Business unit director vs senior director, operations

The differences between business unit directors and senior directors, operations 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 unit director and a senior director, operations. Additionally, a senior director, operations has an average salary of $149,771, which is higher than the $135,050 average annual salary of a business unit director.

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

Business unit director vs senior director, operations overview

	Business Unit Director	Senior Director, Operations
Yearly salary	$135,050	$149,771
Hourly rate	$64.93	$72.01
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	95,707	120,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

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 senior director, operations do?

The senior director of operations generally works with other managers to set goals for the future of the company and evaluates performance to check whether certain goals are achieved. They are responsible for making sure that operational processes are within the prescribed budget and timeline. Also, they oversee, implement, and evaluate operation processes and procedures to see if they comply with the set standards and procedures of the company. Additionally, they lead in developing strategies and implementation plans to enhance and standardize all units of operations.

Business unit director vs senior director, operations salary

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

	Business Unit Director	Senior Director, Operations
Average salary	$135,050	$149,771
Salary range	Between $95,000 And $190,000	Between $103,000 And $216,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Washington
Best paying company	Lasko Products	Genentech
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Hospitality

Differences between business unit director and senior director, operations education

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

	Business Unit Director	Senior Director, Operations
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Business unit director vs senior director, operations demographics

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

	Business Unit Director	Senior Director, Operations
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2%	Male, 75.7% Female, 24.3%
Race ratio	Black 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between business unit director and senior director, operations 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.

Senior director, operations example responsibilities.

Design and manage systems and processes to deliver consistent, scalable and compliant with SOX and other regulations.
Manage PMO with responsibility for performance management, resource and portfolio management.
Manage new product co-development program with a major medical device company that enable remote surgical oversight and support.
Finance and billing accountability across Medicaid, manage care commercial insurance, insurance verification, contract management, and benefits administration.
Introduce KPIs to raise performance in business development, supply chain, and CRM - aligning CRM with long-term strategy.
Steer RapidApp, a mid-size mobile SaaS platform, through the acquisition process.

Business unit director vs senior director, operations skills

Common business unit director skills

Project Management, 17%
Digital Marketing, 14%
Sigma, 13%
Business Development, 6%
Direct Reports, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%

Common senior director, operations skills

Customer Service, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
SR, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Process Improvement, 4%

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Business Unit Director vs Senior Director, Operations

Updated January 8, 2025

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