The VP of Operations keeps the business running day to day. Hiring one well means matching operational leadership to what your operations most need. Here is how.
Define what operations most need
A VP of Operations can be hired to build operational capability where little exists, scale operations as a business grows, or improve the efficiency and reliability of existing operations. These call for different strengths, so define the priority first. Being clear about the operational challenge the business faces is the foundation of a good hire, and prevents the common mismatch of hiring a scaler when you need a fixer, or vice versa.
Hands-on capability and team leadership
The strongest VPs of Operations combine genuine, hands-on operational capability — close to how the business actually runs — with the leadership to build and run effective teams and drive continuous improvement. Operations is delivered through people and process, so a leader who understands the detail but cannot build and lead a team, or vice versa, falls short. Assessing for both the operational and the leadership dimensions is central.
Assess execution, not description
Operations rewards doers, so the assessment should probe genuine execution — what the candidate actually built, ran, and improved, and how — rather than a polished description of operational theory. Ask for specific examples of operational problems solved and improvements delivered, and probe beneath them. A track record of running operations well, with evidence, is far more telling than fluency about operations in the abstract.
Match to the model and stage
Operations differ hugely across businesses — a physical-product business, a service business, a multi-site operation each demand different experience. Match the leader's background to your operational model and stage, and a retained search can find a VP of Operations proven in a comparable context.
Hiring an operations leader?
We recruit VPs of Operations and COOs across beauty and consumer businesses.
Explore Executive Search →Frequently asked questions
What should you look for when hiring a VP of Operations?
Hands-on operational capability combined with the leadership to build and run effective teams, matched to your operational challenge (building, scaling, or improving) and model — assessed through a genuine track record of running operations well, not just describing them.
What is the difference between a VP of Operations and a COO?
A COO owns operations strategically across the whole business at the executive level, while a VP of Operations more often leads operations executionally, day to day. In smaller businesses one person may do both.
Related: What Does a VP of Operations Do? · How to Hire a COO · What Does a Chief Supply Chain Officer Do?
