What does an operations team leader do?
An operations team leader is an individual who manages teams, encouraging cooperation, productivity, and teamwork. Operations team leaders foster team unity and enhance the daily efficiency of the companies or any business establishment. They manage a diverse workforce in companies to make sure that the organizational operations are efficient. Also, they implement programs and processes and oversee building maintenance. It is also their responsibility to manage mechanical and human resources and establish a team budget.
Operations team leader responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real operations team leader resumes:
- Manage a team of CNC operators during the facility's exit strategy for machining.
- Help develop new WMS system and implement real time visual control charts to achieve production and quality KPI metrics.
- Manage SLA by prioritizing and resolving requests/Incidents in accordance with agree service level agreement.
- Manage an embed Facebook executive protection team that provide security and logistical support for a corporate executive and his family.
- Initiate and complete deviations along with CAPA and/or NTR's.
- Document production data, including OEE, QPS, and safety tracking forms.
- Train staff on OSHA safety require, creating curriculum that foster learning and compliance.
- Educate and prepare new-hire employees and control all employee payroll through the KRONOS system.
- Participate in product process troubleshooting in order to correct & maintain desirable OEE and yields.
- Ensure the compliance with all OSHA and JCAHO requirements and receive commendable remarks on all inspections.
- Assist dock supervisors with management of the freight and merchandise on inbound and outbound side of the LTL terminal.
- Monitor system wide backups for open vms and windows platforms, monitor system performance, queue management, account creations.
- Check and process in/out OTR drivers; LTL, assign dock doors, verify seals, inspect dock plates etc.
- Create kanban/supermarkets for raw material procurement thereby eliminating MRP.
- Provide complete commercial and residential cleaning services which include windows.
Operations team leader skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Operations Team Leaders are proficient in Customer Service, Continuous Improvement, and Excellent Interpersonal. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Management skills.
We break down the percentage of Operations Team Leaders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 15%
Developed sale techniques throughout my tenure at MarCom Technologies, consistently exceeding sales goals and providing leadership to customer service representatives.
- Continuous Improvement, 7%
Communicated departmental manufacturing data and continuous improvement projects to high level management during yearly reviews and cost of sales meetings.
- Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Experience with training and writing procedures for production personnel, and excellent Interpersonal and Communication skills.
- Sales Floor, 6%
Maintain sales floor presentation by managing recovery.
- Safety Procedures, 5%
Monitored employees during production activities to ensure adherence to ethics and safety procedures.
- Process Improvement, 5%
Facilitated regular meetings between Processing and Closing supervisors to address pipeline management activities, issue resolution and develop process improvement opportunities.
"customer service," "continuous improvement," and "excellent interpersonal" are among the most common skills that operations team leaders use at work. You can find even more operations team leader responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for an operations team leader 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 team leader resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "manage quality communication, customer support, and product representation for each client. "
Leadership skills. Many operations team leader 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 team leader will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways operations team leader responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "sole leadership presence for cleveland ach 2nd shift operations ensuring all critical deadlines were met. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain operations team leader responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of an operations team leader 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 operations team leaders do: "reported and resolved network outages and communicated with external customers and customer support call centers. "
Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for an operations team leader to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what operations team leaders relies on this skill, since "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." How this skill relates to operations team leader duties can be seen in an example from an operations team leader resume snippet: "coordinated cash vendor relationships with external partners to ensure service level agreements (sla) were met 98.5% on time. "
The three companies that hire the most operations team leaders are:
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Compare different operations team leaders
Operations team leader vs. Lead person
A lead person or lead worker is an employee who provides leadership and instructions to others in a group to complete tasks quickly and effectively. Lead workers plan and organize meetings with supervisors and the management to discuss a particular project's progress and development. Lead persons would often participate in the training of new employees about their job duties. As the group leader, lead persons must also ensure that employees are following company policies and adhere to all standards and guidelines.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an operations team leader are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "continuous improvement," "excellent interpersonal," and "sales floor." On the other hand, a job as a lead person requires skills like "safety rules," "safety regulations," "production floor," and "pallet jack." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Lead people tend to reach lower levels of education than operations team leaders. In fact, lead people are 5.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Operations team leader vs. Lead operator
Lead operators are responsible for the direction and supervision of the day-to-day activities in facilities. As machine operators, they control machines and take charge of industrial operations. They handle and move objects, monitor processes, and inspect materials, structures, and equipment. Also, they may serve as mentors for the new production employees concerning occupational health and safety. They must be skilled in safety procedures, heavy equipment, preventive maintenance, and other things related to machine operations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that operations team leader responsibilities requires skills like "customer satisfaction," "ladders," "develop team," and "employee development." But a lead operator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "shipping receiving," "basic math," "patients," and "shared services."
Lead operators earn similar levels of education than operations team leaders in general. They're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Operations team leader vs. Cell leader
A site leader is responsible for managing the staff's performance, ensuring the smooth delivery of daily operations, and guiding the successful project completion by maximizing the staff's productivity within the specified timeframe and budget goals. Site leaders work closely with the clients, together with the site manager, to identify their specifications and requirements, as well as providing progress updates and suggesting design adjustments as needed. A site leader also performs safety inspections, making sure that all the staff follows the required operational procedures and regulations to prevent hazards and delays in project deliverables.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, operations team leaders are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "excellent interpersonal," "sales floor," and "ladders." But a cell leader is more likely to have skills like "lean manufacturing," "ace," "safety rules," and "production schedules."
Cell leaders typically earn similar educational levels compared to operations team leaders. Specifically, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Operations team leader vs. Site leader
Types of operations team leader
Updated January 8, 2025
