What does a planning director do?
Planning Directors are members of the executive team or the top management of a company. They oversee the company's plans and the strategies involved in reaching company goals. They manage the resources of the company by reviewing the budget and by overseeing human resources activities. They ensure that the company works toward its goals and that the company follows through with its plans. That being said, Planning Directors do not necessarily police the company's actions, especially if it deviates from the original plans. Instead, they steer the company towards the fulfillment of such plans. If the plan is no longer viable, they should be flexible enough to pursue new plans to achieve their goals still.
Planning director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real planning director resumes:
- Manage customized portfolio, define product strategy, POS and shipping forecast, and promotional plans.
- Develop and lead marketing program to promote HMO enrollment and hospital product line services to 55k beneficiaries.
- Champion and lead the selection and implementation of Hyperion Essbase business intelligence software.
- Lead central team summarizing and prioritizing all DOD opportunities, enabling more efficient and effective resource allocation across several program departments.
- Utilize ETO software for assessment and tracking.
- Implement new CRM - ClientBase, investigate alternate consortium relationships.
- Represent corporation as liaison with print vendor, with oversight of relationship, budget, and all technical processes.
- Establish key performance metrics (KPI) in all functional areas to maintain optimal performance and productivity across all levels.
- Write programs in SAS using MXG databases and SMF records to create daily, weekly, monthly and adhoc reports.
- Partner with corporate MBO team to ensure strategic success by aligning activities with business drivers through management of corporate KPI program.
- Assist in implementation of Hyperion software.
- Assist in proposal writing regarding logistics.
- Measure campaign effectiveness, ROI analysis and overall event satisfaction.
- Conduct ROI analysis; examine margin requirements along with operational & go-to-market plans.
- Develop event production plans including supervision of event logistics and coordination with caterer and all other contracts.
Planning director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Planning Directors are proficient in Project Management, Financial Analysis, and Business Planning. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Organizational skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Planning Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 14%
Developed and implemented Project Management Office which included the introduction of new project request documentation and user templates.
- Financial Analysis, 7%
Developed project prioritization process that incorporated strategic impact, resource modeling, architectural fit, risk and financial analysis.
- Business Planning, 6%
Developed and implemented formal budgeting and business planning procedures for the organization.
- Data Analysis, 5%
Performed in-depth data analysis of historical sales patterns to identify and assign regional store attributes based on local customer preferences.
- Customer Service, 5%
Implemented Continuous Replenishment Planning with international affiliates, resulting in an increase in customer service and a decrease in working capital.
- Planning Process, 5%
Developed and implemented a corporate strategic planning process, and handled account management for their largest private label customer.
Common skills that a planning director uses to do their job include "project management," "financial analysis," and "business planning." You can find details on the most important planning director responsibilities below.
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a planning director to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." Planning directors often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided overall direction for production planning and inventory control function to four manufacturing plants as well as rework and distribution facilities. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling planning director duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." According to a planning director resume, here's how planning directors can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "managed four direct reports responsible for a $500k organizational budget. "
Communication skills. planning directors are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to planning director responsibilities, because "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." A planning director resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "maintained open communication with store operations and divisional managers to identify special store nuances and needs. "
Analytical skills. planning director responsibilities often require "analytical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." This resume example shows what planning directors do with analytical skills on a typical day: "performed financial and development analysis, due diligence and market analysis/research. "
Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a planning director to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what planning directors relies on this skill, since "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." How this skill relates to planning director duties can be seen in an example from a planning director resume snippet: "trained new employees in business practices, new business development, and interpersonal communication. "
The three companies that hire the most planning directors are:
- Morgan Stanley81 planning directors jobs
- KPMG LLP66 planning directors jobs
- Elevance Health
47 planning directors jobs
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Compare different planning directors
Planning director vs. Director of communications and marketing
A director of communications and marketing spearheads a company's marketing and communication projects in adherence with the company's vision and mission. Being the director, they have the authority to make decisions, delegate responsibilities among managers and teams, and direct the project and program cycle from planning to execution, solving issues and concerns if any would arise. They also set goals and budgets, establish timelines and requirements, and conduct regular assessments. Additionally, as a director, they must lead and empower employees in a joint effort to reach goals and industry standards.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a planning director are more likely to require skills like "financial analysis," "business planning," "data analysis," and "strong project management." On the other hand, a job as a director of communications and marketing requires skills like "web content," "strategic communications," "marketing campaigns," and "press releases." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Directors of communications and marketing earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $78,844. On the other hand, planning directors are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $135,601.directors of communications and marketing tend to reach lower levels of education than planning directors. In fact, directors of communications and marketing are 7.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.7% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Planning director vs. Director of admissions and marketing
A director of marketing & development is a management professional who is responsible for improving the marketing scheme of an organization while discovering ways to obtain new customers. This director is required to lead a team of marketers and work with other departments to make the organization's marketing plans become a reality. The director must possess customer service skills as they often personally reach out to and deal directly with clients. This director must also work within the constraints of a budget to create the necessary marketing materials.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, planning director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "project management," "financial analysis," "business planning," and "data analysis." Meanwhile, a director of admissions and marketing has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "admission process," "facility census," and "rehabilitation." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, directors of admissions and marketing achieve lower levels of education than planning directors. They're 8.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Planning director vs. Director of marketing & development
A director of new business development is in charge of spearheading new programs and procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set goals and objectives in adherence to the company's vision and mission, establishing guidelines, allocating budgets, and overseeing the progress of all efforts. Furthermore, as a director of new business development, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, planning directors are more likely to have skills like "project management," "financial analysis," "business planning," and "data analysis." But a director of marketing & development is more likely to have skills like "facebook," "market research," "revenue growth," and "twitter."
Directors of marketing & development make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $117,707. On the other hand, planning directors are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $135,601.Most directors of marketing & development achieve a lower degree level compared to planning directors. For example, they're 5.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Planning director vs. Director new business development
Even though a few skill sets overlap between planning directors and directors new business development, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a planning director might have more use for skills like "financial analysis," "business planning," "data analysis," and "strong project management." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors new business development require skills like "account management," "business strategies," "treasury," and "corporate clients. "
Directors new business development enjoy the best pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $126,576. For comparison, planning directors earn the highest salary in the professional industry.directors new business development reach lower levels of education compared to planning directors, in general. The difference is that they're 6.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of planning director
Updated January 8, 2025
