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What does an operations management specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Eric Olsen
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.

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Operations management specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real operations management specialist resumes:

  • 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
  • Coordinate with local logistics and maintenance teams to ensure military units where provide necessary support future and ongoing operations.
  • Perform in-depth analyses of project requirements, including consideration of technical matters, costs, and compatibility with existing system infrastructure.
  • Implement carrier EDI service reporting automation by utilizing data transmit from carrier.
  • Strengthen customer loyalty by providing EDI and logistics modeling to facilitate more cost-effective transportation planning.
  • Maintain high level of confidentiality of privy executive management information of FedEx.

Operations management specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Operations Management Specialists are proficient in Operations Management, Logistics, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Management skills.

We break down the percentage of Operations Management Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Operations Management, 10%

    Maintained mission information and Planning data; Developed improved methods for effective/efficient us of operations management functions.

  • Logistics, 10%

    Coordinated with local logistics and maintenance teams to ensure military units where provided necessary support future and ongoing operations.

  • PowerPoint, 10%

    Created and developed customer-specific PowerPoint and Executive Summary presentations.

  • Project Management, 9%

    Project management of assessment programs with accountability for documentation, categorization, action plans and incident resolutions.

  • Excellent Interpersonal, 7%

    Position required an organized, motivated problem solver with excellent interpersonal skills.

  • Data Analysis, 7%

    Boosted production throughput 40% by analyzing management information systems and applying data analysis and innovative problem solving techniques.

Common skills that an operations management specialist uses to do their job include "operations management," "logistics," and "powerpoint." You can find details on the most important operations management specialist responsibilities below.

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for an operations management specialist to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." Additionally, an operations management specialist resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "directed the operations and supervision of multiple food services facilities while exercising outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. "

Leadership skills. Many operations management specialist duties rely on leadership skills. "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources.," so an operations management specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways operations management specialist responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "coordinate, prepare and formulate strategies for yearly dod government audits with the customer, and military leadership visiting overseas sites. "

Problem-solving skills. operations management specialist responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." This resume example shows what operations management specialists do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "audit automation reconciliation investigated and resolved customer complaints, assisted with process enhancement recommendations when appropriate and provided appropriate follow up. "

Time-management skills. A commonly-found skill in operations management specialist job descriptions, "time-management skills" is essential to what operations management specialists do. Operations management specialist 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 operations management specialist duties rely on time-management skills in this resume example: "performed in a deadline driven hospital food service role. "

Most common operations management specialist skills

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Operations Management Specialist Resume
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Compare different operations management specialists

Operations management specialist vs. Senior vice president-operations

Senior Vice Presidents for Operations are top management employees who oversee the company's operations. They report to the company's Chief Executive Officer or roles equivalent to such. They are expected to be very familiar with everything related to the company, such as its products, services, and production activities, among others. As such, they would be able to create strategies that would elevate the performance of the company. They are heavily involved in the decision-making related to the different departments in operations. Senior Vice Presidents for Operations manage different departments related to operations. They ensure that all factors in operations contribute to the company's success.

We looked at the average operations management specialist salary and compared it with the wages of a senior vice president-operations. Generally speaking, senior vice presidents-operations are paid $130,314 higher than operations management specialists per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both operations management specialist and senior vice president-operations positions are skilled in logistics, project management, and human resources.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an operations management specialist are more likely to require skills like "operations management," "powerpoint," "excellent interpersonal," and "data analysis." On the other hand, a job as a senior vice president-operations requires skills like "oversight," "financial performance," "svp," and "risk management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Senior vice presidents-operations really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $174,554. Comparatively, operations management specialists tend to make the most money in the transportation industry with an average salary of $75,197.On average, senior vice presidents-operations reach higher levels of education than operations management specialists. Senior vice presidents-operations are 9.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Operations management specialist vs. General manager of operations

General managers of operations are employed to oversee the overall operations of businesses. Their responsibilities include the improvement of the efficiency of the operations and overall management. They coordinate the primary performance goals for direct reporting functions and set the strategies for the organization. It is their responsibility to communicate strategy as well as results to employees. They also engage with the corporate officers in the strategic planning and development of the organization or enterprise.

A career as a general manager of operations brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an operations management specialist. In fact, general managers of operations salary is $27,768 higher than the salary of operations management specialists per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both operations management specialists and general managers of operations have skills such as "logistics," "continuous improvement," and "human resources. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, operations management specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "operations management," "powerpoint," "project management," and "excellent interpersonal." Meanwhile, a general manager of operations has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "develop team," "oversight," and "personnel processes." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

General managers of operations earn similar levels of education than operations management specialists in general. They're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for operations management specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Eric OlsenEric Olsen LinkedIn profile

Professor, Industrial Technology and Packaging, Orfalea College of Business

We are doubling down on what we call "digital fabrication." Most manufacturing technologies we deal with now have a growing digital component that our students need to understand and be competent in. Of course, that means current hot exotics like additive manufacturing, but our students need to look at any process and realize there is probably a digitally enhanced path forward.

Operations management specialist vs. Chief of operations

The chief of operations is responsible for monitoring the overall operational process of a company, maintaining efficient project management, and accurate project deliverables. They contribute to the implementation of corporate decisions, including the development of the company's policies and procedures. They also support the CEO in board meetings to report the business' performance and identify opportunities to increase brand awareness and boost profitability. The chief of operations handles financial transactions of the business, as well as budgeting and allocating resources for each department.

On average scale, chiefs of operations bring in higher salaries than operations management specialists. In fact, they earn a $63,173 higher salary per year.By looking over several operations management specialists and chiefs of operations resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "powerpoint," "human resources," and "management system." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, operations management specialists are more likely to have skills like "operations management," "logistics," "project management," and "excellent interpersonal." But a chief of operations is more likely to have skills like "oversight," "emergency operations," "logistical support," and "combat."

Chiefs of operations earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $111,931. Comparatively, operations management specialists have the highest earning potential in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $75,197.When it comes to education, chiefs of operations tend to earn higher degree levels compared to operations management specialists. In fact, they're 6.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Operations management specialist vs. Operations officer

An operations officer is responsible for monitoring the staff performance, ensuring the efficiency of their tasks to support the project needs with maximum productivity, and strict compliance with the company's operational policies. Operations officers manage the department's budget, proper allocation of resources, and keeping the operational costs within the budget goals. They also conduct performance reviews, develop strategic procedures for the project's success, and handling the clients' inquiries and concerns. An operations officer must have excellent communication and leadership skills, focusing on client satisfaction while providing the best managerial support for the staff.

Operations officers tend to earn a lower pay than operations management specialists by an average of $14,941 per year.According to resumes from operations management specialists and operations officers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "powerpoint," "human resources," and "sharepoint. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "operations management," "logistics," "project management," and "excellent interpersonal" are skills that commonly show up on operations management specialist resumes. On the other hand, operations officers use skills like customer service, security operations, logistical support, and risk management on their resumes.The average resume of operations officers showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to operations management specialists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 6.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.

Types of operations management specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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