Operations director · job description template

Operations director job description

The short answer · updated 28 September 2026

An operations director job description sets out the senior role that runs how a business delivers: its people, processes, suppliers and costs. The core responsibilities are turning the plan into operating targets, leading the operational teams, improving processes and systems, managing suppliers and budgets, and owning operational risk, including health and safety.

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Job purpose

An operations director makes the business deliver what it sells, on time, to standard and within budget. In a smaller company the operations director is the most senior operator and reports to the managing director; in a larger one the role sits under a COO and runs a division, a site network or the supply chain. The purpose line should say which version this is and the operational result the business needs next: a cost programme, a new site, a system migration or service levels restored. For the role one level down, see what does a head of operations do.

Acas publishes an outline job description template whose headings (the main duties and who the post reports to) suit an operations director brief. If the role will answer to a COO, read the COO job description first so the two briefs do not overlap.

Key responsibilities

Order the duties by importance and start each with a verb. A typical operations director job description covers:

turning the business plan into operating plans, targets and budgets for each team or site;
running day-to-day operations: production, delivery, logistics, customer service or facilities, as the business requires;
leading the operations managers and heads of function, and hiring where there are gaps;
setting and tracking operational measures (cost, quality, service and output) and reporting them each month;
improving processes and systems, and deciding where to automate;
managing suppliers, outsourcing partners and contracts, and the costs they carry;
leading health and safety on the operating side, in line with HSE’s Leading health and safety at work;
owning operational risk and business continuity;
checking the supply chain for the annual modern slavery statement where the company must publish one;
working with finance on costs, margins and capital spending;
delivering change programmes: new sites, systems, acquisitions or restructures.

Reporting line and scope

The operations director reports to the managing director or chief executive, or to the COO where there is one. Operations managers, site or plant managers and the heads of logistics, procurement or customer service usually report in. List the functions that report to the role and the ones that stay elsewhere, so no one reads the job two ways.

The title does not make the holder a company director. If the operations director is appointed to the board, they owe the general duties that Companies House guidance sets out under the Companies Act 2006; if not, they attend board meetings for their items. Say which in the job description, and which committees the role reports to, for example on health and safety or operational risk.

Skills, experience and qualifications

No qualification is required by law to be an operations director. Ask for experience of the operational problem the company has now and describe it specifically. Acas warns that phrases such as “highly experienced” in a job advert can discriminate on age, so define the experience rather than counting years.

experience running operations at a comparable scale, with a comparable number of sites, people and suppliers;
a record against the specific problem: scaling, cost reduction, a new site, a system roll-out or a turnaround;
process improvement and change delivered through other people;
budget ownership and supplier and contract management;
leading managers, and building a team where the business has outgrown its current one;
health and safety leadership in the environment the role covers;
a management or sector qualification where it helps, such as CMI’s Chartered Manager status or a supply chain, quality or project management qualification, listed as desirable unless the job requires it.

Interim and fractional operations director

Interim. An interim operations director works full-time for a fixed period, so the job description leads with the situation (a site opening or closing, a system migration, a turnaround, an integration after an acquisition, or cover while the permanent search runs) and the date or event that ends the assignment. Our page on how to hire an interim operations director sets out how the engagement works.

Fractional. A fractional operations leader works a set number of days a week or month, so the brief narrows. Name the days, the outcomes expected over the first six to twelve months (processes documented, a reporting rhythm in place, an operations manager hired, a system rolled out), what the role owns and who runs operations on the days they are not there. Where the brief spans the whole operating model, it is a COO brief: see how to hire a fractional COO, and what does a COO do for the difference.

An interim or fractional operations director working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35). Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, not on the wording of the job description, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.

Permanent version

The permanent version looks further ahead: the operating model over several years, the team to be built and the systems to scale on. When the operations director is hired as an employee, the job title or a description of the work goes into the written statement of employment particulars they must have on the first day, so keep the two consistent.

We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors. For an operations director brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.

A template you can copy

Copy these headings and write one short block under each. Keep pay out of the job description and state it in the offer.

Job title: operations director, and whether the role is fractional, interim, part-time or permanent.
Reports to: the managing director, CEO or COO, with any board seat; list the managers and functions who report to the role.
Purpose: two or three sentences on why the role exists now and the operational result it must deliver.
Responsibilities: eight to twelve duties, each starting with a verb, in order of importance.
Requirements: essential and desirable experience, described specifically, and a qualification only where the job needs one.
Terms: full-time or days a week, sites and travel, start date, fixed term or permanent, and the pay basis (salary or day rate).

Questions people ask

What should an operations director job description include?

The job title and type of engagement, who the role reports to and which teams report in, the purpose, the key responsibilities, the experience and skills required, and the terms. Acas suggests giving applicants the job description together with a person specification and information about the organisation.

How long should an operations director job description be?

Long enough to cover purpose, responsibilities, reporting line, requirements and terms, and short enough to read in a few minutes: one to two pages is usually enough. Site and process detail belongs in the candidate pack and the interviews.

What is the difference between an operations director and a COO job description?

A COO job description covers the whole operating model and usually sits beside the CEO on the board; an operations director job description covers running operations, often a division, a site network or the supply chain, and may report to the COO. See the COO job description.

What is the difference between an operations director and a head of operations?

The operations director is usually the more senior title, with budget and board exposure; a head of operations runs the operational teams day to day and may report to the operations director. See what does a head of operations do.

What does an operations director earn?

It depends on the size and complexity of the operation, the sector and whether the role is permanent, interim or fractional. Our interim operations director page sets out published day rates and permanent pay, each figure with its source.

How do I hire an operations director?

Define the operational problem, agree the scope and reporting line, choose between permanent, interim, part-time and fractional, write the job description around that problem, and test every candidate against it. Our interim operations director page sets out the process; we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.