Contracts director vs senior purchasing manager

The differences between contracts directors and senior purchasing managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a contracts director and a senior purchasing manager. Additionally, a senior purchasing manager has an average salary of $109,837, which is higher than the $73,351 average annual salary of a contracts director.

The top three skills for a contracts director include contract management, oversight and contract terms. The most important skills for a senior purchasing manager are supply chain, purchase orders, and logistics.

Contracts director vs senior purchasing manager overview

	Contracts Director	Senior Purchasing Manager
Yearly salary	$73,351	$109,837
Hourly rate	$35.26	$52.81
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	12,378	19,183
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a contracts director do?

A contract director is primarily in charge of developing and negotiating contracts with clients and partners, ensuring adherence to the company's policies and regulations. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing extensive research and analysis to foresee potential advantages and disadvantages, coordinating with analysts and other experts, monitoring the progress of operations to ensure contract compliance of both parties, and overseeing the development of proposals within the organization. Furthermore, as a contract director, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing the mission and vision of the company.

What does a senior purchasing manager do?

A senior purchasing manager is responsible for spearheading and overseeing the efforts in purchasing supplies for a company. They are in charge of managing purchasing teams, gathering purchase requests, identifying the company's needs, and setting goals in adherence to the budget. They must also liaise with vendors and suppliers, negotiate contracts, and build positive relationships with them. Furthermore, as a senior manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Contracts director vs senior purchasing manager salary

Contracts directors and senior purchasing managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contracts Director	Senior Purchasing Manager
Average salary	$73,351	$109,837
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $116,000	Between $79,000 And $152,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Edwards Lifesciences	Tonix Pharmaceuticals
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between contracts director and senior purchasing manager education

There are a few differences between a contracts director and a senior purchasing manager in terms of educational background:

	Contracts Director	Senior Purchasing Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Contracts director vs senior purchasing manager demographics

Here are the differences between contracts directors' and senior purchasing managers' demographics:

	Contracts Director	Senior Purchasing Manager
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%	Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between contracts director and senior purchasing manager duties and responsibilities

Contracts director example responsibilities.

Manage client audits (EPA, DCAA, local and state agencies) to resolve audit and rate variances.
Prepare and execute contractual documents: contracts, NDAs, consulting agreements, and subcontracts to achieve best value for company.
Establish managed care Medicaid funding models with several major integrate medical delivery systems.
Manage administrative support, handle payroll, develop company policies and procedures manual.
Target negotiations for development areas including Medicaid and Medicare products.
Review and sign off on final documents for the issuance of RFP solicitations and the execution of contracts and supplemental agreements.

Senior purchasing manager example responsibilities.

Used RFI, RFP, RFQ techniques to identify, select, and engage with suppliers to ensure competitive market advantage.
Prepare contracts utilizing ERP and requisition demand throughout procurement process.
Obtain favorable pricing by tracking and recording various commodities through magazines, internet, and other resource materials.
Monitor shipments and shipping logistics to make sure they are shipped in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
Draft and publish global, regional, and localization strategies for all commodities reducing the number of source suppliers per commodity.
Create and implement purchasing policies/procedures to obtain ISO certification.

Contracts director vs senior purchasing manager skills

Common contracts director skills

Contract Management, 8%
Oversight, 6%
Contract Terms, 6%
Strong Analytical, 6%
Contract Administration, 6%
Project Management, 4%

Common senior purchasing manager skills

Supply Chain, 22%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Logistics, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Chain Management, 4%
Supplier Management, 4%

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Contracts Director
Contracts Director vs Senior Purchasing Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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