Operations manager to quality services manager
An operations manager already meets 54% of what the quality services manager role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.6/ 100
1 How much of what a quality services manager is expected to do is already part of an operations manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the quality services manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A quality services manager role treats 10 of its required skills as things an operations manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- corporate social responsibility
- create solutions to problems
- database quality standards
- follow company standards
- liaise with managers
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A quality services manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an operations manager background worth leading with.
- already held database quality standards information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held perform quality audits management skills
- already held set quality assurance objectives management skills
- already held evaluate employees management skills
- already held strive for company growth management skills
- already held assess supplier risks information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 10 the quality services manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn business knowledge required
- still to learn business processes required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held management systems standards optional
- optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
- still to learn oversee stock quality control required
- still to learn analyse test data required
- optional, not held analyse business processes optional
- optional, not held lead inspections optional
- optional, not held perform pre-assembly quality checks optional
- still to learn define quality standards required
- still to learn improve business processes required
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- still to learn train staff in quality procedures required
- optional, not held communicate test results to other departments optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a quality services manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 business knowledge study this
- 02 oversee stock quality control practise this
- 03 train staff in quality procedures practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held database quality standards knowledge
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held perform quality audits skill
- already held quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held strive for company growth skill
- already held assess supplier risks skill
- already held evaluate employees skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held set quality assurance objectives skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held management systems standards optional
- optional, not held analyse business processes optional
- optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
- optional, not held communicate test results to other departments optional
- optional, not held lead inspections optional
- optional, not held perform pre-assembly quality checks optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
76 held skills the quality services manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on efficiency improvements skill
- not needed by the target role advise on utility consumption skill
- not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
- not needed by the target role apply change management skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role budget for financial needs skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
- not needed by the target role control financial resources skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
- not needed by the target role create project specifications skill
- not needed by the target role develop business case skill
- not needed by the target role develop revenue generation strategies skill
- not needed by the target role develop staff skill
- not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy conservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role establish daily priorities skill
- not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
- not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate project plans skill
- not needed by the target role facilities management in the organisation knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle customer complaints skill
- not needed by the target role impart business plans to collaborators skill
- not needed by the target role implement corporate governance skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role insourcing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role internal risk management policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret financial statements skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
- not needed by the target role maintain customer service skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role make data-driven decisions skill
- not needed by the target role make investment decisions skill
- not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
36 further entries not listed here
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn business knowledge required
- still to learn business processes required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held management systems standards optional
- optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
Other moves recorded from operations manager
- programme manager 81% covered · adjacent
- facilities manager 63% covered · moderate
- project manager 61% covered · moderate
- resource manager 47% covered · substantial
- security manager 47% covered · substantial
- manufacturing facility manager 45% covered · substantial
- water treatment plant manager 41% covered · substantial
- sewerage systems manager 41% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can an operations manager become a quality services manager?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An operations manager already covers 54% of what a quality services manager is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 10 of which the quality services manager role treats as required.
What skills does an operations manager need to become a quality services manager?
7 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is business knowledge.
How hard is the move from operations manager to quality services manager?
Its learning distance is 47.6 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.