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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Universal Manager

💰 $ - $

ManagementOperationsLeadershipCross-Functional

🎯 Role Definition

The Universal Manager is a cross-functional leader who owns day-to-day operations, team performance, financial outcomes, and strategic initiatives across one or more business units. This role combines operational discipline, people leadership, and analytical rigor to improve efficiency, deliver consistent customer outcomes, and scale processes. A successful Universal Manager balances short-term execution with long-term strategy, manages P&L and budgets, drives continuous improvement (Lean/Six Sigma thinking), and partners with stakeholders (sales, product, finance, HR, IT, vendors) to remove blockers and accelerate growth.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Operations Supervisor / Senior Team Lead with multi-site or cross-functional responsibility
  • Project Manager or Program Manager with strong delivery and stakeholder management record
  • Store Manager / Branch Manager / Site Manager with P&L and people leadership experience

Advancement To:

  • Director of Operations / Head of Operations
  • General Manager / Business Unit Lead
  • VP of Operations or Chief Operating Officer (smaller companies / startups)

Lateral Moves:

  • Product Manager (operational product focus)
  • Customer Success or Client Services Lead
  • Head of Program Management / PMO

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own day-to-day operations for assigned business units or functions, ensuring consistent execution of service and quality standards and maintaining operational KPIs (e.g., OEE, on-time delivery, CSAT, SLA attainment).
  • Manage the full P&L for the area of responsibility, including budgeting, forecasting, margin analysis, and monthly financial reconciliation to ensure profitability targets are achieved.
  • Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team (managers, supervisors, individual contributors), including recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, career development plans, and succession planning.
  • Design, implement, and continuously improve standard operating procedures (SOPs) to increase throughput, reduce cycle time, and eliminate defects while maintaining compliance.
  • Develop and execute operational strategy aligned with company goals; translate strategic priorities into measurable plans, quarterly objectives, and team-level KPIs.
  • Establish and track measurable performance metrics (dashboards and reports), use data-driven insights to diagnose problems, and implement corrective actions to improve outcomes.
  • Drive cross-functional programs with Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and Finance to launch new products, services, or operational capabilities on time and within budget.
  • Lead capacity planning and resource allocation for people, equipment, and facilities; forecast demand and scale operations to meet seasonal or market-driven fluctuations.
  • Negotiate and manage vendor and supplier relationships, including SLAs, contracts, cost optimization, and performance reviews to ensure high-quality, cost-effective services.
  • Own incident management and escalation processes; coordinate root-cause analysis (RCA) and remediation plans to prevent recurrence and communicate status to stakeholders.
  • Manage change initiatives (system implementations, process redesign, organizational changes) using structured change management to minimize disruption and maximize adoption.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory, safety, and internal audit requirements; lead periodic reviews, gap remediation, and documentation updates to mitigate risk.
  • Drive customer excellence by monitoring customer feedback, leading escalations, implementing corrective actions, and partnering with Sales and Customer Success to improve retention and NPS.
  • Execute cost-reduction and efficiency initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, automation, digitization) that deliver measurable savings and productivity improvements.
  • Oversee project delivery and program governance for complex cross-functional projects, including scoping, resource planning, risk management, stakeholder communication, and post-implementation reviews.
  • Build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships (senior leaders, cross-functional partners, external partners), proactively communicating priorities, trade-offs, and status updates.
  • Lead workforce planning and schedule optimization to balance labor cost, service levels, and employee satisfaction across shifts, locations, or distributed teams.
  • Design and implement training programs and knowledge management systems to accelerate onboarding, reduce variability, and capture institutional best practices.
  • Drive continuous improvement through regular process audits, kaizen events, and the application of data science or analytics to reduce waste and uncover growth opportunities.
  • Define and enforce service level agreements (SLAs) and operational playbooks; ensure consistent execution by conducting regular reviews, audits, and coaching sessions.
  • Lead pricing and margin optimization efforts in partnership with Finance and Sales, analyzing cost drivers and recommending adjustments to improve profitability.
  • Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion within teams; promote an inclusive culture that fosters collaboration, psychological safety, and innovation.
  • Represent the business in customer or partner negotiations, escalations, and operational reviews; prepare executive-level briefings with clear metrics and action plans.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Support cross-training programs and temporary re-deployment during peak periods to maintain service continuity.
  • Assist in the evaluation and pilot of new operational technologies (ERP, WMS, CRM integrations) and third-party platforms.
  • Facilitate monthly operational reviews and quarterly business reviews (QBRs) including trend analysis, risk register, and opportunity backlog.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert for operational best practices and mentor other managers across the organization.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • P&L ownership and financial acumen (budgeting, forecasting, margin analysis, variance explanation).
  • Operational analytics and KPI reporting (Excel advanced, dashboards, familiarity with BI tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Looker).
  • Project and program management (Agile, Scrum, PMP or equivalent methodologies).
  • Process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) and experience leading continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Vendor and contract management (SLA design, procurement best practices, RFP management).
  • Workforce planning and rostering systems, labor cost optimization techniques.
  • Knowledge of regulatory and compliance frameworks relevant to the industry (OSHA, GDPR, SOX, HIPAA where applicable).
  • Familiarity with ERP/CRM/WMS systems and integrations (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Salesforce).
  • Data literacy: ability to interpret datasets, run ad-hoc analysis, and partner with data teams (SQL familiarity is a plus).
  • Risk management and incident response frameworks, including root-cause analysis (5 Whys, RCA tools).
  • Technology evaluation and vendor onboarding (SaaS procurement, pilot evaluation, ROI analysis).

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people development capability; proven ability to motivate and scale diverse teams.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
  • Strategic thinking with an ability to translate strategy into tactical plans and measurable outcomes.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication—able to prepare executive-level briefings and present to senior leadership.
  • High emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills.
  • Problem-solving mindset with comfort operating in ambiguity and making data-informed decisions.
  • Change management and influence—capacity to lead transformation and drive adoption.
  • Customer-centric orientation and service mindset; prioritizes customer outcomes and retention.
  • Time management and prioritization skills in high-velocity environments.
  • Attention to detail combined with the ability to keep sight of the big picture.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

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

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or Master’s degree in Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, or related discipline.
  • Professional certification(s) such as PMP, Lean/Six Sigma Black/Green Belt are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

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

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10+ years of progressive operations or management experience with at least 2–3 years in a leadership role.

Preferred:

  • Demonstrated experience managing P&L and multi-site or cross-functional teams.
  • Proven track record of delivering operational improvements, cost savings, and measurable KPI gains.
  • Experience in fast-growing, matrixed, or multi-geography organizations and familiarity with multi-stakeholder program delivery.
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