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Operations director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

7 min read

Quoted experts

Karen Kus,

Casey DeRoo Ph.D.

One of the most important hard skills an operations director can possess is experience designing and revising business procedures because this is one of the most impactful responsibilities of an operations director. It's also important for operations directors to have the hard skill of ensuring compliance, and leading continuous improvement.

When it comes to soft skills, operations directors should have strong leadership and oversight skills above all else. Operations directors need to ensure the organization is favorably received by customers, so strong customer service skills are also crucial.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical operations director skills. We ranked the top skills for operations directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.4% of operations director resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an operations director needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 operations director skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how operations directors use customer service:

Implemented processes and developed action plans to improve overall performance, customer service issues and ensure overall operational integrity and compliance.
Implemented incentives to foster a culture of commitment to exceptional customer service and satisfaction, team development, cooperation and professionalism.

2. Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of improvement of products, services, and processes with the help of innovative ideas. It is an organized approach that helps an organization to find its weaknesses and improve them.

Here's how operations directors use continuous improvement:

Facilitate effective and efficient operations in a rapidly evolving business environment by delivering continuous improvements to customer service and office procedures.
Developed Operational Excellence strategy and implemented staffing and training initiatives to launch new continuous improvement program for 5 regional manufacturing sites.

3. Oversight

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

Here's how operations directors use oversight:

Implemented a robust testing protocol including the formation and oversight of dedicated test districts to validate system-wide feasibility of field-focused initiatives.
Maintained constant oversight of store activities to ensure quality food production and service in adherence to safety standards and sanitary guidelines.

4. Patients

Here's how operations directors use patients:

Cultivated transparent communication among patients, physicians, hospital personnel, and internal customers to achieve peak levels of client satisfaction.
Promoted customer care initiatives by extending center hours to a twelve-hour facility to afford patients convenient access to medical care.

5. Project Management

Here's how operations directors use project management:

Collaborated with newly formed Project Management Office to implement protocols such as training programs, resource management and annual strategic planning.
Performed cross-departmental project management to meet new product deployment schedules and worked with external customers to establish requirements and meet expectations.

6. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how operations directors use human resources:

Supervised three divisions; including productivity initiatives, budgeting and operations, procurement and payroll, human resources and safety programs.
Led project and worked with human resources to develop performance-based compensation model to better align staff objectives with higher-level strategic goals.

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7. Logistics

Logistics is a complete organization and implementation of a problem. Logistics are often considered in a complex business operation, as some works need detailed plannings. Logistics are also used in military action.

Here's how operations directors use logistics:

Partnered with senior company leadership to develop a growth strategy for a division of an international third party logistics company.
Managed comprehensive business activities; handled logistics, including load planning and dispatching, and supervised staff within structured environment.

8. Process Improvement

Here's how operations directors use process improvement:

Directed task force to overhaul 4 metal fabrication and assembly plants by driving process improvement initiatives and effective cost reduction solutions.
Managed the internal process improvement team and led enterprise process improvements to streamline operations service requests for improved service response time.

9. Financial Management

Here's how operations directors use financial management:

Maintain financial management controls and computerized accounting systems and institute budget expenditures assuring compliance with related policies, procedures and regulations.
Worked with accountants and bank representatives on improving company financial management in conjunction with key management team to improve bottom line.

10. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how operations directors use payroll:

Reorganized entire company into several vertical yet cross-functional departments, leveraging an estimated 20% increase in payroll effectiveness.
Supervised approximately 15 employees; optimized payroll and employee benefits and minimized employee turnover.

11. Customer Satisfaction

Here's how operations directors use customer satisfaction:

Hired to improve operations and drive growth for a company with significant quality issues impeding on-time delivery and impacting customer satisfaction.
Developed a warranty feedback matrix resulting with reducing warranty claims by 51%, improving customer satisfaction and instilled reliability confidence.

12. KPIs

Here's how operations directors use kpis:

Leveraged extensive technical subject matter expertise to evaluate and improve image quality; developed models to demonstrate improvements in established KPIs.
Provided leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

13. Direct Reports

Here's how operations directors use direct reports:

Managed 7 direct reports who were responsible for ensuring contractual compliance and adherence to state and federal legislation/regulations.
Direct reports: 2 Operations Managers, Industrial Engineering Manager, Manufacturing Engineering Manager and Administrative Assistant.

14. ISO

Here's how operations directors use iso:

Directed ISO certification process helped establish an even stronger foundation for delivering high quality products that exceed our customers' expectations.
Managed implementation of ISO 14001 Environmental certification in three divisions by implementing programs and training that supported compliance with government regulations.

15. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how operations directors use business development:

Fueled business growth by collaborating with owner to develop strategic marketing, business development, and financing initiatives to increase profit.
Directed international and domestic business development, marketing and internal sales activities to capture profitable orders increasing volume by 25%.

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What skills help Operations Directors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on operations director resumes?

Karen Kus

Assistant Director of Career Services, SUNY Potsdam

Employers hiring candidates with a history degree are seeking transferable skills that can be applied in various roles and settings. These skills include writing, communication, research, organization, computer-based skills, and problem-solving. The best thing a candidate can do to increase marketability is to elaborate on how they obtained or utilized those skills, rather than simply listing them. Employers need to have an understanding of how you made use of your skill and what results came from your actions. Make these skills shine on your resume by giving them substance.

What hard/technical skills are most important for operations directors?

Casey DeRoo Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Iowa

For a large company, familiarity with work management software is essential. Tasks are assigned, issues are noted, and effort tracked/billed all through these kinds of platforms. As Operations Manager, you'll be the one checking to ensure all tasks are assigned and are completed in a timely fashion, and may even be the one breaking up a project into initial tasks first.

What soft skills should all operations directors possess?

Casey DeRoo Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Iowa

The ability to understand the people on your team and allocate project work accordingly is important. In this role, you may find that you "step back" from the day-to-day of engineering and coordinate work on a project across multiple individuals with unique outlooks and skillsets. Recognize that "one size doesn't fit all" when it comes to management. Harnessing the make-up or the desired professional goals of your team to accomplish your assigned projects leads to better outcomes and productivity. Many skilled engineers lack leadership skills, so highlight these on your resume or during your interview if you have applicable experience.

What operations director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Nina Woodard

Senior Career Development Specialist, Belmont University

For entertainment, digital marketing and content creation skills are critical. Even if a role isn't specifically connected to digital marketing, social media is almost always involved in most entry-level roles. We strongly encourage students and recent graduates to learn basic graphic design platforms, video editing and audio editing. Learning how to maximize impact on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok is also a worthy investment of time. There's a wide range of self-paced training resources online, many available for free or at reduced costs for students.

What type of skills will young operations directors need?

Craig Nathanson Ph.D.

Adjunct Lecturer, Sonoma State University

I see the essential human skills gaining importance to build a new post-covid work life. These include creativity, leading and working in teams, writing, speaking, being self-aware, and lowering bias and networking; career branding as critical areas for graduates to focus on now.

What technical skills for an operations director stand out to employers?

Dr. Mary Kern Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College - City University of New York

- Clearly, the ability to use different forms of communication technology has become key, and as these forms evolve rapidly, employers are look for an ability to adapt, adopt, and teach them to their colleagues.

- Evidence-based management and decision-making are playing a much larger role in organizations, and thus the ability to work with quantitative data to understand situations and to help make decisions is crucial.

Do you want to know more?

List of operations director skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an operations director resume and required skills for an operations director to have include:

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

Financial Performance
Product Development
Strategic Plan
Business Operations
R
A/P
ROI
Facilities Management
Inventory Control
Strategic Direction
Performance Reviews
Real Estate
Training Programs
Business Plan
Cost Reduction
Regulatory Compliance

Medicare
Staff Development
Inventory Management
Financial Reports
Financial Statements
Medicaid
FDA
Facebook
Cost Savings
QA
POS
ERP
Healthcare Administration
HVAC
Cloud Security
Labor Costs

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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