What does a manager of operations excellence do?
A manager of operational excellence is in charge of devising strategies to optimize business procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting research and analysis to identify the strength and weaknesses of operations, finding areas needing enhancement, developing and executing improvement projects, setting goals and objectives, and coordinating with internal and external parties. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Manager of operations excellence responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real manager of operations excellence resumes:
- Refine roles, responsibilities and lead the restructuring efforts to earn ISO certification.
- Manage the complete order processing from quote to cash for direct sales outside of the Americas.
- Manage payroll distribution process ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and confidentiality to protect client's privacy and prevent liability of exposure.
- Define KPIs in various business to measure service and performance levels.
- Implement a dashboard for all KPIs across the company enabling review & replication across all facilities
- Analyze and improve enterprise wide processes and artifacts, adhering to ISO 9001 and ABB global standards.
- Develop and motivate team to ensure the delivery of the team and targets are meet as per the SLA's.
- Head up optimization of equipment efficiencies and component quality using DMAIC approach.
- Develop yearly budgetary forecasts for all infrastructure expenditures and ensure forecasts are on target.
- Implement daily Kaizen program to visually track suggestions and implement a team base management methodology.
- Coordinate with various business units in DuPont to forecast demand for account administration and plan infrastructure growth.
- Develop procedures and checklists for verification of quality, and processes involve with manufacturing, repairing and logistics of products.
- Manage payroll distribution process ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and confidentiality to protect client's privacy and prevent liability of exposure.
- Establish both supplier and withdrawal kanban system for over 9,000 parts significantly reducing inventory and increasing turns improving cash flow.
- Act as key member of the corporate audit committee to successfully complete regular SOX, COSO, and ISO audits.
Manager of operations excellence skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Managers Of Operations Excellence are proficient in Continuous Improvement, Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Management skills.
We break down the percentage of Managers Of Operations Excellence that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Continuous Improvement, 14%
Collaborate with leaders and stakeholders to leverage collective talent and drive continuous improvement through practical, fact-based planning and tactical initiatives.
- Sigma, 10%
Utilized Six Sigma tools for collaborative team process improvement exercises resulting in documented, standardized process and procedures.
- Lean Six Sigma, 10%
Mentor Engineering Department in Lean Six Sigma methodologies including mathematical simulations and modeling of real world systems, including human interactions.
- Project Management, 9%
Produced proposals, statements of work and requests for qualifications and provided project management support.
- Lean Manufacturing, 6%
Implement Lean Manufacturing for firms needing to optimize their operational efficiency and productivity.
- Shared Services, 5%
Led a Shared Services transformation project for a leading global large beverage company.
"continuous improvement," "sigma," and "lean six sigma" are among the most common skills that managers of operations excellence use at work. You can find even more manager of operations excellence responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a manager of operations excellence to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." Managers of operations excellence often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "manage team of four: quality assurance manager, sharepoint administrator; communications manager; and personnel manager. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform manager of operations excellence duties is leadership skills. Managers of operations excellence responsibilities require that "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." Managers of operations excellence also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide technical leadership and support for cost reduction efforts as utility and energy costs. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain manager of operations excellence responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a manager of operations excellence 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 managers of operations excellence do: "led training programs, solved customer complaints, implemented strategic qa/ra, qsshe systems and programs. "
Time-management skills. A commonly-found skill in manager of operations excellence job descriptions, "time-management skills" is essential to what managers of operations excellence do. Manager of operations excellence 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 manager of operations excellence duties rely on time-management skills in this resume example: "mentored projects with the help desk to increase customer satisfaction and reduce ticket resolution time. "
The three companies that hire the most manager of operations excellences are:
- Rochester Regional Health16 managers of operations excellence jobs
- KPMG LLP14 managers of operations excellence jobs
- Bank of America12 managers of operations excellence jobs
Compare different managers of operations excellence
Manager of operations excellence vs. Division manager
Division managers supervise a section of the company and are responsible for that division's success. General duties include organizing, planning, allocating resources, and managing the daily operations of the sector. Part of their duty is to evaluate the division's performance and develop strategies for performance improvement. They ensure that compliance to policies and procedures is maintained by the team members. Also, they assist in employee recruitment and performance evaluation for promotion, retention, and termination undertakings. Additionally, division managers need to fix issues that hinder achieving division goals and success.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, manager of operations excellence responsibilities require skills like "continuous improvement," "lean six sigma," "lean manufacturing," and "shared services." Meanwhile a typical division manager has skills in areas such as "customer service," "safety program," "oversight," and "human resources." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Division managers earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $95,992. On the other hand, managers of operations excellence are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $104,108.On average, division managers reach lower levels of education than managers of operations excellence. Division managers are 10.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Manager of operations excellence vs. 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. Operations Support Managers must have a deep understanding of company operations and the employees' needs. They manage processes and standards to ensure that company operations are fully supported and will not be disrupted. They resolve concerns and anticipate problems that may come. They can plan and create safeguards to ensure that such problems will not arise in the future.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real manager of operations excellence resumes. While manager of operations excellence responsibilities can utilize skills like "continuous improvement," "lean six sigma," "shared services," and "opex," operations support managers use skills like "customer service," "human resources," "professional development," and "support operations."
Operations support managers earn a lower average salary than managers of operations excellence. But operations support managers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $68,847. Additionally, managers of operations excellence earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $104,108 annually.In general, operations support managers achieve lower levels of education than managers of operations excellence. They're 9.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Manager of operations excellence vs. Operations program manager
The role of operations program managers is to help improve organizational efficiency, particularly in the areas of administrative, financial, and programmatic operations. Their key duties and responsibilities include overseeing the collection, analysis, and reporting of data, overseeing and leading teams to achieve business goals, and managing the development and execution of operational procedures. In addition, they are responsible for developing and monitoring dashboards to measure business health and assisting with planning, reporting, and budgeting.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, managers of operations excellence are more likely to have skills like "shared services," "opex," "kaizen," and "hr." But a operations program manager is more likely to have skills like "program management," "customer service," "infrastructure," and "logistics."
Operations program managers earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $109,929. Managers of operations excellence earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $104,108.operations program managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to managers of operations excellence. Specifically, they're 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Manager of operations excellence vs. Operations project manager
An operations project manager is responsible for monitoring the performance of the project team, ensuring that the operations meet the clients' standards and internal regulations with maximum productivity and efficiency. Operations project managers manage the department's budget and allocate materials and resources accurately, maintaining a record of expenses and costs forecasting. They coordinate with the clients, discussing project adjustments or additional tasks as needed, and lead project execution and deliverables by determining the team's needs and concerns, and enforcing strategic procedures.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between managers of operations excellence and operations project managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a manager of operations excellence might have more use for skills like "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," "opex," and "kaizen." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of operations project managers require skills like "business operations," "risk management," "business process," and "provide management. "
Operations project managers enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $90,596. For comparison, managers of operations excellence earn the highest salary in the professional industry.In general, operations project managers hold lower degree levels compared to managers of operations excellence. Operations project managers are 7.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of manager of operations excellence
Updated January 8, 2025
