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Senior project manager vs associate director

The differences between senior project managers and associate directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate director has an average salary of $114,223, which is higher than the $110,947 average annual salary of a senior project manager.

The top three skills for a senior project manager include project management, program management and portfolio. The most important skills for an associate director are patients, healthcare, and project management.

Senior project manager vs associate director overview

Senior Project ManagerAssociate Director
Yearly salary$110,947$114,223
Hourly rate$53.34$54.91
Growth rate16%8%
Number of jobs183,21072,370
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

What does a senior project manager do?

Senior project managers are experienced employees assigned to oversee a specific project in the organization. They manage the project from conception to execution. They are onboard the project from the ideation phase, providing valuable insights to ensure the success of the project. Senior project managers are also in charge of managing the budget, ensuring that the expected timelines are followed, adjusting strategies when needed, and guiding project team members. It is important for senior project managers to be good leaders and communicators. They should be able to balance the interests of all the stakeholders involved in the project. They should have good interpersonal skills and decision-making skills.

What does an associate director do?

An associate director oversees the daily activities and business operations within a particular area. They are primarily responsible for devising strategies that aim for growth in profit and customer satisfaction, implementing policies and standards, evaluate the workforce, providing support to various departments, and setting goals in terms of budget and sales. Furthermore, they must regularly report progress to the director and coordinate with managers and supervisors in the joint effort to reach the vision and mission of the company.

Senior project manager vs associate director salary

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

Senior Project ManagerAssociate Director
Average salary$110,947$114,223
Salary rangeBetween $82,000 And $148,000Between $79,000 And $164,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASouth San Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyRokuLegalmatch.com
Best paying industryTechnologyPharmaceutical

Differences between senior project manager and associate director education

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

Senior Project ManagerAssociate Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior project manager vs associate director demographics

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

Senior Project ManagerAssociate Director
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 71.4% Female, 28.6%Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between senior project manager and associate director duties and responsibilities

Senior project manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead a cloud base property management project.
  • Manage all financial interfaces to existing PeopleSoft applications from design to delivery.
  • Lead implementation of JIRA and numerous project/program delivery improvements in order efficiently deliver concurrent application releases.
  • Manage client relationships and perform necessary functions to build and deliver private/secure CRM applications and email accounts.
  • Streamline and centralize usage of project management tools to manage dependencies and transparent delivery milestones for highly complex SaaS platforms
  • Establish project scope with customer and manage implementation of proprietary Linux /Ubuntu software to ensure on-time delivery with high quality.
  • Show more

Associate director example responsibilities.

  • Lead implementation of OPPE and FPPE for TJC.
  • Manage accounting, weekly reports, local contacts, and maintenance of sets, props, and costumes.
  • Manage all aspects of music ministry - including arranging all music for schedule services special programs and events.
  • Manage departmental training schedules, work schedules and CPSI electronic medical record (EMR), certifications and competencies.
  • Manage web development and rebranding initiative.
  • Create a coordinate university social media committee quadrupling engagement during campaigns and achieving a national twitter trend during commencement.
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Senior project manager vs associate director skills

Common senior project manager skills
  • Project Management, 17%
  • Program Management, 6%
  • Portfolio, 5%
  • Infrastructure, 4%
  • Project Scope, 4%
  • Business Development, 3%
Common associate director skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Healthcare, 8%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Oversight, 6%
  • Portfolio, 6%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

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