Chief administrative officer vs operations director

The differences between chief administrative officers and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a chief administrative officer, becoming an operations director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief administrative officer has an average salary of $174,185, which is higher than the $104,050 average annual salary of an operations director.

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

Chief administrative officer vs operations director overview

	Chief Administrative Officer	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$174,185	$104,050
Hourly rate	$83.74	$50.02
Growth rate	7%	6%
Number of jobs	123,074	114,993
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	50	44
Years of experience	2	6

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 operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Chief administrative officer vs operations director salary

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

	Chief Administrative Officer	Operations Director
Average salary	$174,185	$104,050
Salary range	Between $109,000 And $277,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Chicago, IL	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Vermont	California
Best paying company	Bon Secours Community Hospital	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between chief administrative officer and operations director education

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

	Chief Administrative Officer	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Chief administrative officer vs operations director demographics

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

	Chief Administrative Officer	Operations Director
Average age	50	44
Gender ratio	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
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, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	10%

Differences between chief administrative officer and operations 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.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

Chief administrative officer vs operations director skills

Common chief administrative officer skills

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

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Chief Administrative Officer
Chief Administrative Officer vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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