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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Executive

💰 $40,000 - $90,000

OperationsManagementLogisticsProcess Improvement

🎯 Role Definition

The Operations Executive is responsible for driving operational excellence across the organization by developing and maintaining efficient processes, delivering against KPIs and SLAs, managing vendor and supplier relationships, and coordinating cross-functional teams to deliver consistent service and cost improvements. This role sits at the intersection of process design, people management, data-driven decision making, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Key search terms: operations executive, operations manager, process improvement, KPI monitoring, SOP development, vendor management, cost optimization, SLA management, continuous improvement, ERP/CRM.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Operations Coordinator / Operations Assistant
  • Customer Service Supervisor / Team Lead
  • Logistics Coordinator / Supply Chain Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Operations Manager / Senior Operations Manager
  • Head of Operations / Regional Operations Lead
  • Director of Operations or VP of Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Manager (Operations Projects)
  • Supply Chain / Procurement Manager
  • Process Improvement / Continuous Improvement Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own and execute day-to-day operations for assigned business units, ensuring consistent delivery of agreed service levels (SLAs) and measurable KPIs such as on-time delivery, order accuracy, turnaround time, and cost-per-transaction.
  • Design, document, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and process flows to standardize best practices across teams and reduce variation, rework, and handoffs.
  • Lead cross-functional coordination between sales, customer success, finance, procurement, product, and logistics to remove operational blockers and accelerate issue resolution.
  • Monitor and analyze operational metrics and dashboards on a daily and weekly cadence; produce actionable insights and drive corrective actions to hit targets.
  • Manage vendor and third-party supplier relationships — negotiate SLAs, measure vendor performance, enforce contract compliance, and implement cost-reduction initiatives.
  • Plan, execute, and track operational projects (process automations, system migrations, cost optimization) using project management methods and ensure timely delivery and stakeholder communication.
  • Lead continuous improvement and process optimization programs (Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma principles) to increase throughput, reduce cycle time, and improve customer satisfaction.
  • Own capacity planning, resource forecasting, and shift scheduling to align workforce supply with demand patterns and seasonal peaks while controlling labor costs.
  • Implement and maintain quality control and audit programs, driving root-cause analysis (RCA) for recurring issues and implementing permanent fixes.
  • Manage operational budget, identify cost-savings opportunities, and partner with finance for month-end reporting, variance analysis, and cost forecasting.
  • Drive compliance with regulatory, internal control, and security standards (data protection, audit readiness), coordinating remediation and policy updates as needed.
  • Serve as escalation point for complex customer or internal operational issues, resolving matters promptly and documenting lessons learned to prevent recurrence.
  • Coordinate onboarding and enablement for new hires, create training materials, and run recurring training sessions to ensure consistent operational competence.
  • Implement and optimize ERP/CRM and operations tooling — gather requirements, support rollouts, and define acceptance criteria to ensure systems improve productivity.
  • Lead continuous data quality initiatives — validate operational data, reconcile discrepancies across systems, and implement preventive checks to improve reporting accuracy.
  • Manage end-to-end order-to-cash or procure-to-pay workflows, identify inefficiencies within workflows, and implement streamlined solutions to shorten cycle times.
  • Develop and present weekly/monthly operational performance reports to leadership with clear recommendations and prioritized action plans.
  • Establish and monitor SLAs and KPIs for internal teams, partners, and vendors, and run regular performance business reviews (PBRs) to maintain accountability.
  • Drive customer experience improvement initiatives — map customer journeys, identify friction points, and coordinate cross-functional fixes to improve NPS and CSAT.
  • Coordinate product launches and operational readiness for new services or market expansions, including runbooks, contingency plans, and training.
  • Build and manage a culture of continuous feedback and data-driven decision-making within the operations function; coach team members on performance expectations and career development.
  • Implement automated reporting, alerts, and escalation rules that reduce manual effort and speed up incident detection and resolution.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer operational questions, validate hypotheses, and quantify impact of proposed changes.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by identifying operational data needs and advocating for improved instrumentation and reporting.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate operational pain points into engineering or product requirements that lead to system improvements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies with product and engineering teams when operational projects require development resources.
  • Assist in business continuity and disaster recovery planning for critical operational processes, including testing and post-mortem analysis.
  • Support corporate initiatives such as sustainability, vendor consolidation, and cost-transformation programs that impact operations.
  • Facilitate cross-functional workshops to map processes, identify automation opportunities, and prioritize initiatives based on ROI and risk.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Operational reporting & KPI management — design, maintain, and interpret dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker) to monitor performance.
  • Advanced Excel — pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, advanced formulas, and scenario modeling for resource and budget planning.
  • Experience with ERP/CRM/OMS tools (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Salesforce, Zendesk) and familiarity with integrations and data flows.
  • Process mapping and documentation — BPMN or equivalent, SOP creation, and maintaining a centralized process repository.
  • Project management — planning, scheduling, risk mitigation, and stakeholder communication (PMP, Scrum, or equivalent experience preferred).
  • Lean / Six Sigma methodologies — ability to run Kaizen events, 5 Whys, DMAIC projects and deliver measurable process improvements.
  • Vendor and contract management — RFPs, SLA negotiation, performance scorecards, and escalation procedures.
  • Basic SQL or data-querying skills to extract and validate operational datasets for analysis and reporting.
  • Budgeting and financial analysis — cost-benefit analysis, variance reporting, and operational forecasting.
  • Quality assurance and compliance — audit readiness, control testing, and remediation planning.

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management — ability to influence cross-functional teams and senior leadership with clarity and persuasion.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication — prepare executive summaries, status reports, and present to leadership.
  • Analytical and problem-solving mindset — break down complex problems, run root cause analysis, and prioritize solutions by impact.
  • Leadership and team development — coach, mentor, and develop individual contributors to improve team performance.
  • Customer-centric focus — consistently prioritize the customer experience and drive initiatives that reduce friction.
  • Time management and prioritization — manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment and deliver to deadlines.
  • Resilience and adaptability — navigate ambiguity, change, and scale while maintaining operational stability.
  • Attention to detail — ensure high data quality, accurate reporting, and consistent process execution.
  • Negotiation and conflict resolution — mediate cross-functional disagreements and vendor contract negotiations to reach win-win outcomes.
  • Continuous improvement mindset — curiosity and discipline to seek and implement incremental and transformational improvements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Finance, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree (MBA or MSc in Operations/Supply Chain/Industrial Engineering) or equivalent professional certifications (Lean Six Sigma, PMP).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration / Management
  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain & Logistics
  • Industrial / Systems Engineering
  • Finance / Accounting

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2 — 6 years in operations, logistics, customer operations, or process improvement roles.

Preferred:

  • 4 — 8+ years with demonstrated experience owning end-to-end operations, managing vendors, running improvement projects, and supporting senior leadership. Prior people-management or project-lead experience preferred.
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