Chief administrative officer vs administrative director

The differences between chief administrative officers and administrative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a chief administrative officer and an administrative director. Additionally, a chief administrative officer has an average salary of $174,185, which is higher than the $80,158 average annual salary of an administrative director.

The top three skills for a chief administrative officer include human resources, oversight and financial management. The most important skills for an administrative director are patients, patient care, and customer service.

Chief administrative officer vs administrative director overview

	Chief Administrative Officer	Administrative Director
Yearly salary	$174,185	$80,158
Hourly rate	$83.74	$38.54
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	123,074	52,849
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a chief administrative officer do?

A chief administrative officer's responsibilities revolve around overseeing the company's daily operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They typically devise strategies to improve workforce performance, perform research and analysis to identify new business opportunities, prepare progress and financial reports, delegate tasks to department managers, and set objectives for them to uphold. Furthermore, as a chief administrative officer, it is essential to lead and encourage different departments to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, recommending new ones as needed.

What does an administrative director do?

An administrative director primarily functions to oversee daily operations within a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. Among their responsibilities include monitoring the budget and audits, allocating funds to every department, coordinating with supervisors, and analyzing key data such as finances and progress reports. Additionally, they are also responsible for implementing policies and regulations, even crafting new ones when necessary. They typically report all progress and concerns to higher officials such as the president and vice president.

Chief administrative officer vs administrative director salary

Chief administrative officers and administrative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Administrative Officer	Administrative Director
Average salary	$174,185	$80,158
Salary range	Between $109,000 And $277,000	Between $53,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	Chicago, IL	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Connecticut
Best paying company	Bon Secours Community Hospital	Mayer Brown
Best paying industry	Health Care	Media

Differences between chief administrative officer and administrative director education

There are a few differences between a chief administrative officer and an administrative director in terms of educational background:

	Chief Administrative Officer	Administrative Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Chief administrative officer vs administrative director demographics

Here are the differences between chief administrative officers' and administrative directors' demographics:

	Chief Administrative Officer	Administrative Director
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%	Male, 33.8% Female, 66.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between chief administrative officer and administrative director duties and responsibilities

Chief administrative officer example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain database (FMP), sales sheets and track windows.
Manage and supervise the accounting and bookkeeping functions including budgeting, payroll and inventory.
Coordinate outside CPA review and year-end closing.
Develop systematic procedures for the effective use of the ERP system.
Review and report survey feedback findings to state Medicaid and other agencies, utilizing information to make call center improvements.
Implement major ERP software project enhancements design to further streamline operations.

Administrative director example responsibilities.

Manage payroll system and provide staff and directors with essential reporting necessary for managing employee resources.
Manage A/P, A/R and general accounting.
Lead a change in system philosophy on physician equity interest in surgery centers.
Manage administrative operations for the business -purchasing, accounting, payroll, safety and environmental safety training and testing.
Receive and process incoming Medicaid, Medicare, government grants and donation checks.
Charge with improving customer service for patients and physicians as well as re-capturing lose outpatient radiology business.

Chief administrative officer vs administrative director skills

Common chief administrative officer skills

Human Resources, 12%
Oversight, 11%
Financial Management, 8%
Payroll, 5%
Risk Management, 5%
Strategic Direction, 4%

Common administrative director skills

Patients, 11%
Patient Care, 9%
Customer Service, 6%
Human Resources, 5%
Financial Reports, 5%
Payroll, 5%

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Chief Administrative Officer
Chief Administrative Officer vs Administrative Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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