Director of project management vs director program management

The differences between directors of project management and directors program management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a director program management has an average salary of $141,289, which is higher than the $126,958 average annual salary of a director of project management.

The top three skills for a director of project management include oversight, risk management and resource management. The most important skills for a director program management are program management, project management, and cloud.

Director of project management vs director program management overview

	Director Of Project Management	Director Program Management
Yearly salary	$126,958	$141,289
Hourly rate	$61.04	$67.93
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	200,498	142,312
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	8

What does a director of project management do?

Project management directors are the ones who develop and direct the strategic planning of different projects. The directors oversee the coordination of resources and personnel necessary for project completion. Typically, the directors require certification for project management. They develop a methodology for standardized project management in a balanced matrix organization. The directors should be equipped with skills in process improvement, customer service, infrastructure, portfolio management, and strategic initiatives. They should also have skills in communication, attention to detail, and leadership.

What does a director program management do?

The duties of a director of program management depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the operations in particular areas, ensuring efficiency and productivity that will translate to sales. They are also responsible for devising strategies to optimize existing programs, spearheading new projects, setting goals and budget, resolving issues and concerns, and evaluating workforce performance. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Director of project management vs director program management salary

Directors of project management and directors program management have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Project Management	Director Program Management
Average salary	$126,958	$141,289
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $187,000	Between $102,000 And $195,000
Highest paying City	Foster City, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Technology

Differences between director of project management and director program management education

There are a few differences between a director of project management and a director program management in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Project Management	Director Program Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Carnegie Mellon University

Director of project management vs director program management demographics

Here are the differences between directors of project management' and directors program management' demographics:

	Director Of Project Management	Director Program Management
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1%	Male, 69.9% Female, 30.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	11%

Differences between director of project management and director program management duties and responsibilities

Director of project management example responsibilities.

Develop and manage RFP processes to procure third party products and services.
Manage & facilitate agile scrum masters, project managers and business analysts including providing direction, guidance and training.
Develop and lead divisional IP application strategy and review process to improve patent return on investment and alignment with product strategies.
Direct logistics and manufacturing process at Baltimore depot and revamp of product line to achieve desire mission-readiness capability.
Streamline and centralize usage of project management tools to manage dependencies and transparent delivery milestones for highly complex SaaS platforms
Lead scrum team through multiple development sprints for overall product improvement base on customer feedback and market research.

Director program management example responsibilities.

Achieve ISO [] and ISO [] certification within 12 and 6 months, respectively, from scratch.
Manage a team of designers, developers and QA engineers.
Monitor and manage vendor performances to ensure contractual SLA's are met.
Set measurable objectives for team and individual reports, providing guidance to achieve KPIs.
Make sure that the OS achieve or exceed feature parity with native Linux interfaces.
Manage overhead systems projects for various OEM's on a variety of vehicle platforms.

Director of project management vs director program management skills

Common director of project management skills

Oversight, 9%
Risk Management, 6%
Resource Management, 5%
Business Objectives, 5%
Healthcare, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%

Common director program management skills

Program Management, 16%
Project Management, 9%
Cloud, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Product Management, 4%
Lifecycle Management, 4%

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Director Of Project Management
Director Of Project Management vs Director Program Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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