Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Chief Operations Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) is the senior executive responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling the company's operational model to deliver measurable business outcomes. The COO partners with the CEO and executive leadership team to translate strategy into efficient, repeatable processes across product, engineering, supply chain, sales operations, customer success, finance, legal, and HR. This role requires deep operational expertise, P&L accountability, cross-functional leadership, and a proven track record of driving performance improvements, cost optimization, and growth through data-driven decision making and change management.

This job description is tailored for talent searches, job boards, and applicant tracking systems and includes high-visibility keywords such as chief operations officer, COO responsibilities, operational excellence, P&L ownership, scaling operations, and cross-functional leadership to improve discoverability by candidates and LLM-based recruitment tools.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Vice President of Operations / SVP of Operations
General Manager or Divisional President with P&L responsibility
Head of Global Supply Chain, Head of Customer Success, or Head of Business Operations

Advancement To:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
President / Group President
Board Director / Non-Executive Director

Lateral Moves:

Chief Operating Officer ⇄ Chief Product Officer (for product-led companies)
Chief Operations Officer ⇄ Chief Transformation Officer / Chief Supply Chain Officer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the design, communication, and execution of the company’s operational strategy, aligning resources, processes, and metrics to the corporate plan and ensuring operational initiatives support revenue growth, margin expansion, and customer satisfaction.
Own full P&L accountability for operations, partnering with Finance to develop budgets, forecasts, scenario planning, and monthly performance reviews to drive profitable growth and operational predictability.
Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing operations leadership team (including supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, fulfillment, customer success, business operations and program management), defining clear objectives, KPIs, and professional development plans.
Translate board- and executive-level strategy into tactical operational plans, establishing OKRs, SLAs, and KPIs across functions and ensuring transparent reporting and escalation processes to the CEO and Board.
Design and implement end-to-end process improvements and operational excellence programs (Lean, Six Sigma, continuous improvement) that reduce cycle time, increase throughput, and materially lower operating costs.
Lead cross-functional initiatives to scale business systems (ERP, CRM, WMS, order management), partnering with IT and product teams to select vendors, manage integrations, and ensure data integrity for operational decision-making.
Oversee supply chain and vendor strategy including sourcing, contract negotiation, inventory optimization, demand planning, and contingency planning to ensure service levels while minimizing working capital.
Drive digital transformation of operations by identifying and deploying automation, analytics, and machine learning solutions to improve forecasting, workforce planning, and real-time operations monitoring.
Direct customer operations and success strategies to improve retention, reduce churn, and build scalable onboarding and support programs that increase Lifetime Value (LTV) and Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Create and manage scalable workforce plans: recruiting, organizational design, performance management, compensation alignment, and operational staffing models to support rapid growth and seasonal demand.
Establish rigorous risk management, compliance, and quality assurance programs, ensuring regulatory, safety, and contractual obligations are met across geographies and third-party partners.
Lead M&A operational diligence, integration planning, and post-merger integration execution to capture synergies, harmonize processes, and accelerate time-to-value for acquired businesses.
Manage capital projects and facilities strategy including manufacturing footprint, distribution center strategy, and real estate planning to support efficiency and cost-effective scaling.
Set governance, operating cadence, and executive-level dashboards for operations metrics (on-time delivery, cost per order, fulfillment accuracy, cycle time, inventory turns) and provide proactive recommendations to the leadership team.
Champion a culture of accountability, operational rigor, and continuous learning by introducing best-in-class operational playbooks, training, and cross-functional collaboration frameworks.
Drive pricing, procurement, and cost-to-serve initiatives in partnership with Commercial and Finance to improve gross margins while preserving customer experience.
Partner with Product, Engineering, and Commercial teams to align roadmaps with operational capability and ensure operational readiness for new product launches, market entries, and promotional events.
Lead crisis and incident management for operational disruptions (supply chain interruptions, system outages, safety incidents), coordinating cross-functional response, communication, and remediation to preserve customer trust and minimize financial impact.
Oversee vendor and partner ecosystems, negotiating SLAs, performance-based contracts, and scorecards that ensure partner accountability and continuous performance improvement.
Define and execute sustainability, corporate responsibility, and ESG operational programs that reduce environmental impact and meet stakeholder expectations while driving operational efficiencies.
Implement advanced analytics and BI reporting for operations, enabling self-service dashboards and predictive insights for scenario modeling, capacity planning, and cost optimization.
Drive international operations strategy, including localization, customs and trade compliance, and multi-currency P&L management to support global expansion.
Create and manage incentive structures and performance-linked metrics for senior operations leaders tied to business outcomes such as EBITDA improvement, customer retention, and on-time fulfillment.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc executive data requests and provide operational analysis for strategic planning, fundraising, or board reporting.
Contribute to the organization's data and technology strategy by specifying operational requirements, prioritizing investments, and helping evaluate third-party vendors and platforms.
Collaborate with business units to translate customer and market feedback into operational requirements and product enhancements that improve service delivery.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies when operational initiatives intersect closely with product and engineering teams to ensure delivery timelines and operational readiness.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven P&L management and financial acumen: budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and margin optimization.
Operations strategy development and execution with experience scaling high-growth businesses and establishing operational playbooks.
Supply chain management: sourcing, procurement, demand planning, inventory optimization, logistics, and distribution strategy.
Experience with ERP, WMS, TMS, CRM systems and modern cloud-based operations platforms; ability to lead system selection and large-scale implementations.
Data-driven decision making: advanced competency in operational KPIs, BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Looker, Power BI), SQL or ability to work with analytics teams to build dashboards.
Continuous improvement methodologies: Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, process mapping, and root-cause analysis experience.
Contract negotiation and vendor management skills with experience structuring performance-based agreements.
Mergers & acquisitions operational integration experience, including synergy capture, operational restructuring, and playbook development.
Experience with large-scale program management, cross-functional project delivery, and change management frameworks.
Regulatory, quality and compliance oversight in relevant industries (e.g., manufacturing safety, healthcare privacy, food safety, export controls) where applicable.

Soft Skills

Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into measurable operational plans and tactical execution.
Highly effective communicator: stakeholder management, board-level reporting, and ability to influence without direct authority.
Strong leadership presence with experience building and scaling distributed teams across functions and geographies.
Exceptional problem-solving and prioritization skills in ambiguous, high-growth environments.
Change agent and culture builder who fosters collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Customer-obsessed mindset with a bias for action to remove friction and improve experience.
Resilient under pressure; experienced in crisis management and rapid decision-making.
High ethical standards and strong judgment in handling confidential, regulatory, and people matters.
Results-oriented with a track record of delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, cost, and customer metrics.
Talent development focus: coaching, succession planning, and performance calibration for senior leaders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Finance, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master of Business Administration (MBA) or advanced degree in operations, engineering, or supply chain management.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration / Management
Supply Chain & Logistics
Industrial Engineering / Operations Research
Finance / Accounting
Computer Science / Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

10–20+ years of progressive operations, supply chain, or general management experience.

Preferred:

15+ years with significant experience in senior leadership roles (VP/SVP/GM) and 5+ years with direct P&L responsibility.
Demonstrated experience scaling operations in high-growth or enterprise environments, leading digital transformation, supply chain optimization, and M&A integrations.
Industry experience aligned to the company (e.g., e-commerce, SaaS, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics) is strongly preferred depending on the role focus.