One of the major responsibilities of a director of operations is employee management, making sure as many as hundreds of individuals are productive. Directors of operations also may be in charge of making purchases related to production. Research and development are also typically overseen by a director of operations.
This position requires negotiation skills, as negotiation is something that must be done with vendors and sellers on consistent basis. Most of the time, the directors are required to have an advanced college degree and several years of experience within their industry. In some cases, directors also have professional certification that enables them to focus on establishing improvements and defining goals for the company. Most of the time, the director will work closely with the chief financial officer and board of directors and it is very important for the director of operations to have excellent communication skills.