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Senior project director vs operations project manager

The differences between senior project directors and operations project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior project director has an average salary of $99,266, which is higher than the $90,352 average annual salary of an operations project manager.

The top three skills for a senior project director include project management, business operations and product development. The most important skills for an operations project manager are project management, business operations, and risk management.

Senior project director vs operations project manager overview

Senior Project DirectorOperations Project Manager
Yearly salary$99,266$90,352
Hourly rate$47.72$43.44
Growth rate-6%
Number of jobs86,779210,582
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4744
Years of experience-6

What does a senior project director do?

A senior project director spearheads and oversees projects in a company, aiming for smooth workflow and significant results. Their responsibilities typically include setting goals, establishing guidelines and timelines, managing staff, coordinating managers, liaising with external business partners, and monitoring the progress of all operations, resolving issues should any arise. They must also produce progress reports and present them to the executives. Moreover, as a senior project director, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach goals while promoting the company's policies and regulations.

What does an operations project manager do?

An operations project manager is responsible for monitoring the performance of the project team, ensuring that the operations meet the clients' standards and internal regulations with maximum productivity and efficiency. Operations project managers manage the department's budget and allocate materials and resources accurately, maintaining a record of expenses and costs forecasting. They coordinate with the clients, discussing project adjustments or additional tasks as needed, and lead project execution and deliverables by determining the team's needs and concerns, and enforcing strategic procedures.

Senior project director vs operations project manager salary

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

Senior Project DirectorOperations Project Manager
Average salary$99,266$90,352
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $146,000Between $66,000 And $122,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaConnecticut
Best paying companyAmazonMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyFinance

Differences between senior project director and operations project manager education

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

Senior Project DirectorOperations Project Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior project director vs operations project manager demographics

Here are the differences between senior project directors' and operations project managers' demographics:

Senior Project DirectorOperations Project Manager
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 58.5% Female, 41.5%Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between senior project director and operations project manager duties and responsibilities

Senior project director example responsibilities.

  • Lead the team through the technical and commercial evaluation of bids and selection of the LSTK EPC contractor.
  • Manage a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative consumer insights studies in the automotive, healthcare, and consumer products industries.
  • Manage content enter into Salesforce.
  • Manage multiple research databases, perform data entry and conduct cost-effectiveness statistical analysis using SPSS.
  • Manage qualitative projects from study design through analysis for consumer package goods, business-to-business, healthcare and pharmaceutical research projects.
  • Develop and maintain SharePoint InfoPath forms.
  • Show more

Operations project manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage resource allocation to help maximize ROI and focus on the division's strategy.
  • Manage operational programs that include the introduction and preparation for the manufacture of new products, design enhancements and OEM deviations.
  • Manage elaborate software implementation projects relate to national convenience store/gas station point of sale (POS) technology.
  • Manage payroll distribution process ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and confidentiality to protect client's privacy and prevent liability of exposure.
  • Reduce emergency department length of stay: participants reduce time to admit patients by 90 minutes.
  • Assist with providing best practices for the PMO base on previous positions that include PMO set up and interaction.
  • Show more

Senior project director vs operations project manager skills

Common senior project director skills
  • Project Management, 24%
  • Business Operations, 17%
  • Product Development, 12%
  • Client Satisfaction, 6%
  • Strategic Direction, 5%
  • Business Development, 5%
Common operations project manager skills
  • Project Management, 20%
  • Business Operations, 6%
  • Risk Management, 5%
  • Process Improvement, 4%
  • Business Process, 4%
  • Provide Management, 4%

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