Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operational Performance Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Operational Performance Manager is responsible for defining, measuring, and improving operational performance across one or more business functions. This hands-on leader develops and governs KPIs and SLAs, leads cross-functional improvement initiatives, builds dashboards and analytical models, and partners with finance, IT and business stakeholders to translate strategy into operational results. The ideal candidate has a track record of delivering productivity gains, cost savings and higher service levels using Lean, Six Sigma, process design and data analytics.

Key searchable skills and focus areas: operational performance, KPI design, SLA management, continuous improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, process optimization, Power BI/Tableau, SQL, root cause analysis, capacity planning, cost reduction, change management, stakeholder engagement.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Operations Analyst / Senior Operations Analyst
Continuous Improvement Specialist / Process Improvement Analyst
Business Operations Manager or Supply Chain Analyst

Advancement To:

Senior Operational Performance Manager / Head of Operational Performance
Director of Operational Excellence / Director of Operations
VP of Operations / Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Lateral Moves:

Program Manager (Operational Transformation)
Process Improvement Manager (Lean / Six Sigma)
Customer Operations Manager / Service Delivery Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Define, own and maintain a comprehensive performance measurement framework (KPIs, SLAs, scorecards) aligned to business strategy; ensure measures are actionable, auditable and tied to financial outcomes.
Design and implement operational dashboards and executive reporting (Power BI, Tableau, Looker) to provide real-time visibility into performance trends, capacity and risk for leadership and frontline teams.
Lead cross-functional continuous improvement programs using Lean, Six Sigma (DMAIC) and kaizen methodologies to reduce cycle time, improve quality, and eliminate waste, delivering quantifiable productivity and cost savings.
Conduct deep-dive root cause analysis (5 Whys, fishbone, Pareto) and lead corrective action plans; follow through to closure and validation of improvement impact.
Partner with Finance to model the ROI of improvement initiatives, track benefits realization, develop business cases and secure funding for transformational projects.
Establish, negotiate and govern Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal and external stakeholders; monitor vendor performance and hold vendors accountable through scorecards and review cadences.
Conduct capacity planning, workforce optimization and shift/resource modeling to ensure service levels are met while controlling labor costs; implement forecasting improvements to drive accurate staffing.
Drive process standardization and control through documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), process maps, RACI matrices and operating cadence.
Manage incident and escalation processes including war rooms, post-incident reviews and preventive action plans to reduce recurrence and minimize business impact.
Lead automation and digitization initiatives (RPA, workflow automation, system configuration) in partnership with IT to remove manual work and increase throughput.
Translate strategic priorities into measurable operational objectives and embed them into team goals, performance reviews and incentive structures to ensure accountability.
Run cross-functional workshops and change management campaigns to secure stakeholder buy-in and adoption for new processes, tools and governance models.
Oversee data governance for operational metrics: define data sources, reconcile discrepancies, own data quality improvement plans, and drive upstream fixes with source system owners.
Develop and coach a team of performance analysts and continuous improvement leads; set priorities, provide mentorship, and build capabilities in analytics and process improvement.
Perform scenario analysis to identify downside risks and opportunities under changing demand, supply or regulatory conditions and recommend mitigation strategies.
Lead or contribute to operational readiness planning for new product launches, service expansions or geographic rollouts to ensure scalable operations and predictable performance.
Implement audit and control frameworks to ensure compliance with regulatory, quality and internal control requirements across operational processes.
Maintain a centralized knowledge base and playbook of best practices, playbooks and lessons learned from improvement projects and incidents.
Facilitate monthly/quarterly operational reviews with senior management, presenting trends, root causes, improvement roadmaps and recommended executive decisions.
Partner with HR on training, onboarding and capability development programs to embed best-in-class operating practices across the workforce.
Monitor industry benchmarks and competitive metrics to propose forward-looking improvements that maintain or enhance market positioning and customer satisfaction.
Track and report on cost-to-serve, unit economics and operational KPIs to identify areas for margin improvement and pricing/efficiency levers.
Manage multiple simultaneous projects using project management best practices (scope, timeline, risks, dependencies) and ensure timely delivery of milestones.
Ensure continuous improvement pipeline is prioritized by value and risk, maintaining a transparent backlog of projects with expected benefits and timelines.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Maintain and curate operational documentation, SOPs and playbooks for cross-team access.
Mentor junior analysts and team members on analytical methods, toolsets and improvement methodologies.
Coordinate with IT and product teams to prioritize system enhancements that improve operational workflows and reporting fidelity.
Participate in governance committees for change requests, release management and process approvals.
Run stakeholder communication plans and stakeholder impact assessments for major operational changes.
Support vendor selection and contract negotiations for operational tools and third-party services.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

KPI design & performance measurement: KPI selection, definition, target-setting, SLA governance.
Data visualization: Power BI, Tableau, Looker — build and maintain operational dashboards for leadership and frontline users.
Data analysis & querying: Advanced Excel (pivot tables, Power Query), SQL for data extraction and validation.
Continuous improvement & process methodologies: Lean, Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt), DMAIC, Kaizen.
Project management: PMP or equivalent practices, agile familiarity, project planning, risk management.
Process mapping & documentation: Visio, Miro, BPMN, creating SOPs and RACI matrices.
Statistical analysis & experimentation: hypothesis testing, A/B testing, regression basics for operational experiments.
Automation & tooling: familiarity with RPA platforms (UiPath/Automation Anywhere), workflow automation and basic scripting knowledge (Python/R).
Cost modeling & financial impact analysis: developing business cases and tracking benefits realization.
Incident and problem management tools: ITSM familiarity (ServiceNow, Jira) and post-incident review facilitation.
Capacity planning & workforce management tools: forecasting, Erlang/C or similar models for contact center/service operations.
Data governance & quality management: lineage, reconciliation, and data stewardship practices.

Soft Skills

Strong communicator: translates complex analytics into succinct executive-level narratives and clear frontline guidance.
Influential stakeholder management: builds consensus and navigates competing priorities across business, finance and IT.
Strategic thinker with operational bias: balances long-term transformation with quick wins.
Leadership and coaching: develops high-performing teams and fosters continuous learning.
Analytical problem solver: structured thinking, hypothesis-driven approach, attention to detail.
Change management and facilitation: runs workshops, training and adoption campaigns with empathy and rigor.
Prioritization and time management: manages multiple high-impact initiatives with clear trade-offs.
Resilience and adaptability: comfortable operating in ambiguous, high-pressure environments.
Customer-focused mindset: ensures operational changes improve end-to-end customer experience.
Data-driven decision maker: uses evidence to challenge assumptions and surface actionable insights.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Data Analytics, Finance, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (MBA, MS in Industrial/Operations Engineering, Analytics) preferred for senior roles.
Professional certifications such as Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, PMP, or equivalent.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Operations Management
Industrial or Systems Engineering
Business Administration (MBA)
Data Analytics / Statistics
Finance / Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years of progressive experience in operations, continuous improvement, or performance management roles.

Preferred:

7+ years of experience driving operational change in complex, cross-functional environments.
Proven track record in delivering measurable performance improvements (productivity, cost savings, SLA attainment).
Experience working with BI tools (Power BI/Tableau), SQL and automation technologies.
Prior leadership experience supervising analysts or project teams and influencing senior stakeholders.

Certifications and demonstrable outcomes (published dashboards, case studies of improvement projects, quantified savings) will significantly strengthen candidacy.