Program management specialist vs director of project management

The differences between program management specialists and directors of project management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a director of project management has an average salary of $126,958, which is higher than the $82,591 average annual salary of a program management specialist.

The top three skills for a program management specialist include project management, DOD and powerpoint. The most important skills for a director of project management are oversight, risk management, and resource management.

Program management specialist vs director of project management overview

	Program Management Specialist	Director Of Project Management
Yearly salary	$82,591	$126,958
Hourly rate	$39.71	$61.04
Growth rate	6%	16%
Number of jobs	152,144	200,498
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

What does a program management specialist do?

A project management specialist is responsible for overseeing different programs and projects within a company, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around identifying project needs, participating in setting goals and objectives, managing schedules and budgets, performing risk and cost assessments, and producing progress reports and presentations for the directors and other executives. Furthermore, a project management specialist may also perform research and analysis to find new business opportunities and liaise with clients to generate sales.

What does a director of project management do?

Project management directors are the ones who develop and direct the strategic planning of different projects. The directors oversee the coordination of resources and personnel necessary for project completion. Typically, the directors require certification for project management. They develop a methodology for standardized project management in a balanced matrix organization. The directors should be equipped with skills in process improvement, customer service, infrastructure, portfolio management, and strategic initiatives. They should also have skills in communication, attention to detail, and leadership.

Program management specialist vs director of project management salary

Program management specialists and directors of project management have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Management Specialist	Director Of Project Management
Average salary	$82,591	$126,958
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $122,000	Between $85,000 And $187,000
Highest paying City	Worcester, MA	Foster City, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Microsoft	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Real Estate

Differences between program management specialist and director of project management education

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

	Program Management Specialist	Director Of Project Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Program management specialist vs director of project management demographics

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

	Program Management Specialist	Director Of Project Management
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1%	Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between program management specialist and director of project management duties and responsibilities

Program management specialist example responsibilities.

Manage key performance indicators (KPI) for service metrics daily, weekly, monthly.
Manage the SharePoint website portal as well as classified/unclassified records.
Manage, monitors and measures project portfolio status, recommending corrective action as necessary and communicate portfolio status to their management.
Review, research and accurately process HAZMAT stock requests.
Involve in safety training, forklift training, hazmat training.
Practice and champion establish PMO standards and policies and contribute to continuous improvement of best practices.

Director of project management example responsibilities.

Develop and manage RFP processes to procure third party products and services.
Manage & facilitate agile scrum masters, project managers and business analysts including providing direction, guidance and training.
Develop and lead divisional IP application strategy and review process to improve patent return on investment and alignment with product strategies.
Direct logistics and manufacturing process at Baltimore depot and revamp of product line to achieve desire mission-readiness capability.
Streamline and centralize usage of project management tools to manage dependencies and transparent delivery milestones for highly complex SaaS platforms
Lead scrum team through multiple development sprints for overall product improvement base on customer feedback and market research.

Program management specialist vs director of project management skills

Common program management specialist skills

Project Management, 17%
DOD, 10%
PowerPoint, 7%
Business Development, 5%
Financial Management, 5%
Management Support, 4%

Common director of project management skills

Oversight, 9%
Risk Management, 6%
Resource Management, 5%
Business Objectives, 5%
Healthcare, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%

Program Management Specialist vs. similar jobs

Program Management Specialist related careers

Program Management Specialist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Program Management Specialist
Program Management Specialist vs Director Of Project Management

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs