Director, learning and development vs professional development director

The differences between directors, learning and development and professional development directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a director, learning and development and a professional development director. Additionally, a professional development director has an average salary of $100,545, which is higher than the $92,733 average annual salary of a director, learning and development.

The top three skills for a director, learning and development include human resources, training programs and project management. The most important skills for a professional development director are professional development, oversight, and adult learning.

Director, learning and development vs professional development director overview

	Director, Learning And Development	Professional Development Director
Yearly salary	$92,733	$100,545
Hourly rate	$44.58	$48.34
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	72,265	103,723
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a director, learning and development do?

A director of learning and development is primarily in charge of spearheading efforts to improve the workforce in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting strategies to find out areas that need improvement, coordinating with departments and staff, producing various training programs that will sharpen the employee's skills, and crafting skills assessment activities. There are also instances when a director must create progress reports and presentations, manage schedules, and liaise with clients and stakeholders. Furthermore, as the director, it is essential to implement the policies and guidelines of the company.

What does a professional development director do?

A professional development director spearheads and develops training services and professional development programs to enhance the skills and abilities of employees in a company, paving the way for career growth. They have the responsibility to set goals and objectives, establish guidelines and timelines, coordinate teams and managers, liaise with external agencies, and oversee procedures from planning to execution. Moreover, as a professional development director, it is essential to lead staff while implementing policies and regulations, developing new ones as needed.

Director, learning and development vs professional development director salary

Directors, learning and development and professional development directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director, Learning And Development	Professional Development Director
Average salary	$92,733	$100,545
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $138,000	Between $46,000 And $216,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Oregon
Best paying company	Google	Baker McKenzie
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between director, learning and development and professional development director education

There are a few differences between a director, learning and development and a professional development director in terms of educational background:

	Director, Learning And Development	Professional Development Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Director, learning and development vs professional development director demographics

Here are the differences between directors, learning and development' and professional development directors' demographics:

	Director, Learning And Development	Professional Development Director
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6%	Male, 34.2% Female, 65.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 4.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 4.1% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	18%	18%

Differences between director, learning and development and professional development director duties and responsibilities

Director, learning and development example responsibilities.

Manage RFP process to identify best-in-class e-Learning development providers.
Lead the implementation of eLearning courses design to support trainer certification process.
Base on results, ask to serve in newly create CLO role.
Maintain accurate training records and documentation to report ROI statistics.
Increase organizational commitment to development of human capital, and increase ROI of programs and initiatives.
Customize eLearning curricula base on role - individual contributor-, manager-, and senior manager-level courses.

Professional development director example responsibilities.

Extend product revenue by delivering new products for managing configuration of Linux platforms.
Prepare powerpoint to production specifications covering research base on SLIFE learning challenges and key program components for effective instruction of SLIFE.
Supervise certified nursing assistants with bed placement for post-op patients and maintain paperwork require for house clinician.
Implement train-the-trainer programs using SMEs that save the company money by eliminating outside vendors.
Engage in personnel hiring decisions, interview candidates, and identify SMEs for specialize consulting work.
Provide executive oversight and leadership for HR/Payroll best practices driving organizational change.

Director, learning and development vs professional development director skills

Common director, learning and development skills

Human Resources, 7%
Training Programs, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Instructional Design, 5%
Blended Learning, 4%
Learning Management System, 4%

Common professional development director skills

Professional Development, 10%
Oversight, 9%
Adult Learning, 7%
K-12, 7%
Curriculum Development, 6%
Staff Development, 5%

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Director, Learning And Development
Director, Learning And Development vs Professional Development Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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