How to hire a chief operating officer

How to hire a chief operating officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step chief operating officer 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 operating officer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new chief operating officer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a chief operating officer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a chief operating officer, 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a chief operating officer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a chief operating officer that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of chief operating officers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Chief Operating Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Chief Operating Officer	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.	$38-110
   Division Director	A division director is a professional who is responsible for managing team members and business operations that are assigned in his/her or her division to achieve the goals of a company. Division directors are required to evaluate division performance and ensure that the team's work complies with the company policies and procedures... Show more	$32-102
   Vice President	Vice presidents are usually considered the second-in-command in the organization, depending on the organization structure. They take over when the president is unavailable to fulfill duties... Show more	$51-112

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Healthcare
   • Customer Service
   • Oversight
   • Financial Management
   • Business Strategies
   • Human Resources
   • Regulatory Compliance
   • Revenue Growth
   • Strategic Plan
   • Business Development
   • R
   • Risk Management
   • Logistics
   • Business Plan

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the RFP process and present investment packages to local and regional lenders to procure acquisition and long term debt financing.
   • Develop and integrate care services, achieve and maintain JCAHO accreditation.
   • Attain ISO registration, resulting in excellent documentation and adherence to operational and administrative process controls.
   • Manage the implementation of a new supply base global ERP system that reduce inventory and enable just-in-time delivery.
   • Establish, manage and coordinate activities of this start-up management company specializing in turning around trouble health insurance plans.
   • Manage all financial functions including controlling/accounting, board and regulatory reporting, treasury and cash management, and asset/liability management.

   More chief operating officer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the chief operating officer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A chief operating officer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a chief operating officer in Wyoming may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level chief operating officer. Additionally, a chief operating officer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average chief operating officer salary

   $136,604yearly

   $65.67 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level chief operating officer salary

   $81,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average chief operating officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$188,014	$90
   2	New York	$175,487	$84
   3	California	$161,799	$78
   4	District of Columbia	$158,536	$76
   5	Massachusetts	$158,086	$76
   6	Virginia	$150,091	$72
   7	Illinois	$148,614	$71
   8	Maryland	$145,671	$70
   9	Texas	$144,822	$70
   10	Pennsylvania	$142,585	$69
   11	Nevada	$138,674	$67
   12	Washington	$132,953	$64
   13	Georgia	$120,764	$58
   14	North Carolina	$119,725	$58
   15	Minnesota	$119,592	$58
   16	Arizona	$119,586	$57
   17	Florida	$110,902	$53
   18	Colorado	$109,430	$53
   19	Ohio	$109,361	$53
   20	Missouri	$108,686	$52

   Average chief operating officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Baker McKenzie	$213,757	$102.77
   2	Meta	$210,812	$101.35	25
   3	Neighborhood Health	$206,359	$99.21	1
   4	McKinsey & Company Inc	$202,268	$97.24
   5	Trulia	$196,208	$94.33
   6	Mercy Corps	$191,533	$92.08	9
   7	Yum! Brands	$186,309	$89.57	2
   8	Baker Botts	$184,511	$88.71
   9	Boston Market	$184,147	$88.53
   10	Slidell Memorial Hospital	$182,983	$87.97
   11	Appalachian Regional Healthcare	$182,756	$87.86	1
   12	Csb	$180,771	$86.91
   13	Riot Games	$179,377	$86.24
   14	Citi	$178,900	$86.01	209
   15	AIG	$177,169	$85.18	39
   16	YouNow	$176,622	$84.91
   17	Colfax Corporation	$173,362	$83.35	4
   18	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$172,807	$83.08
   19	Tourneau	$171,764	$82.58
   20	York Hospital	$171,528	$82.47

4. Writing a chief operating officer job description

   A chief operating officer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a chief operating officer job description:

   Chief operating officer job description example

   Develops, in conjunction with the Hospital CEO, the hospital's goals, policies, and procedures; develops plans, programs, systems, and staffing to meet these goals
   
   Oversees the development of high quality, cost effective and integrated clinical programs within the hospital
   Develops new business strategies to enhance market share and improve overall performance Develops and fosters effective collaboration between clinical departments, medical staff leadership and other affiliated services (inside and outside of the hospital) Oversees major workforce and resource decisions for the hospital Exercises management responsibility over the hospital in the absence of the Chief Executive Officer Prepares and monitors the hospital's operating and capital budgets Ensures compliance with all applicable regulations and requirements Negotiates and oversees contracts with outside vendors Directs and manages performance and development of assigned personnel Promotes, models and oversees the mission and values of Caritas Christi Health Care
   
   Key Competencies ("Display")
   Leadership/Change Management: Sets Critical Priorities
   Establishes the most critical System priorities through strategic planning on a 3- to 5-year time horizon; anticipates specific business situations that might create conflicts and resolves them before they result in crisis; redirects the organization swiftly to meet rapidly changing priorities Leadership/Change Management: Driving Change Identifies the need for change at a strategic level; plans and leads dramatic far-reaching change Leadership/Change Management: People Management Supervises multiple levels of subordinate managers; effectively recognizes, rewards, and motivates high performance in others Knowledge and Critical Thinking: Functional Expertise
   Is industry authority in function; develops information that extends boundaries of knowledge in field; work process and product are highly visible within and across functions and entities, as well as in the community Knowledge and Critical Thinking: Problem Solving/ Decision Making
   Makes independent decisions requiring a high degree of judgment-and often involving calculated risk-that may have significant consequences for the overall System Service Excellence: Service Excellence
   Defines service excellence strategy and allocates resources to achieve service excellence Personal Effectiveness: Networking and Collaboration Strategically builds networks of high level contacts, both externally and across the System; builds consensus among those with differing opinions or conflicting goals; thrives in a complex, highly matrixed organization
   
   Results Expected ("Deliver")
   Overall success of operations of the hospital Satisfactory results for internal and external audits Meet service level standards Adherence to the mission and philosophy of the Caritas System in decision making and daily activities
   
   Hiring Profile
   Advanced degree required 10-12 years progressive leadership experience in hospital operations and administration, preferably in an academic environment

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find chief operating officers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting chief operating officers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 operating officer

   Once you've found the chief operating officer 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with 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.)

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How much does it cost to hire a chief operating officer?