Program director vs operations director

The differences between program directors and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a program director and an operations director. Additionally, an operations director has an average salary of $104,050, 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 operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

Program director vs operations director overview

	Program Director	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$80,664	$104,050
Hourly rate	$38.78	$50.02
Growth rate	8%	6%
Number of jobs	82,810	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	6	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 operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Program director vs operations director salary

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

	Program Director	Operations Director
Average salary	$80,664	$104,050
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $129,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Georgia	California
Best paying company	Mayo Clinic	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between program director and operations director education

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

	Program Director	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Program director vs operations director demographics

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

	Program Director	Operations Director
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
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, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	14%	10%

Differences between program director and operations 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.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

Program director vs operations director skills

Common program director skills

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

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Program Director
Program Director vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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