largest global OEM customer, IBM.
  • Plan, manage, supervise and lead the development, QA, UAT and deployment efforts towards on time delivery.
  • Show more

Business unit director vs business partner skills

Common business unit director skills
  • Project Management, 17%
  • Digital Marketing, 14%
  • Sigma, 13%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Direct Reports, 5%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Common business partner skills
  • Analytics, 8%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Human Resources, 5%
  • Performance Management, 5%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

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