Director of distribution vs senior director, operations

The differences between directors of distribution and senior directors, operations can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a director of distribution and a senior director, operations. Additionally, a senior director, operations has an average salary of $149,771, which is higher than the $126,210 average annual salary of a director of distribution.

The top three skills for a director of distribution include continuous improvement, project management and distribution operations. The most important skills for a senior director, operations are customer service, oversight, and continuous improvement.

Director of distribution vs senior director, operations overview

	Director Of Distribution	Senior Director, Operations
Yearly salary	$126,210	$149,771
Hourly rate	$60.68	$72.01
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	21,751	120,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a director of distribution do?

A distribution director spearheads and oversees an organization's distribution procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to coordinate with different departments to identify and understand the distribution needs, set goals and guidelines, manage budgets and schedules, delegate tasks among managers, develop strategies to optimize operations, and present reports to the executives and shareholders. They must also liaise with externals parties, building positive relationships with them. Moreover, a distribution director must lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while monitoring the progress of operations.

What does a senior director, operations do?

The senior director of operations generally works with other managers to set goals for the future of the company and evaluates performance to check whether certain goals are achieved. They are responsible for making sure that operational processes are within the prescribed budget and timeline. Also, they oversee, implement, and evaluate operation processes and procedures to see if they comply with the set standards and procedures of the company. Additionally, they lead in developing strategies and implementation plans to enhance and standardize all units of operations.

Director of distribution vs senior director, operations salary

Directors of distribution and senior directors, operations have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Distribution	Senior Director, Operations
Average salary	$126,210	$149,771
Salary range	Between $88,000 And $179,000	Between $103,000 And $216,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Washington
Best paying company	Meta	Genentech
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Hospitality

Differences between director of distribution and senior director, operations education

There are a few differences between a director of distribution and a senior director, operations in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Distribution	Senior Director, Operations
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Director of distribution vs senior director, operations demographics

Here are the differences between directors of distribution' and senior directors, operations' demographics:

	Director Of Distribution	Senior Director, Operations
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%	Male, 75.7% Female, 24.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	10%

Differences between director of distribution and senior director, operations duties and responsibilities

Director of distribution example responsibilities.

Manage a staff of 80 in many healthcare locations.
Lead the development of operational and transportation KPIs to cover cost, quality and service.
Manage logistics operations issues that include branch logistics plan implementation, warehouse and delivery personnel management, inventory management and security/safety/housekeeping.
Enhance and publish procedures for FDA product recall requirements.
Improve communications with foreign vendors to reduce and improve upon FDA holds.
Orchestrate selection, acquisition and implementation of agile ERP and WMS technologies.

Senior director, operations example responsibilities.

Design and manage systems and processes to deliver consistent, scalable and compliant with SOX and other regulations.
Manage PMO with responsibility for performance management, resource and portfolio management.
Manage new product co-development program with a major medical device company that enable remote surgical oversight and support.
Finance and billing accountability across Medicaid, manage care commercial insurance, insurance verification, contract management, and benefits administration.
Introduce KPIs to raise performance in business development, supply chain, and CRM - aligning CRM with long-term strategy.
Steer RapidApp, a mid-size mobile SaaS platform, through the acquisition process.

Director of distribution vs senior director, operations skills

Common director of distribution skills

Continuous Improvement, 9%
Project Management, 7%
Distribution Operations, 6%
Distribution Centers, 5%
Direct Reports, 4%
Process Improvement, 4%

Common senior director, operations skills

Customer Service, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
SR, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Process Improvement, 4%

Director Of Distribution vs. similar jobs

Director Of Distribution related careers

Director Of Distribution related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Director Of Distribution
Director Of Distribution vs Senior Director, Operations

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs