Senior director, operations vs managing director

The differences between senior directors, operations and managing 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 senior director, operations and a managing director. Additionally, a senior director, operations has an average salary of $149,771, which is higher than the $129,690 average annual salary of a managing director.

The top three skills for a senior director, operations include customer service, oversight and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a managing director are healthcare, portfolio, and business development.

Senior director, operations vs managing director overview

	Senior Director, Operations	Managing Director
Yearly salary	$149,771	$129,690
Hourly rate	$72.01	$62.35
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	120,499	81,022
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a senior director, operations do?

The senior director of operations generally works with other managers to set goals for the future of the company and evaluates performance to check whether certain goals are achieved. They are responsible for making sure that operational processes are within the prescribed budget and timeline. Also, they oversee, implement, and evaluate operation processes and procedures to see if they comply with the set standards and procedures of the company. Additionally, they lead in developing strategies and implementation plans to enhance and standardize all units of operations.

What does a managing director do?

A Managing Director oversees workflow and progress, making sure that all operations align within the company or organization's mission or set of goals. They are responsible for crafting strategies, devising effective business plans, and executing guidelines that would nurture a company's growth, and as well as to be the driving force that would direct employees to the company's objectives. Furthermore, a Managing Director must coordinate with those in a higher position, such as the members of the board.

Senior director, operations vs managing director salary

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

	Senior Director, Operations	Managing Director
Average salary	$149,771	$129,690
Salary range	Between $103,000 And $216,000	Between $72,000 And $233,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Washington	New York
Best paying company	Genentech	Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Finance

Differences between senior director, operations and managing director education

There are a few differences between a senior director, operations and a managing director in terms of educational background:

	Senior Director, Operations	Managing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior director, operations vs managing director demographics

Here are the differences between senior directors, operations' and managing directors' demographics:

	Senior Director, Operations	Managing Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 75.7% Female, 24.3%	Male, 73.5% Female, 26.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between senior director, operations and managing director duties and responsibilities

Senior director, operations example responsibilities.

Design and manage systems and processes to deliver consistent, scalable and compliant with SOX and other regulations.
Manage PMO with responsibility for performance management, resource and portfolio management.
Manage new product co-development program with a major medical device company that enable remote surgical oversight and support.
Finance and billing accountability across Medicaid, manage care commercial insurance, insurance verification, contract management, and benefits administration.
Introduce KPIs to raise performance in business development, supply chain, and CRM - aligning CRM with long-term strategy.
Steer RapidApp, a mid-size mobile SaaS platform, through the acquisition process.

Managing director example responsibilities.

Create and manage the social media presence via a festival page on Facebook.
Manage all consulting resources and have overall P/L responsibilities for the Atlanta office.
Manage the lessee and lessor relationships regarding exchange seat leases with major markets, such as NYSE, AMEX, CBOE.
Manage denials and expedite managed care appeals (reimbursement reconsideration).
Manage payroll processing for thousands of industrial temporary workers and bill respective clients.
Manage the Ketera SaaS relationship for IBM with engagement development and profitability responsibilities.

Senior director, operations vs managing director skills

Common senior director, operations skills

Customer Service, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
SR, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Process Improvement, 4%

Common managing director skills

Healthcare, 7%
Portfolio, 7%
Business Development, 6%
Oversight, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Senior Director, Operations
Senior Director, Operations vs Managing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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