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Director, program and project management vs project manager

The differences between directors, program and project management and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a director, program and project management has an average salary of $127,842, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.

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

Director, program and project management vs project manager overview

Director, Program And Project ManagementProject Manager
Yearly salary$127,842$91,578
Hourly rate$61.46$44.03
Growth rate16%8%
Number of jobs233,335167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

What does a director, program and project management do?

A director of program and project management spearheads and oversees a company's projects and programs, ensuring quality and efficiency. They are in charge of setting goals and guidelines, organizing budgets and timelines, coordinating managers, streamlining roadmaps, and developing strategies to optimize operations. They may also liaise with key clients and external parties such as vendors and suppliers, research new business opportunities, and identify areas needing improvement in existing projects and programs, implementing solutions as necessary. Moreover, as a director, it is essential to monitor the workflow and the progress of the workforce while enforcing the company's regulations and policies.

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, program and project management vs project manager salary

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

Director, Program And Project ManagementProject Manager
Average salary$127,842$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $84,000 And $193,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-The Citadel
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between director, program and project management and project manager education

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

Director, Program And Project ManagementProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Director, program and project management vs project manager demographics

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

Director, Program And Project ManagementProject Manager
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 69.5% Female, 30.5%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between director, program and project management and project manager duties and responsibilities

Director, program and project management example responsibilities.

  • Manage legacy PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning (ERP) transition to new platform.
  • Develop full SDLC project plans, schedules, project estimates, and manage project budgets and schedules.
  • Manage and maintain all documentation utilizing SharePoint.
  • Manage PMO staff activities to ensure operational consistency.
  • Manage, monitors and measures project portfolio status, recommending corrective action as necessary and communicate portfolio status to their management.
  • Collaborate with enterprise team in RFP creation and review with resource and product vendors.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Director, program and project management vs project manager skills

Common director, program and project management skills
  • Project Management, 16%
  • Azure, 11%
  • Risk Management, 11%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 10%
  • Cloud, 9%
  • PMI, 9%
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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