Operations management specialist vs operations director

The differences between operations management specialists and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an operations management specialist and an operations director. Additionally, an operations director has an average salary of $104,050, which is higher than the $61,754 average annual salary of an operations management specialist.

The top three skills for an operations management specialist include operations management, logistics and powerpoint. The most important skills for an operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

Operations management specialist vs operations director overview

	Operations Management Specialist	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$61,754	$104,050
Hourly rate	$29.69	$50.02
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	137,664	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does an operations management specialist do?

An operations management specialist is responsible for ensuring that the company's day-to-day operations run smoothly and efficiently. Your duties may vary but will most likely include optimizing operational procedures and processes, looking for ways to enhance customer experience, and supervising the operations team. In addition, it is your duty to train new staff and interact with customers, answer their inquiries, and resolve issues. As an operations management specialist, it is also your duty to ensure that policies and procedures are maintained and complied with.

What does an operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Operations management specialist vs operations director salary

Operations management specialists and operations directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Operations Management Specialist	Operations Director
Average salary	$61,754	$104,050
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $98,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Bellevue, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Google	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Transportation	Finance

Differences between operations management specialist and operations director education

There are a few differences between an operations management specialist and an operations director in terms of educational background:

	Operations Management Specialist	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Operations management specialist vs operations director demographics

Here are the differences between operations management specialists' and operations directors' demographics:

	Operations Management Specialist	Operations Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between operations management specialist and operations director duties and responsibilities

Operations management specialist example responsibilities.

Manage team of database administrators, database technicians and systems administrators responsible for maintaining all production, development and QA systems.
Support new business development by participating in brainstorming sessions and developing PowerPoint presentations
Maintain, design and support the development of SharePoint sites for several programs.
Create, edit, and upload these and other documentation to Microsoft SharePoint for government client to review.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations for presentation to senior staff as assigned.
Participate in all aspects of gym functioning including sale and marketing of memberships, logistics management and day-to-day operations

Operations director example 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.

Operations management specialist vs operations director skills

Common operations management specialist skills

Operations Management, 10%
Logistics, 10%
PowerPoint, 10%
Project Management, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Data Analysis, 7%

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Operations Management Specialist
Operations Management Specialist vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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