How to hire a director of sales and operations

How to hire a director of sales and operations, step by step

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

What does a director of sales and operations do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The director of sales and operations hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   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 director of sales and operations 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 director of sales and operations that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of directors of sales and operations.

   Type of Director Of Sales And Operations	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Sales And Operations	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.	$48-90
   National Sales Director	A national sales director is responsible for monitoring the sales targets and performance of the sales force across the country's regions. National sales directors handle the execution and release of goods and services according to market trends and public demands... Show more	$35-64
   Regional Sales Director	A regional sales director is responsible for monitoring sales quotas for a specific area or region, developing sales strategies, and adjusting existing techniques to increase revenues and achieve its profitability goals. Regional sales directors manage marketing campaigns, analyze current market trends to meet consumer demands, plan promotional events, handle employees' sales training programs, and coordinate with multiple sales teams to implement effective sales processes... Show more	$37-85

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sales Operations
   • Analytics
   • CRM
   • Salesforce
   • Sales Process
   • Business Operations
   • Sales Management
   • Direct Reports
   • Sales Organization
   • Project Management
   • Pricing Strategy
   • HR
   • Revenue Growth
   • KPIs

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead facility project development for the nation's largest healthcare design/build company.
   • Implement an ERP system to manage scheduling, quoting, time cards and inventory management for the business.
   • Lead efforts in winning a highly competitive RFP, resulting in securing the company's largest affinity partner.
   • Develop new market capabilities for vendor manage inventory within the OEM customer base driving $200k growth within 1st year.
   • Identify and cultivate new alliances, through innovative RFP responses, cold calling, OEM partnerships and by managing existing alliances.
   • Procure and lead initiative for electronic ordering using SaaS technology.

   More director of sales and operations duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the director of sales and operations job description is a good way to get more applicants. A director of sales and operations 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 director of sales and operations in Florida may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level director of sales and operations. Additionally, a director of sales and operations with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average director of sales and operations salary

   $138,898yearly

   $66.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director of sales and operations salary

   $101,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average director of sales and operations salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$180,088	$87
   2	Oregon	$179,140	$86
   3	Washington	$161,789	$78
   4	Michigan	$149,586	$72
   5	District of Columbia	$144,960	$70
   6	Texas	$144,675	$70
   7	Alaska	$143,035	$69
   8	Ohio	$142,656	$69
   9	New Mexico	$141,228	$68
   10	North Carolina	$135,024	$65
   11	Illinois	$134,842	$65
   12	Connecticut	$134,747	$65
   13	New York	$133,497	$64
   14	Minnesota	$132,682	$64
   15	Massachusetts	$129,315	$62
   16	Utah	$129,210	$62
   17	Virginia	$129,089	$62
   18	Maryland	$122,985	$59
   19	Georgia	$122,299	$59
   20	Colorado	$118,256	$57

   Average director of sales and operations salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$191,150	$91.90	127
   2	Google	$183,011	$87.99	111
   3	Dolby Laboratories	$170,083	$81.77	6
   4	Zoetis	$168,302	$80.91	16
   5	Adobe	$168,298	$80.91	140
   6	DreamBox Learning	$168,187	$80.86
   7	Cytokinetics	$166,750	$80.17
   8	Okta	$165,606	$79.62	46
   9	Fresenius Kabi	$164,934	$79.30	2
   10	Anaplan	$164,533	$79.10	10
   11	Zendesk	$164,218	$78.95	4
   12	Koch Industries	$162,283	$78.02	5
   13	SurveyMonkey	$159,801	$76.83	1
   14	Gilead Sciences	$158,435	$76.17	28
   15	ForgeRock	$158,358	$76.13
   16	Walmart	$157,568	$75.75	962
   17	Wildlife Conservation Society	$157,293	$75.62
   18	Amazon	$156,569	$75.27	839
   19	Lands' End	$156,171	$75.08
   20	LinkedIn	$156,016	$75.01	29

4. Writing a director of sales and operations job description

   A good director of sales and 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 director of sales and operations job description:

   Director of sales and operations job description example

   Solutions driven success. XPO is a top ten global provider of transportation services, with a highly integrated network of people, technology and physical assets. At XPO Logistics, we look for employees who like a challenge and can communicate effectively in all situations. We want to leverage your skills and years of experience to drive positive results while ensuring a bright future for yourself and XPO. If you're looking for a growth opportunity, join us at XPO. As the Director, Sales & Operations, you will provide strategic leadership and direction for our Transportation Management services. Your focus will be successfully managing client relationships, meeting, or exceeding client expectations, and working to ensure effective operational solutions and service improvements. We want to leverage your skills and years of experience to create positive results, ensuring a bright future for yourself and XPO. If you're looking for a growth opportunity, join us at XPO. XPO intends to spin off its tech-enabled brokered transportation platform as RXO in or around November 2022, creating two independent publicly traded companies. Visit rxo.com for more information. Please note that this position is in scope to transition to RXO once the planned spin-off is completed. Pay, benefits and more.We are eager to attract the best, so we offer competitive compensation and a generous benefits package, including full health insurance (medical, dental and vision), 401(k), life insurance, disability and the opportunity to participate in a company incentive plan. What you'll do on a typical day:
   
   Lead the process of delivering successful proposals to future clients and internal operations at the start of the project implementation phase; develop an awareness of the issues that are pertinent to operational implementation
   
   Define requirements for transportation operations and ensure the implementation of new strategies and initiatives to effectively meet or exceed company requirements and customer expectations
   
   Develop and deploy transportation operational and management solutions, and establish business controls and processes to support regional transportation operations
   
   Identify growth opportunities with current and new customers; perform account management functions for the customer
   Communicate with customers, vendors, and operations to ensure customer commitments are met Maintain strong relationships with internal partners, including Sales, Operations, IT and Pricing Identify, present, and discuss with senior leadership the feasibility of new business opportunities with specific potential clients What you need to succeed at XPO:At a minimum, you'll need: 7 years of transportation management or contracted logistics experience Experience in a managerial role and designing managed transportation solutions It'd be great if you also have: Bachelor's degree in Business, Logistics, or Supply Chain Management 5 years of experience working with a top 25 3PL company Availability to work extended hours including evenings, nights and weekends; ability to travel to customer and multiple operating locations up to 20% of the time Solid problem-solving techniques and statistical analysis skills Proven leadership and collaboration skills with the ability to effectively supervise, coach and influence employees Be part of something big. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, disability, veteran or other protected status. All applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment may be required to take and pass a pre-employment drug test.
   The above statements are not an exhaustive list of all required responsibilities, duties and skills for this job classification.
   Review XPO's candidate privacy statement here.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find directors of sales and 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 directors of sales and operations they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level directors of sales and 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 director of sales and operations job on Zippia to find and recruit director of sales and operations candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with director of sales and operations candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 director of sales and operations

   Once you've decided on a perfect director of sales and operations candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new director of sales and operations. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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