Leadership role
Senior Director
A senior director title filed without a named function; its duties vary by organization.
Reporting and scope
Sits one level above Director and usually reports to a Vice President, a C-level officer or the Executive Director / CEO. Reach is typically one function or a large program area, not the whole organization.
Core responsibilities
- Leads a department or program area; the specific function depends on the organization
- Supervises directors or managers within that area
- Owns a departmental budget and reports results to senior leadership
- May staff a board committee connected to the function
How it differs
Use this label only when the filing gives no function. If the title names one (for example Senior Director of Development), match to the functional role such as Director of Development or VP of Development / Advancement based on actual scope. A Senior Director who is a direct report of the CEO and runs a whole function in a small organization may compare better to the functional VP role.
By organization size
In small organizations a senior director may be the top person in the function. In large ones it is a middle layer between directors and vice presidents, and the title carries less weight.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Senior Director; Sr. Director; Senior Direc; Senior Director of Program; Sr Director; Senior Director of Develop