How to hire an Operations Director

How to hire an operations director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step operations director hiring guide:

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

What does an Operations Director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an operations director, 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

   Hiring the perfect operations director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of operations directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type Of Operations Director	Description	Hourly Rate
   Operations Director	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.	$31-78
   Director, Facilities & Operations	Directors of facilities operations plan, organize and maintain the operations of an organization's infrastructure systems and facilities. They hire, evaluate, train, discipline, and recommend staff dismissal... Show More	$15-47
   Director Of Sales And Operations	Directors of Sales and Operations are executives who oversee the performance of the company. They set the strategic direction for the company's sales force... Show More	$48-90

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Oversight
   • Patients
   • Project Management
   • Human Resources
   • Logistics
   • Process Improvement
   • Financial Management
   • Payroll
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • KPIs
   • Direct Reports
   • ISO

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
   • Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
   • Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
   • Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
   • Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
   • Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

   More Operations Director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your operations director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An operations director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, operations directors' average salary in iowa is 48% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level operations directors earn 60% less than senior-level operations directors.
   • Certifications. An operations director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an operations director's salary.

   Average operations director salary

   $104,050yearly

   $50.02 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level operations director salary

   $65,000 yearly salary

   Updated June 14, 2025

   Average operations director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	California	$141,492	$68
   2	New Jersey	$127,764	$61
   3	Connecticut	$124,629	$60
   4	Washington	$122,074	$59
   5	District of Columbia	$119,123	$57
   6	New York	$112,915	$54
   7	Colorado	$110,464	$53
   8	Virginia	$107,945	$52
   9	Nevada	$107,771	$52
   10	Texas	$104,543	$50
   11	North Carolina	$104,274	$50
   12	Michigan	$103,448	$50
   13	Wisconsin	$103,342	$50
   14	Massachusetts	$102,923	$49
   15	Minnesota	$102,390	$49
   16	Georgia	$101,767	$49
   17	Oregon	$99,428	$48
   18	Illinois	$98,610	$47
   19	Maryland	$97,885	$47
   20	Arizona	$97,283	$47

   Average operations director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Airbnb	$196,123	$94.29	1
   2	Cheniere Energy	$184,517	$88.71	1
   3	Meta	$183,799	$88.36	587
   4	Stitch Fix	$181,241	$87.14	3
   5	Apple	$180,057	$86.57	206
   6	PayPal	$179,206	$86.16	34
   7	Google	$178,440	$85.79	68
   8	School of Visual Concepts	$176,701	$84.95	1
   9	Mercy Corps	$175,899	$84.57	9
   10	Brookfield Properties	$175,484	$84.37	9
   11	Pure Storage	$173,523	$83.42	3
   12	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$172,903	$83.13	12
   13	Yuma Regional Medical Center	$167,673	$80.61
   14	Nike	$166,954	$80.27	3
   15	Lifetime	$166,583	$80.09
   16	Earthjustice	$164,682	$79.17
   17	Chewy	$164,090	$78.89	14
   18	Rent the Runway	$163,645	$78.68	2
   19	Novartis	$162,541	$78.14	8
   20	Walmart	$161,784	$77.78	626

4. Writing an Operations Director Job Description

   A good operations director 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 an operations director job description:

   Operations Director job description example

   You could be the one who changes everything for our 26 million members. Centene is transforming the health of our communities, one person at a time. As a diversified, national organization, you'll have access to competitive benefits including a fresh perspective on workplace flexibility.
   
   Position Purpose: Provide direction and oversight for the operations of the Claims organization within established enterprise, state, and federal compliance guidelines with a focus on continuous improvement.
   
   Develop workforce strategy that attracts, retains, and develops talent that meets the evolving needs of the organization.
   
   Safeguard the successful maintenance of all claims processing activities and standards within established compliance, timeline, and quality guidelines.
   
   Collaborate and coordinate with key stakeholders to ensure dependencies are well understood and addressed within the Claims organization and allow success in operational objectives.
   
   Act as a key driver for change to support growth initiatives and continued business improvement and transformation.
   
   Use data, technology and innovation to drive continuous improvement to identify, assess and resolve issues across Claims.
   
   Serve as escalation point to minimize customer impact and ensure that customer expectations are consistently met.
   
   Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Management or related field. Previous management experience including responsibilities for hiring, training, assigning work and managing performance of staff required. 7+ years of Claims Operations management required. Experience leading large-scale efforts (change, implementation, digital/technology, financial management) through data analysis and insights required. 5+ years of healthcare experience in multiple areas of Operations (Claims, Provider/Member Services, Medical Management, Network/IT, etc.) preferred.
   
   Certifications: Project Management Professional Certificate (PMP) and/or Lean Six Sigma Certification (e.g. green belt, black belt, master black belt or other) preferred
   
   Our Comprehensive Benefits Package: Flexible work solutions including remote options, hybrid work schedules and dress flexibility, Competitive pay, Paid time off including holidays, Health insurance coverage for you and your dependents, 401(k) and stock purchase plans, Tuition reimbursement and best-in-class training and development.
   
   Centene is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, and values the ways in which we are different. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristic protected by applicable law.
   **TITLE:** Director, Claims Operations
   
   **LOCATION:** Newark, Delaware
   
   **REQNUMBER:** 1332681

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting operations directors 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. 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 operations director

   Once you've found the operations director 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.

   To prepare for the new operations director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 an operations director?