Director of project management vs project manager

The differences between directors of project management and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a director of project management has an average salary of $126,958, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.

The top three skills for a director of project management include oversight, risk management and resource management. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Director of project management vs project manager overview

	Director Of Project Management	Project Manager
Yearly salary	$126,958	$91,578
Hourly rate	$61.04	$44.03
Growth rate	16%	8%
Number of jobs	200,498	167,116
Job satisfaction	-	4.17
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

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 project manager do?

Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.

Director of project management vs project manager salary

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

	Director Of Project Management	Project Manager
Average salary	$126,958	$91,578
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $187,000	Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	Foster City, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Technology

Differences between director of project management and project manager education

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

	Director Of Project Management	Project Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Director of project management vs project manager demographics

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

	Director Of Project Management	Project Manager
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1%	Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between director of project management and project manager 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.

Project manager example responsibilities.

Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.

Director of project management vs project manager skills

Common director of project management skills

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

Common project manager skills

Project Management, 23%
Project Scope, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Infrastructure, 5%
Status Reports, 4%
Risk Management, 3%

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Director Of Project Management
Director Of Project Management vs Project Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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