Public health director vs unit director

The differences between public health directors and unit 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 public health director and a unit director. Additionally, a public health director has an average salary of $85,569, which is higher than the $74,346 average annual salary of a unit director.

The top three skills for a public health director include community health, public health and public health programs. The most important skills for a unit director are patients, patient care, and customer service.

Public health director vs unit director overview

	Public Health Director	Unit Director
Yearly salary	$85,569	$74,346
Hourly rate	$41.14	$35.74
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	75,124	41,585
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a public health director do?

Public affairs specialists, also called media or communication specialists, are responsible for communicating with the public on behalf of an individual, company, government, or politicians. This role will require you to perform various tasks including creating press kit materials, such as images, press releases, and pitch letters for media outlets, maintaining the reputation and identity of the client or employer, and evaluating clients' public opinion through polls, social media listening, and surveys. In addition, public affairs specialists are responsible for evaluating promotional and advertising programs.

What does a unit director do?

A unit director is a management professional who is responsible for directing and managing a group of medical professionals in an organization. This director must manage the daily clinical and administrative duties for those professionals involved in the mental health hospitalization programs. The director must assist in recruiting healthcare professionals to maximize the branch and margin profits of the medical establishment. This director should also attend meetings with the OCFS program to discuss the performance and outcome measures of the program.

Public health director vs unit director salary

Public health directors and unit directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Health Director	Unit Director
Average salary	$85,569	$74,346
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $131,000	Between $42,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Fairfield, CT
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Connecticut
Best paying company	Jefferson County Health Center	Palo Alto Networks
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Manufacturing

Differences between public health director and unit director education

There are a few differences between a public health director and a unit director in terms of educational background:

	Public Health Director	Unit Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Pennsylvania

Public health director vs unit director demographics

Here are the differences between public health directors' and unit directors' demographics:

	Public Health Director	Unit Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%	Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.7% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between public health director and unit director duties and responsibilities

Public health director example responsibilities.

Manage multiple patients, assessing ability to continue living independently or moving to higher acuity care.
Provide continuing medical education with HIV and TB specialists on the prevention and control of HIV and TB.
Provide oversight for communicable disease surveillance, investigation and control, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness.
Position demand expertise in grant oversight, strategic project planning, program management, and stakeholder collaboration.
Provide clinical exercise physiology services and health/wellness counseling for family practice/sports medicine/orthopedics medical group effecting positive lifestyle changes in patients serve.
Conduct and implement group WIC orientation emphasizing WIC benefits.

Unit director example responsibilities.

Prepare and manage payroll and purchasing, which include balancing of accounts within budgetary limits; establish daily interaction with clients.
Manage operational organizing of stock and equipment, order supplies and oversee building maintenance, cleanliness and security.
Provide case management services to residents in the Alzheimer's unit.
Migrate all operations to a new ERP and retail system with a successful implementation.
Develop and implement a program which assure quality of life for mid- stage Alzheimer's residents.
Oversee labor, as well as, payroll, purchases, complete work orders, and operating supplies.

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Public health director vs unit director skills

Common public health director skills

Community Health, 15%
Public Health, 10%
Public Health Programs, 8%
Public Health Issues, 6%
Health Education, 5%
Medicaid, 5%

Common unit director skills

Patients, 23%
Patient Care, 21%
Customer Service, 14%
Cleanliness, 7%
Staff Development, 6%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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