Professional development manager vs director, learning and development

The differences between professional development managers and directors, learning and development can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a professional development manager and a director, learning and development. Additionally, a professional development manager has an average salary of $101,737, which is higher than the $92,733 average annual salary of a director, learning and development.

The top three skills for a professional development manager include professional growth, project management and educational programs. The most important skills for a director, learning and development are human resources, training programs, and project management.

Professional development manager vs director, learning and development overview

	Professional Development Manager	Director, Learning And Development
Yearly salary	$101,737	$92,733
Hourly rate	$48.91	$44.58
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	114,553	72,265
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a professional development manager do?

A professional development manager is typically responsible for designing and developing career and professional growth programs in companies. Their responsibilities usually include planning interviews and assessments to identify the employees' needs, establishing guidelines and timelines, coordinating staff, liaising with internal and external parties, and collaborating with other experts. They must also develop training programs to enhance employees' soft and hard skills. Moreover, as a professional development manager, they must lead and encourage staff to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a director, learning and development do?

A director of learning and development is primarily in charge of spearheading efforts to improve the workforce in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting strategies to find out areas that need improvement, coordinating with departments and staff, producing various training programs that will sharpen the employee's skills, and crafting skills assessment activities. There are also instances when a director must create progress reports and presentations, manage schedules, and liaise with clients and stakeholders. Furthermore, as the director, it is essential to implement the policies and guidelines of the company.

Professional development manager vs director, learning and development salary

Professional development managers and directors, learning and development have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Professional Development Manager	Director, Learning And Development
Average salary	$101,737	$92,733
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $156,000	Between $61,000 And $138,000
Highest paying City	Daly City, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Shearman & Sterling	Google
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between professional development manager and director, learning and development education

There are a few differences between a professional development manager and a director, learning and development in terms of educational background:

	Professional Development Manager	Director, Learning And Development
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Professional development manager vs director, learning and development demographics

Here are the differences between professional development managers' and directors, learning and development' demographics:

	Professional Development Manager	Director, Learning And Development
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 41.9% Female, 58.1%	Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 4.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 4.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	18%	18%

Differences between professional development manager and director, learning and development duties and responsibilities

Professional development manager example responsibilities.

Manage SDLC process, while participating in requirements gathering, functional documentation, data analysis, and implementation plans.
Attend and at times chair San Diego CME providers network to share best practices across organizations.
Negotiate with product management, development and QA to ensure operational support requirements are incorporated into new product design specifications.
Create bi-weekly target HDQ messages direct to flight attendants via e-Board PowerPoint slides.
Team with speakers and sponsors to develop materials including PowerPoint and case studies.
Develop content and deliver professional skills training including client development, professional responsibility, ethics, and legal practice skills.

Director, learning and development example responsibilities.

Manage RFP process to identify best-in-class e-Learning development providers.
Lead the implementation of eLearning courses design to support trainer certification process.
Base on results, ask to serve in newly create CLO role.
Maintain accurate training records and documentation to report ROI statistics.
Increase organizational commitment to development of human capital, and increase ROI of programs and initiatives.
Customize eLearning curricula base on role - individual contributor-, manager-, and senior manager-level courses.

Professional development manager vs director, learning and development skills

Common professional development manager skills

Professional Growth, 11%
Project Management, 11%
Educational Programs, 10%
Staff Development, 10%
Training Programs, 7%
Training Sessions, 4%

Common director, learning and development skills

Human Resources, 7%
Training Programs, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Instructional Design, 5%
Blended Learning, 4%
Learning Management System, 4%

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Professional Development Manager
Professional Development Manager vs Director, Learning And Development

Updated January 8, 2025

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