Special Offer 

Jumpstart your hiring with a $75 credit to sponsor your first job.*

Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed with Urgently Hiring make a hire 5 days faster than non-sponsored jobs.**
  • Visibility for hard-to-fill roles through branding and urgently hiring
  • Instantly source candidates through matching to expedite your hiring
  • Access skilled candidates to cut down on mismatched hires

Operations Manager Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications

Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines
8 min read

An Operations Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of a business. Duties commonly included in an Operations Manager job description are supervising employees, allocating resources and optimizing workflows to increase efficiency.

Operations Manager duties and responsibilities

Individual wearing a suit. Gears turning, arrows, and graphs adorn the background. Text reads: "A day in the life of an operations manager:Coordinate daily business operations,Participate in longterm planning,Assess & analyze departmental budgets,Motivate employees to perform at their best"

Operations Managers help ensure a team’s day-to-day work aligns with organizational goals. They typically decide how to use resources efficiently, promote high company standards, such as exceeding objectives or goals, and liaise between employees and members of upper management. An Operations Manager may also create actionable plans to help employees prioritize tasks and achieve individual goals.

Operations Managers also generally consider how to improve efficiency, increase profitability and meet the expectations of collaborators, customers and vendors. Other responsibilities may include:

  • Developing and implementing company policies
  • Supervising and training employees to complete tasks according to company standards
  • Coordinating with department heads to achieve organizational goals
  • Improving work processes to increase productivity or reduce waste
  • Evaluating employee performance by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • Identifying opportunities to increase revenue or connect with new customers

Hire your next Operations Manager today.

Build a job description

Hire your next Operations Manager today.

Build a job description
Close

Operations Manager Job Description Examples

Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines
Job Description Best Practices
Optimize your new and existing job descriptions to reach more candidates
Get the Guide

What does an Operations Manager do?

Operations Managers can directly contribute to a company’s efficiency and profitability. For example, they might introduce lean practices, a process assessing non-value adding activities, and potentially reduce resources. These non-value adding activities may include unnecessary time or materials, such as recurring meetings.

Their focus on cross-functional collaboration can help your company achieve its goals and create a culture of continuous improvement.

Operations Manager skills and qualifications

A successful Operations Manager candidate likely has a combination of leadership, analytical and organizational skills to drive process improvements. Consider including these skills in your Operations Manager job description:

  • Familiarity with types of management, such as pacesetting or democratic styles
  • Ability to budget and allocate resources using financial management software, such as QuickBooks or SAP
  • Time management skills to address competing priorities
  • Excellent problem-solving skills
  • Data-driven decision making
  • Strong verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
  • Experience using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or other tools for analyzing data and managing operations
  • Familiarity with quality control (QC) to introduce new procedures

Operations Manager experience requirements

Operations Managers oversee other employees, so you may look for candidates with several years of experience coordinating projects or collaborating with department heads. Experience as an Operations Coordinator, Project Manager or Sales Manager may also introduce transferable skills, such as organization and project management.

If your company operates within the healthcare, finance, retail or manufacturing industry, consider requiring candidates to have industry-specific experience.

Operations Manager education and training requirements

It’s possible for Operations Managers to learn the required skills through on-the-job training, so you might use a skills-first hiring approach when filling this role. To attract quality Operations Manager candidates, consider prioritizing transferable skills over degrees and certifications. For example, strategic planning or supply chain management might be applicable skills for your open position.

Several organizations offer a Certified Operations Manager (COM) program that may help candidates succeed at your company.

Operations Manager salary expectations

The average salary for an Operations Manager in the United States is $78,544 per year, according to data from Indeed Salaries. This figure may vary based on your location and company policies, along with the candidate’s experience.

Operations Manager salary expectations

2025-09-0120000.0080590.74180000.00YEARLY
  • Common salary: 80590.74 YEARLY
  • Typical salaries range from 20000.00 - 180000.00 YEARLY
  • Find more information on Indeed Salaries

*Indeed data – 2025-09-01

Job description samples for similar positions

If an Operations Manager isn’t what your company needs, here are job description samples for similar positions:

Operations Manager job description FAQs

How do Operations Managers differ from General Managers?

Operations Managers generally focus on process improvement and daily activities. A General Manager may oversee a site’s or business unit’s overall performance. Operations Managers also typically make decisions about day-to-day operations, while General Managers may set long-term goals and help execute a company’s strategic vision.

What KPIs should I use to evaluate an Operations Manager?

Depending on your company’s goals, you might use net profit margin and operational expenses to evaluate an Operations Manager’s effectiveness. Net profit margin measures how much net income your company earns for every dollar of revenue generated and is expressed as a percentage. Operational expenses are the costs associated with running a business.

If your Operations Manager is responsible for increasing efficiency, reducing costs and maximizing productivity, consider whether these metrics apply to your organization.

What challenges do Operations Managers typically face?

Supply chain disruptions, technological changes and internal conflict can be common challenges in operations management. An Operations Manager decides how to allocate resources, so supply chain disruptions can limit resources needed to perform job duties. Technological changes might require an Operations Manager to update a process or replace certain equipment.

Should the Operations Manager report to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)?

It depends on your company’s size and structure. Your Operations Manager might report directly to the CEO, or the Director of Operations might oversee your Operations Manager. Other companies may have the Operations Manager report to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

 

Job Description Best Practices
Optimize your new and existing job descriptions to reach more candidates
Get the Guide

Three individuals are sitting at a table with a laptop, a disposable coffee cup, notebooks, and a phone visible. Two are facing each other, while the third’s back is to the camera. The setting appears to be a bright room with large windows.

Hire your next Operations Manager today.

Build a job description

Job Description Examples

Need help writing a job description for a specific role? Use these job description examples to create your next great job posting. Or if you’re ready to hire, post your job on Indeed.

No search results found