What does an Associate Director do?

Hiring, training, supervising and evaluating staff members are essential to most associate director job descriptions. Depending on the nature of the project or company that an associate director is working with, other tasks may include creating and implementing policies while overseeing multiple aspects of specific projects. Often seen as an assistant to an executive director, most assistant director jobs also require individuals in this position to act as a liaison between program staff members, executive staff members and other collaborative partners.

Some associate director job descriptions require individuals in these positions to also be responsible for tax and accounting details on behalf of a company or project. Some may be with the creation and monitoring of budgets, as well as balancing banking accounts and preparing written reports for key executives and board members. In addition to these responsibilities, a senior associate director may also be expected to file tax returns on behalf of the organization she or he is employed by.

Associate director duties also include planning, coordinating and overseeing events for such purposes as increasing an organization’s visibility or to raise money for a project’s completion. In this capacity, a person is likely to not only manage a core group of staff members, but will also be responsible for communicating with and coordinating the activities of outside sponsors, vendors and others important to an event’s success. It is, therefore, very important that a person fulfilling this role be adept at communicating with others while effectively engaging in multiple tasks.

Associate director job requirements frequently involve other duties, such as assisting one or more directors on special projects, delegating responsibilities to specific employees and assuring that all communication important to a project’s success or the company’s overall goals is seamless. As such, an assistant director also documents communication and progress made toward strategic goals and gathers this information into special reports for further evaluation by directors, board members and other principals.

Special skills that one must have to perform these activities include keen analytical skills, strong problem solving skills, and excellent written and verbal skills. Increasingly, computers and other technology are used to carry out these tasks. This means that associate or assistant directors must also be able to operate or learn how to operate a variety of different types of technological tools, such as email and specific software programs.