What does a National Director do?
A national director is responsible for designing, developing, and implementing strategic plans for an organization. As the national director, you are expected to oversee the organization's day-to-day operations that include developing business plans and managing departments and staff. Other duties that you perform include evaluating the performance of employees, cultivating good relationships with other decision-makers and leaders, and implementing new strategies to increase profitability. As the national director, you are also responsible for directing and overseeing business development initiatives across the region.
National director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real national director resumes:
- Lead and coordinate RFP process for large national accounts.
- Garner B2C and B2B leads via trade and consumer shows; identify prospects for sales cultivation.
- Lead primary and secondary research teams on industry strategy and advise executive leadership council.
- Establish and manage the mid-Atlantic regional office of a privately own legal education company that provide educational services to law students.
- Spearhead business-to-business sales and marketing development and execution with chief oversight of corporate revenue growth within a northeast region.
- Structure and develop IDN /Corporate accounts programs.
- Replace content and layout to optimize SEO and increase hits.
- Develop GPO contract execution strategy for the sales force which is still in use today.
- Serve as key contact for governors and state Medicaid directors as well as their national associations.
- Work with brand teams to develop POS, print creative, and consumer facing ATL strategy.
- Help develop, POS materials for the retail market along with advertising, promotions and customer promotions.
- Improve SEO rankings to top 20 and BBB ratings to A+ using effective, data-driven organic and paid online marketing techniques.
- Participate in CRM systems integration planning and discovery.
- Monitor FDA warnings for potential new pharmaceutical practice areas.
- Implement diagnostic testing into practices in collaboration with key healthcare stakeholders.
National director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of National Directors are proficient in Project Management, Customer Service, and Healthcare. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of National Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 16%
Project management duties include organizing events, developing media strategies, implementing marketing plans, providing testimony, and campaign development.
- Customer Service, 10%
Created training/procedural handbook of best practices; maintained website regarding supply chain updates; normalized a uniform customer service performance index.
- Healthcare, 9%
Co-designed the strategic communications plan with senior executives based on Prudential HealthCare's overall strategy.
- Oversight, 7%
Spearheaded business-to-business sales and marketing development and execution with chief oversight of corporate revenue growth within a northeast region.
- Veterans, 4%
Conducted oral presentations for newly transitioning veterans, family members, and military leaders for on-base training programs.
- Patients, 4%
Worked on website for Leukemia Society; edited and wrote pamphlets for patients on coping with the impact of serious illness.
"project management," "customer service," and "healthcare" are among the most common skills that national directors use at work. You can find even more national director responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a national director to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." National directors often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "designated sales force customer relationship management (crm) administrator. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform national director duties is leadership skills. National directors responsibilities require that "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." National directors also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "diagnosed training needs and developed effective training materials to close skill gaps in sales and leadership for 4500 field employees. "
Analytical skills. national directors are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to national director responsibilities, because "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." A national director resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "managed company-wide database for the organization's financial management application. "
Communication skills. For certain national director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a national director rely on this skill, as "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what national directors do: "created and reviewed all branch e-communications, including 30-40 e-newsletters a year, web postings and press releases. "
The three companies that hire the most national directors are:
- Advantage Solutions10 national directors jobs
- American Red Cross5 national directors jobs
- RGA Environmental, A Terracon Company5 national directors jobs
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Compare different national directors
National director vs. Director of sales & business development
A director of sales & business development is responsible for monitoring the business and project plans, ensuring that the sales targets are met, according to project requirements and specifications. Directors of sales & business development perform data analysis to track business performance and identify opportunities to grow revenues and profits. They also coordinate with the clients and maintain healthy business relationships by enhancing their brand image on various platforms and reach the target audience. A director of sales & business development works closely with the marketing and sales team for public relations and marketing campaigns placement.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, national director responsibilities require skills like "project management," "customer service," "oversight," and "veterans." Meanwhile a typical director of sales & business development has skills in areas such as "value proposition," "sales cycle," "leveraged," and "lead qualification." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Directors of sales & business development earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $127,443. On the other hand, national directors are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $127,805.On average, directors of sales & business development reach similar levels of education than national directors. Directors of sales & business development are 4.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.National director vs. National accounts sales manager
A national accounts sales manager is responsible for maintaining healthy business relationships with clients by managing and monitoring the performance of their accounts. National accounts sales managers establish reasonable sales targets and develop techniques that would maximize sales staff productivity and efficiency. They conduct data and statistical analysis with the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase profitability. A national accounts sales manager negotiates contracts and agreements with clients and ensures their brand consistency in the market.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real national director resumes. While national director responsibilities can utilize skills like "project management," "customer service," "oversight," and "veterans," national accounts sales managers use skills like "national accounts," "customer satisfaction," "distributors," and "product line."
National accounts sales managers earn a lower average salary than national directors. But national accounts sales managers earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $103,530. Additionally, national directors earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $127,805 annually.national accounts sales managers earn lower levels of education than national directors in general. They're 10.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.National director vs. Business development director
A business development director specializes in crafting plans and strategies to develop the relationship between the brand, clients, and other key characters in the industry. It is their responsibility to examine and understand everything about the brand and figure out which areas require improvement or changes. They must also conduct a thorough marketing analysis and remain updated on the latest trends in the market to identify new opportunities that would improve customer satisfaction. Furthermore, they must also communicate with all clients, even appear on public gatherings to strengthen brand awareness.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from national director resumes include skills like "oversight," "veterans," "twitter," and "leadership development," whereas a business development director is more likely to list skills in "customer relationships," "sales process," "business relationships," and "lead generation. "
Business development directors earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $124,195. National directors earn the highest pay from the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $127,805.business development directors typically earn similar educational levels compared to national directors. Specifically, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.National director vs. Director/manager
A director/manager is responsible for developing strategic techniques to boost the operational efficiency of an organization in delivering high-quality services and satisfaction for the customers and business clients. Directors/managers identify business opportunities that would support the company's long-term goals and objectives, generating more revenues and closing contract deals for the business. They also handle the departmental budgets, allocating adequate resources for operations and project management. A director/manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in overseeing staff performance and handling their concerns.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between national directors and director/managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a national director might have more use for skills like "project management," "veterans," "strategic direction," and "revenue growth." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of director/managers require skills like "home health," "rehabilitation," "phone calls," and "financial statements. "
In general, director/managers earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $131,566. The highest-paying industry for a national director is the manufacturing industry.In general, director/managers hold similar degree levels compared to national directors. Director/managers are 4.6% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of national director
Updated January 8, 2025
