Public works director vs chief finance officer

The differences between public works directors and chief finance officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a public works director and a chief finance officer. Additionally, a chief finance officer has an average salary of $143,947, which is higher than the $88,965 average annual salary of a public works director.

The top three skills for a public works director include public works, infrastructure and building maintenance. The most important skills for a chief finance officer are payroll, CPA, and oversight.

Public works director vs chief finance officer overview

	Public Works Director	Chief Finance Officer
Yearly salary	$88,965	$143,947
Hourly rate	$42.77	$69.21
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	14,361	145,184
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	52	52
Years of experience	-	-

What does a public works director do?

Public Works Directors can expect an average salary of $70K per year in a career that will demand strong communication skills, planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Also, strong leadership will be a must for implementing and recommending alternative courses of action for administrative problems. This career choice requires a bachelor's degree in public administration, business administration, liberal arts, or law and presents responsibilities such as daily maintenance of a city's infrastructure services, such as sewer, sanitation, or street maintenance, as well as sanitary sewer operations.

What does a chief finance officer do?

A chief financial officer is responsible for managing and reviewing the financial status of a company. Chief financial officers' duties include ensuring the accuracy of financial reports, monitoring the company's expenses and budget goals, providing recommendations to prevent financial loss and increase revenues, processing the company's tax obligations, and resolving financial disputes. A chief financial officer must have an impeccable knowledge of the financial industry, updated with the current market trend, and strong leadership and decision-making skills to support the organization's financial department.

Public works director vs chief finance officer salary

Public works directors and chief finance officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Works Director	Chief Finance Officer
Average salary	$88,965	$143,947
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $134,000	Between $80,000 And $257,000
Highest paying City	San Rafael, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Icma-rc	Baker McKenzie
Best paying industry	Government	Construction

Differences between public works director and chief finance officer education

There are a few differences between a public works director and a chief finance officer in terms of educational background:

	Public Works Director	Chief Finance Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Civil Engineering	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Public works director vs chief finance officer demographics

Here are the differences between public works directors' and chief finance officers' demographics:

	Public Works Director	Chief Finance Officer
Average age	52	52
Gender ratio	Male, 91.4% Female, 8.6%	Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between public works director and chief finance officer duties and responsibilities

Public works director example responsibilities.

Manage key controls, CCTV, safety devices, and training activities.
Conceptualise, initiate & independently manage innovative after-school & lunch programs, and innovative successful school fundraiser.
Manage, delegate and perform facility repairs, apartment renovations, preventive maintenance and inventory control utilizing CMMS program for maintenance.
Provide management oversight of safety and training programs, ensure quality management certification and OSHA standards are maintain.
Complete all EPA require monthly testing.
Help with on air promotions and giveaways.

Chief finance officer example responsibilities.

Lead management team in developing and executing a combination of pricing and cost savings strategies that improve EBITDA more than threefold.
Lead the consolidation of financial and operational systems for non-acute services including rehabilitation and psychiatry services.
Lead system conversion to Hyperion planning budgeting/forecasting software, responsible for training, developing and implementation.
Manage all firm banking relationships, treasury functions and retain signatory authority for all partnership and corporate accounts.
Lead implementation of new worldwide consolidation system, Hyperion, significantly reducing closing time and improving controls over the consolidation process.
Prepare annual general ledger reconciliations and consolidate financial reports for CPA tax preparation.

Public works director vs chief finance officer skills

Common public works director skills

Public Works, 12%
Infrastructure, 10%
Building Maintenance, 8%
Oversight, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Storm Water, 4%

Common chief finance officer skills

Payroll, 7%
CPA, 6%
Oversight, 5%
Financial Reports, 4%
Human Resources, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Public Works Director
Public Works Director vs Chief Finance Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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