Job Opportunities In The Field Of Operations Management

Dr Vandana Sonwaney Oct 06, 2019

The concept of operations management has been around for a very long time; however, there is an increasing number of aspirants who today specialise in MBA in Operations Management due to the numerous opportunities available in the job market today. Contemporary operations are inclusive of strategic elements with behavioral and engineering concepts. Operations utilize management science, operations research tools and techniques for systematic decision-making and problem-solving thus interacting with other functional areas within the organization.

Earlier Operations was recognized as a cost control exercise but the contemporary viewpoint for judging operations is changing from a narrowly defined operating objective of cost control to global performance measurements in areas such as product performance and variety, product quality, delivery time, customer service, and operational flexibility. By linking operations and operating strategies with the overall strategy of the organisation, be it engineering, financial, marketing or information system strategies better synergies are extracted. The widened scope of operations management has led to a rise in job opportunities for those looking for a break into this sector.

Operations management is essential for all industries like banking, hospitals, e-commerce, suppliers, manufacturers, technology companies, and more. While the core aspects of the job remain the same, there are a few refined job roles that have been created based on the industry. Let's take a look at some of these job roles:

Deputy Manager Manufacturing

A deputy manager manufacturing is responsible for planning, managing, and executing manufacturing operations. They are also accountable for ensuring the execution of the manufacturing process is prioritized in accordance with the process workflow and schedule.

Since deputy manufacturing managers are responsible for the production process, they are also required to inspect production equipment to prevent any malfunctions regularly. If they do identify any issues, they are required to report the operational or maintenance problems to avoid delays in production.

Apart from the technical aspects of the job, they are also required to manage their teams by addressing concerns and complaints. Moreover, they also assist in interviewing, hiring, and training new employees, along with regular performance reviews, appraisals, and promotions.

Associate Product Manager

An associate product manager participates in the creation of new products and features right from ideation to launch. Their prime responsibility includes gathering product requirements and suggesting product enhancements to improve user experience. They are also required to be familiar with market research and competitor analysis to identify market needs accurately. They also need to monitor and report consumer reactions after a product is launched.

To be successful in this job role, it's vital that an associate product manager communicate and collaborate with other teams to understand customer and market requirements. Moreover, it's also vital that they possess strong analytical and quantitative skills and can effectively use data and metrics to provide recommendations and make the right decisions.

Operations Manager

Operations managers have varied responsibilities and are, therefore, a senior position. The duties vary based on the company and the product or service they offer. However, there are a few responsibilities that are universal across industries.

An operations manager is liable for identifying operational inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback. With the information they gather, they are also accountable for transforming processes to improve operational systems and policies to support the organization's target.

They also work closely with the Chief of Operations (COO) and oversee financial management, planning, systems, and controls. Their aim in doing so is to measure and manage the impact that working capital, budgets, financial statements, and cost-cutting has on the overall cash flow of a business.

Finally, they are also accountable for enhancing the effectiveness and productivity of the HR, IT, and finance departments and implement reforms to each department if required. Their goal is to build an empowering work atmosphere to maximize and align workforce efforts and overall team productivity.

Supply Chain Functional Analyst

The primary duty of a supply chain functional analyst is to deliver projects in the supply chain division by focusing on planning, fulfillment, manufacturing, sourcing, & procurement. A supply chain functional analyst does this by leveraging Supply Chain Packaged Solutions in improving the client's business performance. Many supply chain functional analysts are required to have an understanding of tools like SAP, Oracle, JDA, Kinaxis, etc.

They collect data to help improve an organization's supply chain operations and report to department heads. They also identify problems with the workflow, analyze costs and benefits, suggest improvements, and assist in negotiations with suppliers. Moreover, they are also required to understand client requirements and translate them into business and technology solutions.

Sourcing Specialist

Sourcing Specialist’s task is to develop both short and long term sourcing plans by benchmarking all suppliers, contracts, and services associated with delivering services. Provide evaluations of suppliers’ (product and services) capabilities and how they relate in the competitive landscape .The sourcing specialist has to lead supplier development and sourcing activities in supplier selection and qualification for assigned products & services. One has to continuously drive supplier productivity, quality and services to improve supplier performance and meet business operation targets.

The Sourcing Specialist is also expected to gather information on the market trends and current market price points, create information repository & share the latest insights with the management, use the market benchmarks of other large organizations in order to improve current price points in the vendor ecosystem. Conducting periodic market benchmarks and comparison of suppliers is an ongoing activity with this role.

Supplier Risk Manager

Supplier Risk Manager is expected to conduct a supplier risk assessment for Operational risk, Information security risk and reputational risk for a supplier before on-boarding. Maintain supplier compliance in terms of local regulations and company policies/processes. Partner with stakeholders to identify opportunities within the Organization for new initiatives, support the sourcing team to execute special & simplification projects based on stakeholder requirements to meet Quality standards & timelines. Gather information on the market trends and current market price points, create information repository & share the latest insights with the management, use the market benchmarks of other large organizations in order to improve current price points

Functional Consultant

A functional consultant may be assigned responsibility for a specific functional vertical or client-specific tasks. Given the complexity, it requires the delivery of specific capability in Technology Consulting. A functional consultant needs to understand Business Requirements and Needs and accordingly support application design, develop functional/process documents, Build, test and deliver solutions. A functional consultant is responsible for Functional specification creation, functional Unit Testing, Test Data Creation & Test scripts creation and execution. A functional consultant has to adhere to defined processes and tools while performing day-to-day operations

Analyst Operations Advisory Services

Analyst Operations Advisory Services is expected to support in building and executing innovative solutions for delivery excellence at an optimized delivery cost. Business operations analysts are in charge of conducting extensive, accurate analyses of their organization's existing business operations. Their main duties include gathering data and developing solutions to meet business needs. They also analyze cross-departmental business processes for efficiency.

There are various specificity roles that fall under the category of operations management, and all of them are integral to an organization's success. While there is pressure to get the job done right, there is also an immense opportunity for career growth. Operations management professionals can grow to hold the position of Chief of Operations with enough experience.

There are various other professions available as well, like, Logistics Manager, Warehouse Manager, Asst. Management -Quality, Vendor Development, Category Manager, etc.

All in all, if you are ambitious, enjoy solving problems, and can efficiently deal with people, then a career in operations management is the right choice for you.