Product management director vs director program management

The differences between product management directors and directors program management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a product management director, becoming a director program management takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a product management director has an average salary of $156,724, which is higher than the $141,289 average annual salary of a director program management.

The top three skills for a product management director include product management, product strategy and cloud. The most important skills for a director program management are program management, project management, and cloud.

Product management director vs director program management overview

	Product Management Director	Director Program Management
Yearly salary	$156,724	$141,289
Hourly rate	$75.35	$67.93
Growth rate	10%	16%
Number of jobs	170,460	142,312
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	39	47
Years of experience	10	8

What does a product management director do?

A Product Management Director is responsible for a business product planning as well as execution throughout the life cycle of the business. They create the product strategy and requirements, develop and execute tactical plans, and maintain product and market knowledge.

What does a director program management do?

The duties of a director of program management depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the operations in particular areas, ensuring efficiency and productivity that will translate to sales. They are also responsible for devising strategies to optimize existing programs, spearheading new projects, setting goals and budget, resolving issues and concerns, and evaluating workforce performance. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Product management director vs director program management salary

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

	Product Management Director	Director Program Management
Average salary	$156,724	$141,289
Salary range	Between $112,000 And $219,000	Between $102,000 And $195,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between product management director and director program management education

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

	Product Management Director	Director Program Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	Carnegie Mellon University

Product management director vs director program management demographics

Here are the differences between product management directors' and directors program management' demographics:

	Product Management Director	Director Program Management
Average age	39	47
Gender ratio	Male, 77.1% Female, 22.9%	Male, 69.9% Female, 30.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	11%

Differences between product management director and director program management duties and responsibilities

Product management director example responsibilities.

Lead initiatives across broad categories ranging from search engine optimization to promotions and CRM to customer retention.
Deploy a highly customize third-party CRM and sales management software, managing $40MM annual ad sales revenue.
Manage a team of 8 developers , 3 editors , 1 QA person, and 1 graphic designer.
Manage cross-functional projects to integrate new products and features into the roadmap and GTM approach and drive adoption.
Manage the product management, business analyst, and UI teams in the development of a new class of EMM applications.
Manage the design development process from designer sketch handover to bulk production delivery.

Director program management example responsibilities.

Achieve ISO [] and ISO [] certification within 12 and 6 months, respectively, from scratch.
Manage a team of designers, developers and QA engineers.
Monitor and manage vendor performances to ensure contractual SLA's are met.
Set measurable objectives for team and individual reports, providing guidance to achieve KPIs.
Make sure that the OS achieve or exceed feature parity with native Linux interfaces.
Manage overhead systems projects for various OEM's on a variety of vehicle platforms.

Product management director vs director program management skills

Common product management director skills

Product Management, 13%
Product Strategy, 7%
Cloud, 6%
Analytics, 5%
Market Research, 4%
Product Roadmap, 4%

Common director program management skills

Program Management, 16%
Project Management, 9%
Cloud, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Product Management, 4%
Lifecycle Management, 4%

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Product Management Director vs Director Program Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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