The operations executive — directing operational strategy and execution to deliver business results.
As Operations Vice President, you lead a major portion of the organization's operations. You develop operational strategy, manage operations leaders, drive efficiency and quality, and ensure operations deliver on business commitments. This executive role translates business strategy into operational execution.
Your days involve strategic leadership and performance management. You might review operational metrics with your team, address an escalated operational issue, develop strategy for capacity expansion, meet with sales about delivery commitments, and lead your operations leadership team through planning. You ensure operations enables business success.
The hardest part is balancing multiple operational priorities — cost, quality, speed, flexibility — while leading through the inevitable disruptions and surprises. Operations VPs who thrive are skilled at building high-performing operations organizations, make sound decisions with imperfect information, and maintain composure under pressure.
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Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Operations roles →The operations executive — directing operational strategy and execution to deliver business results.
Median pay for an Operations Vice President (Operations VP) is about $206K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $74K to $208K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Judgment and Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, and Management of Personnel Resources.
Most people in this role hold a master's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 4.3% through 2034, with roughly 211,850 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Operations Director, Loss Prevention Operations Director, and Supply Chain Operations Director.
Still figuring out what you want to become
when you grow up?