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Digital program manager vs planning manager

The differences between digital program managers and planning managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a digital program manager and a planning manager. Additionally, a digital program manager has an average salary of $100,853, which is higher than the $98,486 average annual salary of a planning manager.

The top three skills for a digital program manager include digital transformation, digital marketing and project management. The most important skills for a planning manager are project management, customer service, and strong analytical.

Digital program manager vs planning manager overview

Digital Program ManagerPlanning Manager
Yearly salary$100,853$98,486
Hourly rate$48.49$47.35
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs144,134137,190
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3939
Years of experience1010

What does a digital program manager do?

Digital program managers are executive professionals who are responsible for managing the digital products of an organization across a variety of different functions and disciplines. These managers are required to partner with product owners so that they can understand the owner's objectives and develop digital project portfolios that help them meet those objectives. They must facilitate the planning and management of digital products to ensure that they are delivered on-time and within budget. Digital program managers must also prepare project status reports for executive management to review.

What does a planning manager do?

Planning managers perform various duties and responsibilities for an organization. These include planning and monitoring a project or department's budget, production schedule, and inventory, creating reports of new plans, programs, and regulations, and ensuring development proposals comply with requirements and regulations. Additionally, planning managers are expected to serve as an intermediary between developers, government entities, businesses, and communities. They also oversee site plans, rezoning, and special-use permits, set schedules for the project, and supervise other personnel such as developers and consultants.

Digital program manager vs planning manager salary

Digital program managers and planning managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Digital Program ManagerPlanning Manager
Average salary$100,853$98,486
Salary rangeBetween $71,000 And $142,000Between $71,000 And $135,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaZS
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between digital program manager and planning manager education

There are a few differences between a digital program manager and a planning manager in terms of educational background:

Digital Program ManagerPlanning Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Digital program manager vs planning manager demographics

Here are the differences between digital program managers' and planning managers' demographics:

Digital Program ManagerPlanning Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 62.2% Female, 37.8%Male, 64.1% Female, 35.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between digital program manager and planning manager duties and responsibilities

Digital program manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage schedule milestone dates in company database; supervise full-service vendor in updating Smartsheet schedule.
  • Interface with key internal and client stakeholders to define and lead digital and CRM initiatives.
  • Own entire worldwide marketing budget, prioritize spends and ensure best ROI (units & mix).
  • Provide level of effort estimations and resource requirements in partnership with BA, UX, development and QA project resources.
  • Generate complete SEO/analytic reports identifying specific aggregates, require metrics and investigate reporting discrepancies with JIRA as required.
  • Task with the ongoing improvement and optimization of these e-commerce capabilities.

Planning manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team that contribute to Mexico achieving the #1 market position through the implementation of CPFR and sales support.
  • Manage commodities teams in support of program execution.
  • Lead initial rollout of JDA / manugistics concepts and forecasting operations.
  • Manage and analyze monthly OTB opportunities base on receipt projections using JDA.
  • Used people skills managing upward to build corporate consensus on ISO processes and controls.
  • Develop an ABC class system, which lead to a $1,000,000 inventory reduction.
  • Show more

Digital program manager vs planning manager skills

Common digital program manager skills
  • Digital Transformation, 19%
  • Digital Marketing, 15%
  • Project Management, 13%
  • Program Management, 9%
  • Digital Content, 3%
  • KPIs, 3%
Common planning manager skills
  • Project Management, 11%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Strong Analytical, 7%
  • KPIs, 7%
  • Demand Planning, 7%
  • Capacity Planning, 4%

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