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Senior project director vs program/project manager

The differences between senior project directors and program/project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a program/project manager has an average salary of $101,850, which is higher than the $99,266 average annual salary of a senior project director.

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

Senior project director vs program/project manager overview

Senior Project DirectorProgram/Project Manager
Yearly salary$99,266$101,850
Hourly rate$47.72$48.97
Growth rate-16%
Number of jobs86,779243,017
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

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 a program/project manager do?

The program manager and project manager are two important positions within a company that are thought to be similar. However, program managers direct diverse projects and programs while project managers head the team who is responsible for ensuring a project is completed on time and within budget. Program managers are responsible for the conveyance of the company goals and generally act as a customer interface that helps clients get their desired update and change of a project. Project managers, on the other hand, focus on the project's schedule, scope, and resources needed to complete it on time.

Senior project director vs program/project manager salary

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

Senior Project DirectorProgram/Project Manager
Average salary$99,266$101,850
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $146,000Between $74,000 And $138,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaCalifornia
Best paying companyAmazonMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between senior project director and program/project manager education

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

Senior Project DirectorProgram/Project Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior project director vs program/project manager demographics

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

Senior Project DirectorProgram/Project Manager
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 58.5% Female, 41.5%Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0%
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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between senior project director and program/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

Program/project manager example responsibilities.

  • Plan and manage infrastructure installations and enterprise hardware and software upgrades of classify systems while balancing resources to manage troubleshooting/maintenance actions.
  • Facilitate daily scrum meetings and collaborate with product owners to prioritize and manage backlog.
  • Utilize SharePoint, the company's document repository engine to manage access and documentation reviews.
  • Manage, monitors and measures project portfolio status, recommending corrective action as necessary and communicate portfolio status to their management.
  • Promote to positions base on demonstrate skills in business analysis, project management, portfolio management and customer relationship management.
  • Provide program and project management support for applications and infrastructure systems monitoring as well as enhancements and maintenance of existing systems.
  • Show more

Senior project director vs program/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 program/project manager skills
  • Project Management, 18%
  • Program Management, 7%
  • PMP, 6%
  • Status Reports, 5%
  • Infrastructure, 4%
  • Portfolio, 4%

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