| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Operations |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Chief Operating Officer |
| Direct reports | DGM Operations, Regional Operations Manager, Senior Operations Manager |
| Experience | 15 to 18 years in operations, with 5 years managing multiple sites or regions |
General Manager Operations job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: General Manager Operations
Department: Operations
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A General Manager Operations owns the operations plan and budget for a business unit or a mid-sized company. The GM decides how capacity, manpower and processes are organized to meet sales commitments, then holds DGMs and regional managers to the numbers. The role balances service levels, cost and compliance, and is the operations voice in monthly business reviews with the COO or managing director.
Key responsibilities
- Build the annual operations plan from the sales forecast, covering capacity, manpower, budget and service commitments for each unit.
- Allocate budget and headcount across regions and sites, and rebalance them mid-year when demand shifts.
- Run the monthly operations review with DGMs and regional managers, comparing output, cost, quality and safety with the plan.
- Decide on make or buy, outsourcing of non-core activities and renewal of major service contracts within delegated authority.
- Agree realistic delivery commitments with sales and planning for large orders or new customers before they are signed.
- Approve standard operating procedures and changes to them, and make sure every unit follows the same version.
- Lead the review of any quality failure or missed delivery that cost the company a customer or a contractual penalty.
- Set the operations manpower plan with HR, covering permanent, fixed-term and contract staff, and approve hiring beyond the budgeted count.
- Represent operations in management meetings, external audits and customer business reviews.
- Develop DGMs and senior managers through clear goals, regular feedback and stretch assignments.
Requirements
- Graduate in engineering, commerce or business
- MBA or PGDM in operations is preferred
- Six Sigma Black Belt or a project management certification is an advantage
- 15 to 18 years in operations, with 5 years managing multiple sites or regions
KRAs and KPIs for a General Manager Operations
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Plan achievement | Monthly operations plan achieved at 95 percent or more for output and service volume |
| Operating budget | Business unit operations spend within 2 percent of the annual budget |
| Service quality | Customer complaints per 1,000 orders or cases reduced by 10 percent over the year |
| Productivity | Output per operations employee up 5 percent year on year |
| Compliance | Every site passes internal and statutory audits without a major finding |
| Team development | Each DGM and regional manager has a development plan reviewed twice a year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: ERP such as SAP, Oracle or Microsoft Dynamics, Power BI or Excel dashboards, Budget templates, Customer complaint system, Contract register.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Vice President Operations, Director Operations, Chief Operating Officer
Interview questions for a General Manager Operations
- Sales has promised a large customer delivery in half the usual lead time. How do you respond?
- How do you decide how much budget each region gets, and when do you take some of it back?
- Walk me through your monthly operations review. What makes a regional manager uncomfortable in it?
- Tell me about a customer you lost because of an operations failure. What did you change afterwards?
- When do you outsource an activity, and how do you protect quality once you have?
- How would you build trust with a new DGM who was an internal candidate for your job?
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What are the responsibilities of a General Manager Operations?
A General Manager Operations builds the operations plan and budget, allocates capacity and people across sites or regions, sets and approves SOPs, agrees delivery commitments with sales and runs the monthly performance review. The GM also handles major customer failures, leads the DGMs and regional managers, and represents operations in management meetings.
What is the difference between a General Manager Operations and an Operations Manager?
An operations manager runs one team, process or site and focuses on today's output. A General Manager Operations runs the whole operations function of a business unit, owns the budget and plan, and manages the managers. The GM decides where capacity and money go, while the operations manager makes the daily plan work.
What qualifications does a GM Operations need?
Most GMs in operations are engineering or commerce graduates with an MBA or PGDM, and 15 or more years of experience that includes running several sites or a region. Certifications such as a Six Sigma Black Belt or PMP help, but employers weigh proven results in cost, service and team leadership more heavily.