Torchora
Back to Home

ops manager

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for OPS Manager
salary: $70,000 - $120,000
categories: [Operations, Management, Logistics, Supply Chain, Customer Success]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a OPS Manager.
High-impact Operations Manager role: lead day-to-day operations, optimize processes, drive KPI performance, manage people and vendors, and scale operational excellence. Ideal for candidates with proven experience in process improvement, ERP/WMS systems, people leadership, and cross-functional project delivery.

🎯 Role Definition

The Operations Manager (Ops Manager) is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating operational activities that support the company’s service delivery and product fulfillment. This role focuses on building efficient processes and systems, managing frontline and supervisory staff, owning operational KPIs, partnering with cross-functional teams (sales, product, finance, supply chain), and driving continuous improvement to scale operations reliably and cost-effectively. The Ops Manager balances tactical execution with strategic initiatives—optimizing workflows, reducing cost-per-unit-of-work, and ensuring excellent customer outcomes while maintaining compliance and safety standards.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Operations Coordinator / Operations Analyst
  • Shift Supervisor / Team Lead (Fulfillment, Customer Service, Logistics)
  • Logistics Analyst / Inventory Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Senior Operations Manager / Regional Operations Manager
  • Director of Operations / Head of Operations
  • VP of Operations / Chief Operating Officer (for larger orgs)

Lateral Moves:

  • Program Manager (Cross-functional programs)
  • Product Operations Manager
  • Supply Chain Manager / Logistics Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own end-to-end daily operations for assigned sites or service lines by planning and coordinating staffing, workload, and shift coverage to meet agreed service levels and throughput targets while minimizing overtime and variability.
  • Design, document, and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) and playbooks for core operational processes (receiving, order fulfillment, returns, dispatch, quality checks) to ensure consistency, safety, and regulatory compliance across locations.
  • Build and manage operational KPIs and dashboards (e.g., cycle time, throughput, on-time delivery, defect rates, cost per order) and lead weekly/monthly performance reviews with stakeholders to translate metrics into actionable improvement plans.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen methodologies to reduce waste, improve process flow, raise first-time-right rates, and lower operating costs while preserving service quality.
  • Supervise, coach, and develop frontline supervisors and operators—conducting regular 1:1s, performance reviews, career development plans, and skills training to build a high-performing, accountable operations team.
  • Manage budget, forecasting, and P&L components for operations including labor planning, vendor costs, facilities costs, and capital expenditure prioritization to achieve cost targets without sacrificing customer experience.
  • Own vendor and third-party logistics (3PL) relationships: select providers, manage contracts and SLAs, conduct vendor performance reviews, and negotiate rates and terms to optimize service and cost.
  • Coordinate capacity planning and workforce scheduling to align resources with demand forecasts, seasonal peaks, promotional events, and new product launches, ensuring scalable and resilient operations.
  • Implement and optimize systems of record such as ERP, WMS, TMS, and workforce management software—leading configuration, change requests, user acceptance testing, and cross-functional deployment efforts.
  • Drive incident and risk management by resolving operational escalations, leading root-cause analyses (RCA) for major outages or quality incidents, and implementing corrective and preventive actions to avoid recurrence.
  • Partner with product, engineering, customer success, and sales teams to support new feature rollouts, pilot programs, and process changes—translating business requirements into operational readiness plans and training.
  • Oversee inventory accuracy and cycle count programs, analyze shrinkage and reconciliation trends, and implement controls and inventory policies to reduce loss and improve service levels.
  • Ensure workplace health, safety, and regulatory compliance through training, audits, and corrective action plans—maintaining incident logs and ensuring timely remediation.
  • Lead process design for returns, refunds, and claims management to minimize cost and cycle time while protecting customer satisfaction and company margins.
  • Standardize cross-site reporting and governance to provide leadership with a single source of truth for operational performance, continuous improvement backlog, and change management status.
  • Manage cross-functional projects (site openings, migrations, system upgrades) end-to-end—creating project plans, managing stakeholders, running project cadences, and delivering milestones on time and on budget.
  • Execute workforce development programs that include hiring plans, onboarding flows, productivity ramp schedules, and retention initiatives to reduce turnover and accelerate time-to-productivity.
  • Champion a culture of data-driven decision making by ensuring data integrity, enabling self-serve reporting for supervisors, and partnering with analytics to surface insights that drive operational improvements.
  • Coordinate with finance to reconcile operational spend, validate billing from 3PLs or vendors, and certify accruals and forecast assumptions for monthly close.
  • Lead customer-facing operational improvements by analyzing customer feedback and NPS, identifying root causes of issues, and implementing service recovery processes that reduce rework and improve satisfaction.
  • Manage continuous capacity for business continuity and disaster recovery plans, including backup sites, supplier redundancy, and contingency staffing to minimize disruption during incidents.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc operational reporting and exploratory analysis to answer business questions and test hypotheses about throughput, capacity, and cost drivers.
  • Contribute to the organization's data and systems roadmap by defining operational requirements for ERP/WMS/TMS, reporting needs, and automation priorities.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate product and commercial needs into operational requirements, acceptance criteria, and readiness checklists for launches.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies when working with product and engineering teams to prioritize operational fixes, automation opportunities, and instrumentation needs.
  • Maintain an improvement backlog prioritized by ROI and risk, and lead monthly gating meetings to allocate resources and sponsor high-impact initiatives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Process Improvement & Continuous Improvement (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) with demonstrated project execution and measurable impact on cycle time, quality, or cost.
  • Operational KPI development and dashboarding using Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI, or Tableau to monitor and improve performance.
  • ERP / WMS / TMS proficiency (examples: SAP, Oracle NetSuite, Manhattan, Blue Yonder, Fishbowl) and experience driving configuration or rollouts.
  • Workforce management and capacity planning tools and methodologies to size teams, create shift plans, and optimize labor spend.
  • Inventory management best practices including cycle counting, reconciliation, safety stock, and inventory policy design.
  • Vendor management and contract negotiation skills with experience owning SLAs, KPIs, and cost models for third-party providers.
  • Data analysis and reporting: strong Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, macros) and basic SQL or BI query experience to extract and analyze operational data.
  • Project management skills (PMP/Prince2 or equivalent experience) including scoping, timelines, resource management, and risk mitigation.
  • Budgeting, financial acumen, and familiarity with P&L drivers to manage operational budgets and forecast labor and cost.
  • Quality control and regulatory compliance knowledge relevant to your industry (safety, ISO, GMP, or industry-specific standards).

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people management—ability to motivate teams, give constructive feedback, and coach for performance and development.
  • Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills to align cross-functional partners and influence without direct authority.
  • Clear written and verbal communication skills for SOPs, executive briefings, and team communications.
  • Problem-solving and analytical mindset, able to lead root-cause analyses and drive durable corrective actions.
  • Prioritization and time management—ability to manage competing deadlines and shift focus based on business-critical needs.
  • Change management and facilitation skills for smooth process or system transitions.
  • Customer-centric mindset and the ability to translate customer feedback into operational improvements.
  • Resilience and adaptability in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with frequent shifts in priorities.
  • Negotiation skills for vendor contracts, labor discussions, and cross-functional resource trade-offs.
  • Coaching and mentoring skills to build bench strength and succession plans.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Engineering, Logistics, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s plus relevant certifications (Lean / Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, PMP) or an MBA for senior regional roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Business Administration
  • Logistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–8 years of progressive operations experience; 5+ years preferred for mid-level roles.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years managing operational teams (supervisors through front-line), demonstrated success improving KPIs and leading cross-functional projects.
  • Experience with ERP/WMS implementations, vendor/3PL management, and budget ownership.
  • Proven track record of process improvement and delivering measurable cost or service improvements in a high-volume environment.
Explore More Careers