How to hire a chief of operations

How to hire a chief of operations, step by step

Here's a step-by-step chief of operations hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a chief of operations job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new chief of operations
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a chief of operations do?

Post a chief of operations job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a chief of operations, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A chief of operations's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, chiefs of operations from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of chiefs of operations and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Chief Of Operations	Description	Hourly rate
   Chief Of Operations	Top executives devise strategies and policies to ensure that an organization meets its goals. They plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities of companies and organizations.	$41-87
   Operations Support Manager	Operations Support Managers are employees who handle different support initiatives for the employees or operations-related departments. These support initiatives may come in people management and upskilling, IT infrastructure assistance, or process improvement, among others... Show more	$22-63
   Operations Superintendent	Operations Superintendent plans and oversees the daily operations of an organization. They have the authority to set objectives and guidelines, establish budgets and schedules, delegate tasks among staff, and develop strategies to optimize operations and meet project requirements... Show more	$34-72

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Oversight
   • Emergency Operations
   • Logistical Support
   • Human Resources
   • Combat
   • Technical Assistance
   • HVAC
   • Training Programs
   • EMS
   • DOD
   • Law Enforcement
   • Direct Support
   • Management System
   • Strategic Plan

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Evaluate progress of program plans to determine whether overall command-wide objectives are being accomplish economically with reference to budget and manpower.
   • Prepare tactical instructions and operational doctrine.
   • Design security and counterintelligence training and briefings for delivery throughout DHS.
   • Ensure compliance with federal procedures by leading training and providing PowerPoint presentations.
   • Select by-name for key intelligence position with world-wide responsibilites supporting combating terrorism.
   • Draft and disseminate significant activity reports concerning events requiring DIA leadership focus.

   More chief of operations duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your chief of operations job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A chief of operations salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a chief of operations in Oklahoma may be lower than in Delaware, and an entry-level chief of operations usually earns less than a senior-level chief of operations. Additionally, a chief of operations with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average chief of operations salary

   $124,927yearly

   $60.06 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level chief of operations salary

   $86,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average chief of operations salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$160,512	$77
   2	California	$145,063	$70
   3	Minnesota	$141,484	$68
   4	Washington	$139,974	$67
   5	New York	$135,451	$65
   6	Pennsylvania	$133,075	$64
   7	Connecticut	$132,243	$64
   8	Virginia	$130,952	$63
   9	Massachusetts	$130,058	$63
   10	New Jersey	$127,409	$61
   11	Colorado	$126,709	$61
   12	North Carolina	$125,442	$60
   13	Texas	$124,325	$60
   14	Illinois	$123,077	$59
   15	Arizona	$110,610	$53
   16	Iowa	$107,586	$52
   17	Maryland	$105,167	$51
   18	Kansas	$95,079	$46
   19	Oklahoma	$85,099	$41
   20	Missouri	$84,368	$41

   Average chief of operations salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of Maryland, Baltimore	$146,104	$70.24	6
   2	Abt Associates	$140,861	$67.72
   3	Citi	$135,132	$64.97	30
   4	New York City Independent Budget Office	$131,092	$63.02
   5	Creative Solutions Services	$128,928	$61.98
   6	Morgan Stanley	$127,793	$61.44	36
   7	Midrex Technologies	$127,000	$61.06
   8	EMCOR Group	$126,216	$60.68	22
   9	OBee Credit Union	$124,988	$60.09
   10	Criterion Systems	$124,541	$59.88
   11	Veolia Water Tech	$122,621	$58.95	8
   12	Douglas Emmett, Inc.	$122,136	$58.72
   13	CB Richard Ellis Memphis LLC	$121,953	$58.63
   14	SEIU Local 521	$121,953	$58.63
   15	California State Association of Counties	$121,716	$58.52	24
   16	Viasat	$121,586	$58.45	1
   17	DC International School	$118,519	$56.98
   18	Aquarion Water	$118,351	$56.90	1
   19	Mta	$117,240	$56.37
   20	My Florida Regional Mls	$117,042	$56.27

4. Writing a chief of operations job description

   A good chief of operations job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a chief of operations job description:

   Chief of operations job description example

   Essential Functions
   
   Supervises, directs, and evaluates assigned staff, processing employee concerns and problems, directing work, counseling, disciplining, and completing employee performance appraisals; conducts interviews and makes hiring recommendations; coordinates or conducts staff training activities.
   
   * Plans, schedules, and manages equipment and work teams in construction or maintenance activities designed to provide quality water and wastewater services for the County; oversees operations and assists in maintenance activities to determine acceptability of operations and conformance to standards.
   * Ensures and maintains compliance with all applicable local, State and Federal regulations by reviewing reports and raising any issues with the appropriate Manager. Reports to the appropriate Manager any operating situation that is out of the normal operating parameters.
   * Schedules all team members to ensure that the appropriate number and level of licensed personnel. Creates, maintains, and modifies schedule to ensure compliance with relevant regulations. Tracks all requested team member absences and finds appropriate person to replace missing team member. Fills both scheduled and unscheduled absences.
   * Manages and supervises assigned operations to achieve production goals within available resources. Upon setting of production goals, calculates most cost efficient and technically available method of meeting these goals based on status of system and personnel available.
   * Supervises the control and use of all materials, supplies and safety equipment used in operation of the assigned functional area; maintains inventory of equipment, parts, and supplies, safety equipment and supplies. Works with other staff to create required requisitions for supplies and maintains a variety of records relating to equipment, supplies.
   * Supervises and assists in the hazard identification and correction, safety orientation, safety training and monitoring, and accident investigation. Creates initial accident reports and notice of injury. Participates in accident review boards.
   * Supervises, instructs and assists in the analysis of data before, during and after work activities for the purpose of conducting routine and specialized testing in compliance with Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations; interprets test results for changes to any system operation.
   * Supervises, instructs and mentors all new trainees. Per Florida Administrative Code and Collier County policies, ensures that all trainees work under the supervision of a licensed team member; schedules trainees to meet this requirement. Manage trainees' training calendar to ensure they obtain the necessary hours doing the appropriate tasks to prepare for required area licensing examination.
   * Communicates on a daily basis with Division and Department Managers on status of system facilities and necessary work in order to maintain compliance with all applicable State and Federal laws and codes.
   * Operates facility and all systems in order to maintain compliance and meet the demand. Staffs all assigned areas when personnel are unavailable or when providing training to team members. Performs interviews of all potential team members.
   * Observes variations in operating conditions by interpreting meter, gauge and graph readings, and lab results to determine processing requirements.
   * Evaluates entire operations teams' performance incorporating input from assigned staff and provides first draft of all team member evaluations to Manager for review.
   * Effectively communicates to supervisor and subordinates the status of the facility and/or system. Reviews and oversees the maintenance of logs and worksheets of assigned system operations; compiles equipment readings and test results into hourly, daily and monthly reports.
   * Supervises and creates asset management software work orders and tracks completion of work coordinating with assigned personnel.
   * Responds to citizen inquiries and complaints in the absence of the appropriate Manager.
   * Coordinates security program for area of responsibility. Including communicating with security guards and Facilities Management in the operation of all security systems within area of responsibility. Performs necessary documentation audits to ensure compliance with various compliance programs.
   * Oversees all operations of assigned area in the absence of the applicable Manager.
   * Observes, participates in and documents all system testing and analysis in order to track the direction and condition of all each compliance program.
   * Collects and reviews payroll completion for assigned staff. Schedules and documents the results of safety meetings. Where appropriate counsels, and if required, develops appropriate disciplinary action paperwork, meets with appropriate Manager for approval, and delivers discipline once approved by the Human Resources Division.
   * Assists with budget preparation, including monitoring of expenditures throughout the budget year. Assists with maintenance of expenditures within approved budget parameters.
   * Prepares a variety of reports and recommendations as requested by the respective Manager, Division Director, or regulatory agencies.
   
   Minimum Qualifications
   
   * High school diploma or GED* required.
   * Five (5) years of related experience.
   * Fingerprinting Required.
   * Possession and maintenance a valid Florida Driver's License with any applicable endorsements and maintain eligibility requirements and endorsement(s) to drive a County vehicle as provided in CMA 5805.
   * Field Operations - Must possess a Level 1 Water Distribution Certification issued by the State of Florida.
   * General Educational Development (GEDs) must be issued by the American Council on Education through an approved GED Administrator. For Florida the approved GED Administrator would be the Florida Department of Education (public schools or adult education centers).

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find chiefs of operations for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any chiefs of operations they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level chiefs of operations with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your chief of operations job on Zippia to find and recruit chief of operations candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit chiefs of operations, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new chief of operations

   Once you've found the chief of operations candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a chief of operations?