How to hire a head manager

How to hire a head manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step head manager hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the head manager you need to hire. Certain head manager roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 head manager 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 head manager that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of head manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Head Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Head Manager	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.	$37-94
   Office And Operations Manager	Office and Operations managers are tenured or experienced employees with a strong office administration and business operations background. They oversee office operations and ensure that the administrative team is working well... Show more	$18-38
   Co-Manager/Store Manager	A co-manager/store manager oversees the daily operations of a store, ensuring smooth workflow and customer satisfaction. They are in charge of setting goals and sales targets, establishing guidelines and timelines, delegating responsibilities among staff, and developing strategies to optimize store operations... Show more	$14-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Safety Procedures
   • Payroll
   • Financial Reports
   • Bank Deposits
   • POS
   • Food Preparation
   • CPR
   • Loss Prevention
   • Customer Complaints
   • Human Resources
   • Inventory Control
   • Front Desk
   • Product Knowledge

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all brewery operations including special project management, raw material ordering and handling, production scheduling, and client interfacing.
   • Direct inbound and outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, and logistics quality management.
   • Organize the collection of monthly payments and maintain accounts receivable/accounts payable and process evictions.

   More head manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your head manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A head manager can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, head managers' average salary in utah is 55% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level head managers 61% less than senior-level head managers.
   • Certifications. A head manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a head manager's salary.

   Average head manager salary

   $123,587yearly

   $59.42 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level head manager salary

   $77,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average head manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$157,807	$76
   2	New Jersey	$156,354	$75
   3	New York	$155,174	$75
   4	Connecticut	$146,464	$70
   5	Virginia	$137,785	$66
   6	California	$135,621	$65
   7	Texas	$109,138	$52
   8	Michigan	$107,995	$52
   9	North Carolina	$107,248	$52
   10	Washington	$106,540	$51
   11	Minnesota	$105,113	$51
   12	Colorado	$102,537	$49
   13	Florida	$81,734	$39

   Average head manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Citi	$166,283	$79.94	27
   2	Penske Media	$160,519	$77.17	1
   3	Amazon	$146,283	$70.33	1,328
   4	Exponential	$129,910	$62.46
   5	Santander Private Banking International	$129,619	$62.32	7
   6	Santander Bank	$127,497	$61.30	6
   7	UCLA	$124,157	$59.69	8
   8	Westpac	$122,695	$58.99
   9	Oliver	$116,498	$56.01	1
   10	Yandex Türkiye	$111,033	$53.38
   11	Transdev Services, Inc.	$109,329	$52.56	69
   12	Mutual of Omaha	$103,233	$49.63
   13	Diggs Construction	$99,747	$47.96
   14	ALLOY	$95,082	$45.71
   15	Pave	$92,648	$44.54
   16	Shiftsmart	$92,409	$44.43
   17	Mahle Behr Manufacturing Management Inc	$92,004	$44.23
   18	Substack	$92,003	$44.23	1
   19	LawnStarter	$91,972	$44.22
   20	*n/a*	$91,605	$44.04	6

4. Writing a head manager job description

   A job description for a head manager role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a head manager job description:

   Head manager job description example

   Office - Hybrid (Around 2 days per week in the office)
   Contract - Permanent
   
   About us:
   Diversey is a global leader in sustainable, high-performance hygiene and cleaning solutions, operating in two distinct verticals: Professional, which specializes in floor care machines, cleaning tools & utensils, chemicals, and digitally enabled systems; and, Food & Beverage, which specializes in solutions that integrate chemicals, design engineering, remote data monitoring, and predictive analytics to help optimize food safety, and water and energy conservation.
   
   Diversey is the only player in the hygiene and cleaning industry that integrates machines, chemistry, and digital analytics into solutions that deliver productivity improvement, risk management and sustainability.
   
   Your Role:
   In this role, you will be responsible for three key areas: business development, funnel management (sales pipeline) and leading the Key Account and BDM departments.
   
   Together with your team of around 10 experienced key account managers and business development managers, you will be responsible for leading our existing customers and realizing business growth by winning new customers across all segments. A key strategic goal is shifting towards more efforts in hunting and to increase the growth of business in Finland and Europe.
   
   Our potential customers include both well-known international brands but also mid-sized companies. We already own a large market share in Europe and have a strong reputation in the market.
   
   Furthermore, you will:
   Manage profitability and operating expenses within budget.Drive efforts to reach our targeted revenue by creating better efficiencies and synergies and innovating/modernizing our approach within the sales organization, (for example streamlined processes, capitalizing on systems, and moving towards more virtual sales and service.).In collaboration with the finance team, manage the reforecasting and annual budgeting, whilst ensuring improvement of targets and strategic initiatives are reflected in our BDM strategy.Ensure your team is motivated to bring in new business and collaborate for a smooth transition to account management, while routinely achieving profitable contract renewals with key accounts.Collaborate with marketing, channel sales and our European colleagues.
   
   Requirements for the Role:
   You have extensive B2B sales experience, with 5+ years at a country / region level.Several years' experience leading sales teams.Experience in both B2B Account Management and Business Development.Strategic and change-management experience, with a proven record of transforming a sales department.Fluent Finnish and good English.
   
   Why Diversey & Why this team
   We are Diversey: only one of the two organizations in our industry that operate on a global scale. We are growing, and continuously focusing on innovation. We have a very good reputation in the market, and innovation is a key part of the Diversey DNA, which is something you can clearly tell when you are part of our organization.
   
   We are always open for new ideas and finding ways on how to improve our organization. And we do this, with one key focus: we want our clients to benefit from it in the end. And that's where you come in - to build more partnerships with amazing clients.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right head manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting head managers 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.

   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 head manager

   Once you've found the head manager 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new head manager. 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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