Senior director vs director of project management

The differences between senior directors and directors of project management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior director has an average salary of $152,047, which is higher than the $126,958 average annual salary of a director of project management.

The top three skills for a senior director include healthcare, analytics and patients. The most important skills for a director of project management are oversight, risk management, and resource management.

Senior director vs director of project management overview

	Senior Director	Director Of Project Management
Yearly salary	$152,047	$126,958
Hourly rate	$73.10	$61.04
Growth rate	10%	16%
Number of jobs	131,871	200,498
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	39	47
Years of experience	10	-

What does a senior director do?

Senior directors are the top management who manage the overall corporate structure of a brand. These executives take responsibility for the planning, operations, and profitability of the company. They direct and control all the functions of businesses. Their jobs cover the advertising, marketing, sales, and promotions of products and services. They are the people behind the tactical and strategic management of every asset of the enterprise through different programs.

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.

Senior director vs director of project management salary

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

	Senior Director	Director Of Project Management
Average salary	$152,047	$126,958
Salary range	Between $105,000 And $219,000	Between $85,000 And $187,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Foster City, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Apple	Meta
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Real Estate

Differences between senior director and director of project management education

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

	Senior Director	Director Of Project Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Pennsylvania

Senior director vs director of project management demographics

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

	Senior Director	Director Of Project Management
Average age	39	47
Gender ratio	Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4%	Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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 senior director and director of project management duties and responsibilities

Senior director example responsibilities.

Lead the expansion for support of public sector business in EMEA and APAC.
Create and deliver pitch decks, while being task with managing RFP responses.
Organize scrum certification training, lead departmental reorganization around scrum teams and act as scrum coach.
Lead assessment, design, and implementation of operational governance capabilities for the EMEA & ASIA regions.
Manage ongoing ITIL certification program for UK operations as required by government regulation.
Help project managers understand financial responsibilities and lead them in increase product delivery and ROI.

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.

Senior director vs director of project management skills

Common senior director skills

Healthcare, 6%
Analytics, 6%
Patients, 6%
Portfolio, 5%
Oversight, 5%
Project Management, 5%

Common director of project management skills

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

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Senior Director vs Director Of Project Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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