A clear title (Operations Manager, Head of Operations, COO) at the top, followed by a profile that states your sector, years of experience, and 1 or 2 headline achievements with numbers. The experience section should have bullet points focused on measurable outcomes: cost savings, efficiency improvements, team size, and process changes with before-and-after data. A separate certifications section (Lean, Six Sigma, ASCM/APICS) if relevant. Skills listing key methodologies, tools, and systems you know well. Education last. Operations CVs succeed when they are specific, metric-heavy, and show a clear pattern of taking something and making it measurably better.
Yes, at Green Belt level and above. A Six Sigma Green Belt certification signals to hiring managers that you understand the DMAIC methodology and can lead structured improvement projects. A Black Belt is a significant credential that opens doors to senior operations roles and program leadership positions. The certification is respected across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and financial services. Even in tech and scale-up operations roles, where formal certifications are less common, familiarity with Lean principles is a consistent value-add that hiring managers notice.
Use the before-intervention-after structure in a single bullet point: what the situation was, what you changed, and what the measurable result was. For example: "Identified bottleneck in inbound receiving process that was causing 14% of deliveries to miss the same-day processing target; redesigned the receiving workflow and added 2 part-time roles during peak periods; same-day processing rate improved to 97% and sustained over 12 months." This is more persuasive than "improved inbound receiving process" because it shows diagnostic capability, a specific solution, and a measurable result with a time dimension.
An operations manager typically owns a specific function, site, or process within a larger organization: a fulfillment center, a service delivery team, or a production line. A COO (Chief Operating Officer) has responsibility for the operational function of the whole business, typically reporting to the CEO and sitting at the executive leadership table. The path from operations manager to COO usually runs through Head of Operations or VP Operations roles, where you gain cross-functional ownership and P&L responsibility before moving to the company-wide brief. Your CV should reflect this progression clearly if you are making a case for advancement.
Yes, if it is directly relevant to the role. Operations and supply chain are closely related disciplines, and many operations roles at manufacturing, retail, and logistics companies involve both. If your experience spans both areas, present them as complementary strengths rather than separate disciplines. If the role you are applying to is specifically supply chain (demand planning, procurement, logistics), ensure those keywords and experiences are prominent rather than buried under generic operations language. The ATS will be scanning for supply chain-specific terms, so match your language to the job description.