What does a Business Unit Manager do?

A business unit manager handles a unit or segment of the company. This unit may be a specialized team on specific projects or a part of a significant production process. The business unit manager ensures that the unit works efficiently and productively by implementing strategies and techniques that will enhance the productive output. A business unit manager also provides suggestions, offers solutions to problems, handles tasks delegation, planning production processes, and training and monitoring of employees in a unit.
Business unit manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real business unit manager resumes:
- Manage capital investment of $250k refurbishment project in RBD department to begin the plant's first TPM program.
- Manage a portfolio of inpatient and outpatient products market to major academic medical centers, community hospitals and nursing homes.
- Maintain establishment's monthly bills including payroll, utilities, advertisement, and vending.
- Review as-is business processes and deploy new processes, roles & responsibilities and KPI's.
- Calculate and paid all payroll taxes, sales taxes, and alcohol taxes for the business.
- Develop and implement new business processes, tools, KPI's and scorecards to drive both improvement and adoption.
- Assume direct maintenance responsibility focusing on GMP compliance and SQF certification.
- Involve in assisting category managers with identifying deletions for new items by leveraging internal POS.
- Manage a portfolio of inpatient and outpatient products market to major academic medical centers, community hospitals and nursing homes.
- Implement WCM tools to reduce cost and improve quality.
- Implement WCM projects, review current status of on going projects to meet target objectives.
- Plan, execute and measure conference and trade show ROI in qualify lead capture.
- Collaborate with marketing, operations, engineering, and logistics personnel to exceed customer expectations and meet FDA regulations.
- Develop training programs and processes to support SQF certification, throughput improvement and preventative maintenance.
- Revise pricing and inventory management metrics for accurate cost assessment in order to maximize ROI and profitability.
Business unit manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Business Unit Managers are proficient in Continuous Improvement, Customer Service, and Product Line. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Management skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Business Unit Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Continuous Improvement, 11%
Delivered a 300% increase in business unity capacity through outsourced contract manufacturing, capital equipment acquisition and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Customer Service, 10%
Administer all aspects of national and international logistics, including packing operations, ground transportation, customer service and process improvement.
- Product Line, 5%
Spearheaded the development, design, implementation and management of a Customer Relationship Management performance based system across all product lines.
- Project Management, 5%
Developed strategic plan won the endorsement of management to move from contract programming business model to fixed price project management organization.
- Customer Satisfaction, 4%
Launched various pro-active service program to improve customer satisfaction, retention and opportunity for add-coverage product sales to existing customer base.
- Financial Performance, 4%
Outsourced manufacturing to improve business financial performance.
"continuous improvement," "customer service," and "product line" are among the most common skills that business unit managers use at work. You can find even more business unit manager responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. One of the key soft skills for a business unit manager to have is leadership skills. You can see how this relates to what business unit managers do because "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." Additionally, a business unit manager resume shows how business unit managers use leadership skills: "provide program management leadership, and direction of existing key customer accounts. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of business unit managers is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday business unit manager duties, as "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "launched five new veterinary solutions, inclusive of oem products, to complete comprehensive cr and dr product portfolio. "
Time-management skills. For certain business unit manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "time-management skills." The day-to-day duties of a business unit manager rely on this skill, as "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what business unit managers do: "coordinate activities with plant manager to assure production meets deadlines, quality standards and customer requirements. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in business unit manager job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what business unit managers do. Business unit manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." You can also see how business unit manager duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "innovated and directed packaging design, new product development targeting business objectives while maintaining corporate standards and internal communications materials. "
The three companies that hire the most business unit managers are:
- Xometry47 business unit managers jobs
- Citi21 business unit managers jobs
- LC Staffing
12 business unit managers jobs
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Business unit manager vs. Manager of business services
Business Service Managers are administrative professionals who oversee different service-related functions in the company. They manage the teams involved in serving various functions. They ensure proper coordination between these teams. \They carefully allocate resources to cover their bases and ensure that services are available at all times. Business Service Managers prepare and draft policies and guidelines related to company services. They also ensure that these guidelines are properly cascaded and are followed by their constituents.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between business unit managers and manager of business services. For instance, business unit manager responsibilities require skills such as "product line," "financial performance," "on-time delivery," and "lean manufacturing." Whereas a manager of business services is skilled in "cpa," "risk management," "business operations," and "taxation." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Managers of business services earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $110,546. On the other hand, business unit managers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $122,916.On average, managers of business services reach similar levels of education than business unit managers. Managers of business services are 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Business unit manager vs. Day manager
A day manager oversees the daily operations of an organization, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently according to company standards and regulations. As a day manager, it is their duty to set priorities and goals, establish timelines and guidelines, manage budgets, delegate responsibilities among teams, and supervise staff performances, solving issues or concerns when any arise. They are also responsible for coordinating with night workers or managers, developing reports as necessary. Moreover, they lead staff to reach goals and implement company regulations and policies.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real business unit manager resumes. While business unit manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "continuous improvement," "product line," "project management," and "customer satisfaction," day managers use skills like "pet," "cpr," "safety standards," and "payroll."
Day managers earn lower levels of education than business unit managers in general. They're 12.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Business unit manager vs. Senior operations manager
A senior operations manager oversees the business operations within a particular department or establishment, ensuring that all procedures adhere to the policies and standards of the company. There are also instances when they must evaluate workers' performances, set budget and sales targets, produce progress reports and assessments, and coordinate with high-ranking officials. Moreover, a senior operations manager leads by motivating the workforce and devising strategies to improve the workflow and reach sales targets within the deadline. Should there be any issues, they must carry out corrective measures right away.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from business unit manager resumes include skills like "product line," "on-time delivery," "quality standards," and "product development," whereas a senior operations manager is more likely to list skills in "oversight," "excellent interpersonal," "logistics," and "patients. "
Senior operations managers earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $134,107. Business unit managers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $122,916.When it comes to education, senior operations managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to business unit managers. In fact, they're 3.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Business unit manager vs. Group manager
Group Managers are employees who oversee a specific department, team, or any group in the company. They are usually tenured employees or industry experts. Group Managers oversee their team's performance and professional growth. They set clear, strategic goals for the team and create plans to reach these goals. They monitor the achievement of such goals and guide their team along the way. They also manage the team professionally. The coach team members train the employees if there are updates or new strategies and ensure that they remain engaged. They motivate their team to perform well and strive hard to reach group goals.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between business unit managers and group managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a business unit manager might have more use for skills like "product line," "customer satisfaction," "financial performance," and "on-time delivery." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of group managers require skills like "client facing," "client relationships," "performance management," and "financial analysis. "
In general, group managers earn the most working in the finance industry, with an average salary of $135,074. The highest-paying industry for a business unit manager is the technology industry.In general, group managers hold similar degree levels compared to business unit managers. Group managers are 3.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of business unit manager
Updated January 8, 2025