Word for a person who is "in charge"?


When you contact organization units like a department, an agency, etc., there is usually a main person whom you should contact. He/she is also the main responsible person for critical problems. Should we call him/her person in charge? Is there a simple word for that?


And, is following right?




  • Who is the person in charge of this department?

  • To contact the person in charge of that department, dial 234 567.

  • Do you know that department's person in charge?



P.S. The problem behind: It's used in a data table, a column "PersonInCharge" seems too complicated, though. And, the manager or the supervisor may be someone else, so I'm not likely to use them as well.



Answer



In the context of a department or realm of work, I would use manager, as in:



Is the manager of this department in today?



In the context of an individual I would probably use supervisor, although manager would work as well:



May I speak with your supervisor please?



If you are talking about a specific task rather than a department, you might use the phrase in charge like this:



Who is in charge of restocking the snack cupboard?



Lastly the verb head up can also be useful in contexts of projects or teams:



Who is heading up the backup team?
Who is heading up the security audit?



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