Program director vs director program management

The differences between program directors and directors program management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a program director, becoming a director program management takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a director program management has an average salary of $141,289, 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 a director program management are program management, project management, and cloud.

Program director vs director program management overview

	Program Director	Director Program Management
Yearly salary	$80,664	$141,289
Hourly rate	$38.78	$67.93
Growth rate	8%	16%
Number of jobs	82,810	142,312
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	40	47
Years of experience	6	8

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 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.

Program director vs director program management salary

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

	Program Director	Director Program Management
Average salary	$80,664	$141,289
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $129,000	Between $102,000 And $195,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Georgia	California
Best paying company	Mayo Clinic	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between program director and director program management education

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

	Program Director	Director Program Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Carnegie Mellon University

Program director vs director program management demographics

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

	Program Director	Director Program Management
Average age	40	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%	Male, 69.9% Female, 30.1%
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, 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	14%	11%

Differences between program director and director program management 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.

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.

Program director vs director program management skills

Common program director skills

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

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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Program Director
Program Director vs Director Program Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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