Manager, project director vs manager, project management

The differences between managers, project director and managers, project management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a manager, project director has an average salary of $104,614, which is higher than the $102,925 average annual salary of a manager, project management.

The top three skills for a manager, project director include project management, infrastructure and construction management. The most important skills for a manager, project management are project management, risk management, and portfolio.

Manager, project director vs manager, project management overview

	Manager, Project Director	Manager, Project Management
Yearly salary	$104,614	$102,925
Hourly rate	$50.30	$49.48
Growth rate	-	16%
Number of jobs	162,781	263,655
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

What does a manager, project director do?

A manager, project director monitors building progress, oversees finances, and ensures project quality. They make strategic decisions and provide leadership and direct project managers with feedback to put those decisions into practice. Project directors update project managers, stakeholders, and clients about project progress. Besides building robust working relationships and liaising with clients, these professionals also enable successful project completion by creating cost-effective plans. Manager, project directors manage risks to prevent reputational damage and delays. Moreover, these professionals ensure legal papers and permits get secured before starting the project.

What does a manager, project management do?

The role of a project management manager involves the planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure of projects. Project managers oversee the scope of the entire project, the team, success or failure, and its resources. They facilitate productivity and commitment, remove obstacles, and motivate their team members. Their skills should include leadership, critical thinking, communication, negotiating, and risk management. They should also know about cost management, scheduling, and task management.

Manager, project director vs manager, project management salary

Managers, project director and managers, project management have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Manager, Project Director	Manager, Project Management
Average salary	$104,614	$102,925
Salary range	Between $67,000 And $161,000	Between $73,000 And $144,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Cambridge Associates	Ropes & Gray
Best paying industry	Finance	Pharmaceutical

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

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

	Manager, Project Director	Manager, Project Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Manager, project director vs manager, project management demographics

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

	Manager, Project Director	Manager, Project Management
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 69.8% Female, 30.2%	Male, 61.9% Female, 38.1%
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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

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

Manager, project director example responsibilities.

Gather requirements, create RFP s, and manage the procurement process.
Manage qualitative projects from study design through analysis for consumer package goods, business-to-business, healthcare and pharmaceutical research projects.
Support sales team during RFP processes allowing for comprehensive development of solutions.
Administer PMO reviews for management board for projects status for all fund programs across the organization.
Support PMO organization, implementation and change management.
Collaborate with departmental project managers as well as contracted partners to implement new process work flows that positively impact Medicare patients.

Manager, project management example responsibilities.

Manage budgets and resources of various project groups to successfully implement ERP & CRM application.
Counsele application team leads in maximizing available migration windows for defect resolution.
Facilitate efforts on prioritizing bugs find during QA testing and manage remediation efforts.
Manage and monitor compliance with FDA validate system requirements, documentation creation and SDLC methodologies.
Manage services portfolio releases and delivery enablement process for major cloud and big data professional services offerings.
Lead digital initiative developments that integrate with current infrastructure, delivering timely market penetration to enhance organizational competitiveness.

Manager, project director vs manager, project management skills

Common manager, project director skills

Project Management, 20%
Infrastructure, 7%
Construction Management, 7%
Project Scope, 6%
Program Management, 5%
Logistics, 5%

Common manager, project management skills

Project Management, 20%
Risk Management, 7%
Portfolio, 5%
Customer Service, 3%
Process Improvement, 3%
On-Time Delivery, 3%

Manager, Project Director vs. similar jobs

Manager, Project Director related careers

Manager, Project Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Manager, Project Director
Manager, Project Director vs Manager, Project Management

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs