What does a senior vice president do?
A Senior Vice President's responsibilities vary according to the company or organization. Still, it mostly revolves around overseeing and leading a particular department's activities and operations, reporting to the president and the board, evaluating the progress and performances of teams and employees, and maintaining constant communication with staff and management. Furthermore, A Senior Vice President is also involved in forming strategies that would benefit the sales of the company, seek innovative options, review documents, and ensure that the operations are up to the standards of the company's policies and regulations.
Senior vice president responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior vice president resumes:
- Manage relationships with hedge funds, administrators and investors regarding trade requests, derivative restructuring and compliance issues.
- Manage legal proceedings and investigations with state, federal, and self-regulatory organization securities and insurance regulatory agencies.
- Manage the successful transition of a large-cap telecommunications company from NYSE to NASDAQ including all relate communications and events.
- Manage all financial functions including controlling/accounting, board and regulatory reporting, treasury and cash management, and asset/liability management.
- Develop institutional procedures for managing project logistics, vendor relations, supply chain, engineering functions, and document storage/sharing.
- Lead asset management function including budget development and analysis of and strategic planning for economic performance of real estate asset portfolio.
- Perform routine monitoring to determine the extent of compliance with BSA policies and procedures.
- Develop key BSA risk assessment and training modules; facilitate institution wide compliance and BSA training.
- Review and analyze sensitive information and evaluate appeals or denials.
- Ensure that KYC submissions are properly document and expeditiously review.
- Implement new accounting pronouncements relate to investments for statutory, GAAP and management reporting.
- Reduce annual management payroll expense by over $550,000 by consolidating four senior managers responsibilities.
- Expand asset quality disclosures and develop more comprehensive GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliations to improve reporting transparency.
- Develop partnerships with industry-vertical specialists in banking, healthcare, marketing, manufacturing, and software development.
- Spearhead enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives that eliminate $750K in payroll costs by restructuring sales and marketing.
Senior vice president skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Senior Vice Presidents are proficient in Financial Services, SVP, and Oversight. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Vice Presidents that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Financial Services, 8%
Transitioned previous financial services operational experience to product develop Provided industry and user perspective to product development and enhancement initiatives.
- SVP, 7%
Performed all administrative functions to support day-to-day operations of department SVP including extensive travel and expense report preparation using Concur.
- Oversight, 6%
Cultivated vendor relationship related to outsourced 150-seat contact center, ensuring adherence to service levels and oversight of key performance indicators.
- Healthcare, 6%
Implemented Wellness Program for Confluence Health CARSON TAHOE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE Carson City, NV
- Risk Management, 5%
Participated in organizational risk management initiatives.
- Project Management, 4%
Managed professional teams including legal, architect, engineers, general contractors, project management in developing and leasing nationwide properties.
Most senior vice presidents use their skills in "financial services," "svp," and "oversight" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior vice president responsibilities here:
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in senior vice president job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what senior vice presidents do. Senior vice president responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." You can also see how senior vice president duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "handled all the quarterly plan billing and reporting initiated and managed communication for all outside asset management / rollovers. "
Leadership skills. Another skill commonly found on senior vice president job descriptions is "leadership skills." It can come up quite often in senior vice president duties, since "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day senior vice president responsibilities: "provided leadership, mentoring and supervision to both the asset management and accounting departments comprised of 16 staff members. "
The three companies that hire the most senior vice presidents are:
- Citi743 senior vice presidents jobs
- Cengage Learning50 senior vice presidents jobs
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.36 senior vice presidents jobs
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Compare different senior vice presidents
Senior vice president vs. Managing director
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior vice president responsibilities require skills like "svp," "internal audit," "treasury," and "loan portfolio." Meanwhile a typical managing director has skills in areas such as "portfolio," "account management," "process improvement," and "excellent interpersonal." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Managing directors really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $177,065. Comparatively, senior vice presidents tend to make the most money in the media industry with an average salary of $183,285.managing directors tend to reach similar levels of education than senior vice presidents. In fact, managing directors are 2.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior vice president vs. Chief operating officer
A chief operating officer, also known as a COO, is a high-ranking official who oversees a company or organization's daily administrative and overall operations. They are typically the second in the chain of command, reporting directly to the company's chief executive officer, also known as a CEO. Among their duties include developing strategies and guidelines, reviewing reports, performing assessments, and implementing the company's policies, standards, and regulations. Additionally, they lead and empower staff to reach goals, helping solve issues and concerns when any arise.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior vice president responsibilities requires skills like "financial services," "svp," "project management," and "asset management." But a chief operating officer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "financial management," "business strategies," "logistics," and "payroll."
On average, chief operating officers earn a lower salary than senior vice presidents. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, chief operating officers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $150,784. Whereas senior vice presidents have higher pay in the media industry, with an average salary of $183,285.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Chief operating officers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior vice presidents. In fact, they're 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior vice president vs. President & chief operating officer
A president/chief operating officer is responsible for monitoring the overall daily business operations and implementing corporate decisions for the company and its people's best interests. Presidents/chief operating officers regularly meet with the key executives and business partners to share corporate updates and strategize techniques to improve functions and increase the brand's image in the market. They review financial performance and reports, conduct data and statistical analysis, and lead initiatives that would increase the company's productivity and efficiency.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior vice presidents are more likely to have skills like "financial services," "svp," "project management," and "customer service." But a president & chief operating officer is more likely to have skills like "strategic partnerships," "start-up," "logistics," and "coo."
President & chief operating officers earn the best pay in the construction industry, where they command an average salary of $197,924. Senior vice presidents earn the highest pay from the media industry, with an average salary of $183,285.Most president & chief operating officers achieve a similar degree level compared to senior vice presidents. For example, they're 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior vice president vs. President/chief executive officer
Considered as the highest authority in a company, a president/chief executive officer is in charge of leading the company by implementing corporate decisions and shaping the organization to its fullest extent. They must craft strategic plans and guidelines, enforce policies and standards, direct the vision and mission, and address the public as the head of the company. Furthermore, a president/chief executive officer must maintain an active line of communication at all times as they must report to a board of directors and coordinate with other company employees.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior vice presidents and president/chief executive officers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior vice president might have more use for skills like "financial services," "svp," "project management," and "customer service." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of president/chief executive officers require skills like "financial management," "strategic partnerships," "start-up," and "payroll. "
In general, president/chief executive officers earn the most working in the finance industry, with an average salary of $179,795. The highest-paying industry for a senior vice president is the media industry.president/chief executive officers reach similar levels of education compared to senior vice presidents, in general. The difference is that they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of senior vice president
Updated January 8, 2025
