The operations manager job description below is free to copy and adapt. It's written around measurable work (throughput, cost, staffing, service levels) so applicants can see what they'd own. Further down: how the job changes by company, U.S. wage data from O*NET, first-round interview questions and tips for a post that draws the right people.
Operations manager job description template
What an operations manager does
An operations manager keeps the core work of the business running and gets it a little cheaper, faster or more reliable every quarter. A typical day mixes the urgent (a supplier is late, two people called out) with the planned (next month's staffing model, a process fix, a budget review). O*NET's task list for the broader occupation captures that range: reviewing performance data to find cost savings, preparing schedules and assigning duties, handling hiring and training, managing budgets and monitoring suppliers.
They work with almost everyone. Frontline teams and supervisors report to them, finance checks their spending, sales and customer teams depend on their output, and leadership holds them to the numbers. Much of the job is translation: turning a leadership goal into a shift plan, and turning floor problems into a case leadership will fund.
The title means very different things by company size. At a startup, the operations manager may own anything that isn't product or sales: vendors, tools, office, billing, even recruiting. At a large company, the role is usually tied to one site, region or function, with a defined budget, set KPIs and supervisors in between. Name your version in the first lines of the post.
Skills and qualifications
Education varies more here than in most management roles. In O*NET's survey for General and Operations Managers, 29% of respondents said new hires need a high school diploma, 27% said a bachelor's degree and 22% said some college. Experience running a team and a budget matters far more than a specific degree, and no license is required in general.
Salary
O*NET has no separate occupation for operations managers. It groups them under General and Operations Managers (11-1021.00), a broad occupation whose reported titles also include general manager, store manager, plant superintendent and operations director. Based on 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, the U.S. median is $105,770 a year ($50.85 an hour). The 10th percentile is $50,090 and the 90th percentile is $253,390.
That very wide spread reflects the group: it runs from small-store managers to senior leaders of large operations. Place your role by team size and budget, and check your state on O*NET's local wage page (California's median for the group is $124,390). Put the final pay range in the post. More and more states and cities require it, and candidates notice when it's missing.
Interview questions for operations manager candidates
- "Cost per order rose 12% last quarter. How would you find out why?" Strong candidates break the number apart (labor, overtime, supplies, volume, mix) before guessing, and ask what else changed in the period.
- "Two supervisors on your team disagree about how to run the evening shift. What do you do?" Listen for hearing both sides, using data where it exists, making a call and explaining it, then checking the result.
- "Walk me through a process you redesigned. What did it change in numbers?" The best answers give a before and after, credit the team, and explain how they kept the new process from sliding back.
- "Your best vendor misses a delivery that affects customers. What are your first three moves?" Good answers protect the customer first, then get facts from the vendor, then fix the cause and review the contract terms.
Our manager interview questions cover people leadership, delegation and performance problems in depth, with a scoring rubric. To keep panel scores consistent, use the interview scorecard template.
Writing tips for this role
- Lead with the numbers they'll own. "Owns on-time delivery and cost per order for a 120-person site" says more than a paragraph of duties.
- Rethink the degree requirement. O*NET's own survey shows many people in this work weren't required to have a bachelor's degree. A hard degree filter can cut out shift leads with years of results.
- Say on-site or remote early. Many operations roles need someone on the floor. If yours does, say so in the first lines, along with any weekend or night coverage.
- Don't mix two jobs. If the role is mostly running one-off initiatives, a project manager may be the better hire. If it's mostly supporting an office, look at our office manager template.
Screening operations manager candidates with AI
Operations roles draw applicants from many industries, which makes resumes hard to compare. NTRVSTA scores every resume against your job description and ranks the pool, then an AI interviewer runs a live first round by video avatar or audio. Candidates take it on their own schedule, including after a night shift, with no scheduling back-and-forth. The exam library covers soft skills such as communication, problem-solving and leadership, and you can add your own operating scenarios.
The interview adapts as it goes: a candidate who handles a staffing problem well gets a harder one. Interviews can run in multiple languages, and each report includes a score breakdown and video snippets your hiring manager can review in minutes. For a look at how platforms compare, see our best AI interview software guide.
Questions
What's the difference between an operations manager and a general manager?
A general manager usually owns a whole business unit or location, including sales and profit. An operations manager usually owns how the work gets done: people, process, cost and service levels. In smaller companies one person often does both, and O*NET groups the two titles together.
Should an operations manager have an MBA?
Rarely. An MBA can help in strategy-heavy roles at large companies, but most operations managers succeed on experience leading teams and moving numbers. Ask for evidence of results instead, and list an MBA as nice to have only if the role truly needs it.
How many direct reports should an operations manager have?
It depends on the work. Managers of frontline teams often lead through supervisors, with five to eight direct reports and many more people below them. In business operations roles at smaller companies, the manager may have two or three reports or none at all. State the real number in the post.
Curious how an adaptive AI first round would screen your next operations hire? Book a 20-minute demo, or run a sample interview to see the candidate side. You can also browse every template on our job descriptions page.
