Investigations director vs program director

The differences between investigations directors and program directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an investigations director and a program director. Additionally, an investigations director has an average salary of $91,261, which is higher than the $80,664 average annual salary of a program director.

The top three skills for an investigations director include oversight, law enforcement agencies and ethics. The most important skills for a program director are oversight, social work, and patients.

Investigations director vs program director overview

	Investigations Director	Program Director
Yearly salary	$91,261	$80,664
Hourly rate	$43.88	$38.78
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	10,339	82,810
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	6	6

What does an investigations director do?

An investigations director usually supervises and manages all the financial investigation and security management of a company or business. They conduct internal analysis and implement long-term solutions. Often, they handle a schedule of financial audits, review financial statements, and conduct interviews. They may seek advice from managers concerning compliance with the guidelines of a company.

What does a program director do?

Program directors are employees who oversee all aspects of a specific program in the company. They usually work in nonprofit organizations or are assigned to a department doing corporate social responsibility activities. Program directors ensure that the program is in line with the company's goals. They also ensure that the resources assigned to the program are properly managed and that all finances are accounted for. They create strategies to ensure the success of the program and communicate these to everyone involved. They lead the implementation and evaluation of the program.

Investigations director vs program director salary

Investigations directors and program directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Investigations Director	Program Director
Average salary	$91,261	$80,664
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $134,000	Between $50,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Georgia
Best paying company	-	Mayo Clinic
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between investigations director and program director education

There are a few differences between an investigations director and a program director in terms of educational background:

	Investigations Director	Program Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Investigations director vs program director demographics

Here are the differences between investigations directors' and program directors' demographics:

	Investigations Director	Program Director
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6%	Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	14%	14%

Differences between investigations director and program director duties and responsibilities

Investigations director example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain building security CCTV security cameras and issuing of access cards.
Manage SIU's arrears settlement program, negotiating offers, drafting justifications and executing agreements.
Manage a data analytics team spanning five locations as part of an FCPA investigation of an oil and gas services company.
Manage a proprietary POS transaction exception reporting and auditing process.
Task with the oversight of day-to-day operational flow of the 3rd party SIU investigations.
Spearhead global investigations of fraud and ethics violations in business units throughout the company.

Program director example responsibilities.

Manage personnel performing SAS programming, technical document preparation and quality assurance.
Manage program budgets and supervise staff to ensure that immunization and registry activities are successfully implement.
Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
Manage day-to-day oversight and management involving planning, programming, execution, distribution, and analysis for assign organizations budgets.
Implement client ADL, ISP, and behavior plans in a group home.
Organize schedule for swim lessons and kids camp.

Investigations director vs program director skills

Common investigations director skills

Oversight, 9%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 9%
Ethics, 7%
Litigation, 6%
Fraud Investigations, 6%
SIU, 5%

Common program director skills

Oversight, 9%
Social Work, 6%
Patients, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Mental Health, 5%
Program Management, 5%

Investigations Director vs. similar jobs

Investigations Director related careers

Investigations Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Industry
Investigations Director
Investigations Director vs Program Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs