Program director vs associate director

The differences between program directors and associate directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate director has an average salary of $114,223, which is higher than the $80,664 average annual salary of a program director.

The top three skills for a program director include oversight, social work and patients. The most important skills for an associate director are patients, healthcare, and project management.

Program director vs associate director overview

	Program Director	Associate Director
Yearly salary	$80,664	$114,223
Hourly rate	$38.78	$54.91
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	82,810	72,370
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	40	47
Years of experience	6	-

What does a program director do?

Program directors are employees who oversee all aspects of a specific program in the company. They usually work in nonprofit organizations or are assigned to a department doing corporate social responsibility activities. Program directors ensure that the program is in line with the company's goals. They also ensure that the resources assigned to the program are properly managed and that all finances are accounted for. They create strategies to ensure the success of the program and communicate these to everyone involved. They lead the implementation and evaluation of the program.

What does an associate director do?

An associate director oversees the daily activities and business operations within a particular area. They are primarily responsible for devising strategies that aim for growth in profit and customer satisfaction, implementing policies and standards, evaluate the workforce, providing support to various departments, and setting goals in terms of budget and sales. Furthermore, they must regularly report progress to the director and coordinate with managers and supervisors in the joint effort to reach the vision and mission of the company.

Program director vs associate director salary

Program directors and associate directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Director	Associate Director
Average salary	$80,664	$114,223
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $129,000	Between $79,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Georgia	New Jersey
Best paying company	Mayo Clinic	Legalmatch.com
Best paying industry	Technology	Pharmaceutical

Differences between program director and associate director education

There are a few differences between a program director and an associate director in terms of educational background:

	Program Director	Associate Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Program director vs associate director demographics

Here are the differences between program directors' and associate directors' demographics:

	Program Director	Associate Director
Average age	40	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	14%	10%

Differences between program director and associate director duties and responsibilities

Program director example responsibilities.

Manage personnel performing SAS programming, technical document preparation and quality assurance.
Manage program budgets and supervise staff to ensure that immunization and registry activities are successfully implement.
Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
Manage day-to-day oversight and management involving planning, programming, execution, distribution, and analysis for assign organizations budgets.
Implement client ADL, ISP, and behavior plans in a group home.
Organize schedule for swim lessons and kids camp.

Associate director example responsibilities.

Lead implementation of OPPE and FPPE for TJC.
Manage accounting, weekly reports, local contacts, and maintenance of sets, props, and costumes.
Manage all aspects of music ministry - including arranging all music for schedule services special programs and events.
Manage departmental training schedules, work schedules and CPSI electronic medical record (EMR), certifications and competencies.
Manage web development and rebranding initiative.
Create a coordinate university social media committee quadrupling engagement during campaigns and achieving a national twitter trend during commencement.

Program director vs associate director skills

Common program director skills

Oversight, 9%
Social Work, 6%
Patients, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Mental Health, 5%
Program Management, 5%

Common associate director skills

Patients, 11%
Healthcare, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Oversight, 6%
Portfolio, 6%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

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Program Director
Program Director vs Associate Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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