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What does a director of service and operations do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Eric Olsen

A Director of Service and Operations coordinates and implements systems promoting better service within an organization to improve operational performance. Duties include setting goals for management, supervising team activity and workload, preparing the organizational budget to increase cost efficiency, and managing inventory and stock. They also work with cross departments to promote factory optimization. A Director of Service and Operations oversees employee coaching and policy updates to increase workforce efficiency.

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Director of service and operations responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of service and operations resumes:

  • Finance and billing accountability across Medicaid, manage care commercial insurance, insurance verification, contract management, and benefits administration.
  • Head management responsible for building all distribution and logistics for NantHealth develop and distribute products.
  • Collaborate with non-profit organizations across the country, consulting on logistics and feasibility of incorporating PHS business model.
  • Provide leadership and budgetary oversight to department providing professional support services for the development of high quality educational assessments.
  • Collaborate with internal stakeholders to provide portfolio oversight, develop success criteria, financial outlooks, and strategic resource planning.
  • Manage web development and rebranding initiative.

Director of service and operations skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of Directors Of Service And Operations are proficient in Continuous Improvement, Oversight, and ITIL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Management skills.

We break down the percentage of Directors Of Service And Operations that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Continuous Improvement, 12%

    Pursued continuous improvement strategies and development of best practices that enhance safety, quality, customer schedule and productivity.

  • Oversight, 6%

    Provided leadership and budgetary oversight to department providing professional support services for the development of high quality educational assessments.

  • ITIL, 6%

    Structured incident and problem management based on ITIL standards for service management, with delivery through BMC Remedy.

  • Customer Support, 6%

    Directed team providing customer support using Lotus Notes, enhanced electronic data access and intranet-based systems.

  • Executive Management, 5%

    Support of various sales and implementation efforts across the organization requiring frequent interaction with executive management teams of partnering organizations.

  • Regulatory Compliance, 5%

    Directed implementation of operating policy and procedures, food safety compliance, and regulatory compliance.

Common skills that a director of service and operations uses to do their job include "continuous improvement," "oversight," and "itil." You can find details on the most important director of service and operations responsibilities below.

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of service and operations to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of service and operations do because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." Additionally, a director of service and operations resume shows how directors of service and operations use communication skills: "bolstered relationship with business contacts for service delivery feedback and communications. "

Leadership skills. Many director of service and operations duties rely on leadership skills. "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources.," so a director of service and operations will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways director of service and operations responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "managed day-to-day p&l; operations and provided leadership/direction for 7 supervisors and 130 customer support specialists. "

Problem-solving skills. For certain director of service and operations responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a director of service and operations rely on this skill, as "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what directors of service and operations do: "implemented mrp and erp integrated software planning tool solutions based on tqm/lean process improvements. "

Time-management skills. A commonly-found skill in director of service and operations job descriptions, "time-management skills" is essential to what directors of service and operations do. Director of service and operations responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." You can also see how director of service and operations duties rely on time-management skills in this resume example: "liaised with real estate, legal, and construction to meet aggressive launch deadlines in ten different cities. "

Most common director of service and operations skills

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Director Of Service And Operations Resume
Director Of Service And Operations Resume
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Compare different directors of service and operations

Director of service and operations vs. District director

A district director is an executive professional who is responsible for managing staff members of an organization in a particular district. This director is required to conduct store visits to ensure that store employees are following store procedures and maintain inventory levels. The manager must manage all the general ledger revenue and expense activity while maintaining oversight for all operations, policies, and procedures. This manager should also plan and develop workshops, comprehensive training, and professional development for all staff members.

If we compare the average director of service and operations annual salary with that of a district director, we find that district directors typically earn a $25,337 lower salary than directors of service and operations make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between directors of service and operations and district directors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like oversight, performance management, and human resources.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of service and operations and district director. For instance, director of service and operations responsibilities require skills such as "continuous improvement," "itil," "customer support," and "executive management." Whereas a district director is skilled in "professional development," "medicaid," "lead generation," and "strategic plan." This is part of what separates the two careers.

District directors tend to reach lower levels of education than directors of service and operations. In fact, district directors are 5.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Director of service and operations vs. Service director

A service director is responsible for managing and implementing customer service policies and ensuring that all staff strictly adhere to reach the highest customer satisfaction. Service directors' duties include identifying business opportunities to improve customers' experience, monitoring the performance of the customer service team, developing strategic procedures on service delivery, creating new promotional offers and services, and coaching the team to increase business productivity. A service director must have excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the customer service industry to lead the team and boost company sales.

A career as a service director brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a director of service and operations. In fact, service directors salary is $11,051 lower than the salary of directors of service and operations per year.A few skills overlap for directors of service and operations and service directors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "oversight," "regulatory compliance," and "customer satisfaction. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that director of service and operations responsibilities requires skills like "continuous improvement," "itil," "customer support," and "executive management." But a service director might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "healthcare," "patient care," and "customer service."

Service directors earn a lower average salary than directors of service and operations. But service directors earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $137,415. Additionally, directors of service and operations earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $121,660 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Service directors tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of service and operations. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Directors of service and operations in the next 3-5 years?

Eric OlsenEric Olsen LinkedIn profile

Professor, Industrial Technology and Packaging, Orfalea College of Business

We are doubling down on what we call "digital fabrication." Most manufacturing technologies we deal with now have a growing digital component that our students need to understand and be competent in. Of course, that means current hot exotics like additive manufacturing, but our students need to look at any process and realize there is probably a digitally enhanced path forward.

Director of service and operations vs. Deputy director

Deputy directors supervise a team of workers and oversee the daily functions of their organizations. They coordinate with the company's executive director in preparing long-term strategies to achieve organizational goals. It is their job to make sure that these goals are met through the company's available resources. They aid alliances so that conversation objectives will be achieved. When complex issues arise, they collaborate with scientists and policy experts for resolution.

An average deputy director eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of directors of service and operations. The difference in salaries amounts to deputy directors earning a $25,842 lower average salary than directors of service and operations.By looking over several directors of service and operations and deputy directors resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "oversight," "regulatory compliance," and "project management." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of service and operations are more likely to have skills like "continuous improvement," "itil," "customer support," and "executive management." But a deputy director is more likely to have skills like "policy development," "customer service," "public health," and "financial management."

Deputy directors earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $101,934. Comparatively, directors of service and operations have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $121,660.deputy directors typically earn higher educational levels compared to directors of service and operations. Specifically, they're 5.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Director of service and operations vs. Operations vice president

The responsibilities of an operations vice president will revolve around overseeing business operations and ensuring workforce and workflow efficiency through evaluations and providing strategic plans that would drive the company to meet its vision and mission. An operations vice president, in adherence to the company policies and regulations, also has the power to hire and train employees, even to execute disciplinary actions such as termination or suspension when necessary. Furthermore, an operations vice president also has discretion in reviewing and approving reports and requirements in various aspects such as budgeting and new policies.

Operations vice presidents tend to earn a higher pay than directors of service and operations by an average of $37,044 per year.While their salaries may vary, directors of service and operations and operations vice presidents both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "continuous improvement," "oversight," and "customer support. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between directors of service and operations and operations vice presidents, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a director of service and operations might have more use for skills like "itil," "lean six sigma," "customer satisfaction," and "service delivery." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of operations vice presidents require skills like "customer service," "financial statements," "risk management," and "strategic plan. "

The hospitality industry tends to pay the highest salaries for operations vice presidents, with average annual pay of $167,073. Comparatively, the highest director of service and operations annual salary comes from the technology industry.operations vice presidents reach similar levels of education compared to directors of service and operations, in general. The difference is that they're 3.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of director of service and operations

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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