What is a Business Unit Manager?

What will you do as a Business Unit Manager? You will manage and build customer relationships, track data, and meet emerging needs. As the Business Unit Manager, you will follow trends of products and suggest new ways to build your company's business. You will also create, modify, update, and communicate budgets and strategic goals. As the Business Unit Manager, you will troubleshoot and resolve problems and concerns, document root causes, and fix problems.

A Business Unit Manager should have a bachelor's degree in business administration or a similar field. You should also have a diploma from an accredited university or college. You will need experience in the business field and as a leader of a group or team. If you have five to nine years of experience, you could earn an average yearly salary of $87,000. As a Business Unit Manager with ten to twenty years of experience, you could earn as high as $103,000 annually.

What Does a Business Unit Manager Do

There are certain skills that many business unit managers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed leadership skills, management skills and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about what a Business Unit Manager does

How To Become a Business Unit Manager

If you're interested in becoming a business unit manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 70.4% of business unit managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.8% of business unit managers have master's degrees. Even though most business unit managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Business Unit Manager
Top Business Unit Manager Jobs Near You

Business Unit Manager Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a business unit manager can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as operations manager, progress to a title such as general manager and then eventually end up with the title regional general manager.

Business Unit Manager

Average Salary for a Business Unit Manager

Business Unit Managers in America make an average salary of $122,782 per year or $59 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $184,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $81,000 per year.
Average Business Unit Manager Salary
$122,782 Yearly
$59.03 hourly
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Roles and Types of Business Unit Manager

The role of a business unit manager includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general business unit manager responsibilities:

  • Ensure all production systems operate at optimum levels
  • Responsible for overall profitability of the business unit. Creates sales projections
  • Own the financials and strategy of the product line to ensure financials targets are achieved. Develop

There are several types of business unit manager, including:

Business Development Manager

Role:

A business development manager is responsible for making sure their team or staff is regularly receiving opportunities for enhancing their skills and knowledge. Since a lot of people apply for a job where they'll be able to grow, many businesses hire a business development manager to figure out how to present such opportunities to employees.

These managers are known as people persons because the majority of their day is spent talking with people. The business development manager position isn't for newbies. In addition to needing a bachelor's, or even a master's, degree, you need a bit of experience under your belt. Once you've got all that and nailed down your communication skills, then you're ready to venture into the business development manager role.

  • Average Salary: $100,769
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Business Manager

Role:

Business managers oversee the day-to-day operations of a company, setting goals, instructing and evaluating employees, and monitoring processes. They do it all.

They go to meetings all day to receive reports from team and department leads. They delegate tasks, decide on priorities, plan budgets, and keep their eye on the big picture.

Business managers have a good life, once they learn how to not crack under pressure.

They work out of an office and typically stick to a 40 hour a week load. They travel for meetings and professional visits. Depending on the size and type of business, managers can make anything between $85,000 and $150,000, or more, with benefits, of course.

On the flip side, they are kind of responsible for the achievements of the company. But who says you can't handle it?

  • Average Salary: $83,198
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Business Operations Manager

Role:

Business operations managers are key personnel in any company, large or small, operating in any industry type. They are the ones who coordinate the work of various departments, keeping their eyes on the big picture.

As a business operations manager, you will be responsible for hiring and firing people, drawing up budgets, and making sure expenses do not go overboard. You will negotiate contracts and analyze reports assembled by department heads to get a clear idea about the company's activities' efficiency.

What 'operations' means exactly varies from company to company. It is an expression referring to whatever needs to be done to keep the ship afloat. Landing this position means you are moving up in the world, but you will need ample experience and a clear insight into running a business to stay on top of your responsibilities.

  • Average Salary: $91,511
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Business Unit Manager Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active business unit manager jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where business unit managers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Business Unit Manager Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California9,744$114,137
2Texas7,383$108,102
3Florida4,988$98,341
4New York4,268$140,168
5Illinois4,040$96,839
6Ohio3,995$112,090
7Pennsylvania3,437$118,742
8Georgia3,250$96,630
9North Carolina3,153$104,966
10Massachusetts3,039$145,120
11Michigan2,982$105,765
12Virginia2,964$124,837
13Minnesota2,748$111,890
14New Jersey2,520$135,330
15Indiana2,484$114,118
16Missouri2,376$80,330
17Washington2,257$142,309
18Tennessee2,247$91,342
19Wisconsin1,994$122,250
20Maryland1,876$116,835
21Arizona1,864$91,782
22South Carolina1,746$86,373
23Colorado1,686$118,202
24Alabama1,465$105,707
25Kentucky1,451$83,948
26Iowa1,310$88,136
27Oregon1,302$97,128
28Kansas1,242$99,339
29Louisiana1,223$94,841
30Connecticut1,074$118,062
31Utah1,013$63,317
32Oklahoma993$75,889
33Arkansas984$73,809
34Nevada865$107,488
35Mississippi786$82,358
36Nebraska751$86,788
37New Mexico639$120,483
38New Hampshire568$95,834
39West Virginia546$87,459
40Montana474$77,093
41Delaware416$135,104
42Rhode Island387$154,476
43Idaho354$75,446
44South Dakota350$108,264
45Maine322$94,071
46Alaska295$92,584
47North Dakota271$92,022
48Hawaii245$55,326
49Vermont215$90,062
50Wyoming163$75,553

Business Unit Manager Education

Business Unit Manager Majors

Business
34.1 %
Mechanical Engineering
9.4 %
Marketing
6.8 %

Business Unit Manager Degrees

Bachelors

70.4 %

Masters

17.8 %

Associate

8.0 %

Top Colleges for Business Unit Managers

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

6. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

7. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

8. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

9. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

10. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$52,930

Enrollment

5,030

Top Skills For a Business Unit Manager

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.7% of business unit managers listed continuous improvement on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and management skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Business Unit Manager Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Business Unit Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Business Unit Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Business Unit Manager diversity

Business Unit Manager Gender Distribution

Male
Male
83%
Female
Female
17%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among business unit managers, 17.2% of them are women, while 82.8% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among business unit managers is White, which makes up 67.2% of all business unit managers.

  • The most common foreign language among business unit managers is Spanish at 41.3%.

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Best States For a Business Unit Manager

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a business unit manager. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington, and New York. Business unit managers make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $154,476. Whereas in Massachusetts and Washington, they would average $145,120 and $142,309, respectively. While business unit managers would only make an average of $140,168 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. District of Columbia

Total Business Unit Manager Jobs: 654
Highest 10% Earn:
$220,000
Location Quotient:
1.14

$151,519

Avg. Salary

View 654 Business Unit Manager Jobs In DC

2. Massachusetts

Total Business Unit Manager Jobs: 3,039
Highest 10% Earn:
$211,000
Location Quotient:
0.97

$145,120

Avg. Salary

View 3,039 Business Unit Manager Jobs In MA

3. Rhode Island

Total Business Unit Manager Jobs: 387
Highest 10% Earn:
$223,000
Location Quotient:
0.93

$154,476

Avg. Salary

View 387 Business Unit Manager Jobs In RI
Full List Of Best States For Business Unit Managers

How Do Business Unit Managers Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Business Unit Manager Employers

Most Common Employers For Business Unit Manager

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Citi$160,253$77.0450
2Accenture$142,208$68.3718
3Weatherford International$134,993$64.9017
4Abbott$132,841$63.8712
5Frito-Lay$125,933$60.5413
6Colgate-Palmolive$125,699$60.4317
7Parker Hannifin$124,607$59.9124
8Meritor$124,586$59.9019
9Xerox$123,936$59.5853
10The Kraft Group$122,359$58.8351
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Updated April 6, 2023