Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Operations manager to security manager

An operations manager already meets 47% of what the security manager role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From operations manager
47 % overlap
Partial match
To security manager
17 You already bring
13 Still to learn
44 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

60/ 100

1 How much of what a security 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 security manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A security manager role treats 15 of its required skills as things an operations manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • corporate social responsibility
  • ensure equipment availability
  • ensure equipment maintenance
  • establish daily priorities
  • follow company standards
  • internal risk management policy

What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A security 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held security regulations services
  • already held internal risk management policy business, administration and law
  • already held organisational resilience business, administration and law
  • already held liaise with government officials communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held supervise daily information operations management skills
  • already held establish daily priorities management skills

All 17 carried skills, including the 15 the security manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 27 missing skills fall into 9 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 management skills 5 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn establish site security routines required
  • still to learn lead disaster recovery exercises required
  • still to learn manage disaster recovery plans required
  • still to learn manage the security team required
  • still to learn oversee planning of security systems required
  • optional, not held define security policies optional
  • optional, not held manage outsourced security optional
  • optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
02 information skills 4 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn investigate security issues required
  • still to learn write security reports required
  • still to learn maintain incident reporting records required
  • still to learn manage security equipment required
  • optional, not held inspect government policy compliance optional
  • optional, not held perform internal investigations optional
  • optional, not held undertake employee screening optional
03 assisting and caring 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn handle surveillance equipment required
  • optional, not held maintain facility security systems optional
  • optional, not held protect important clients optional
04 business, administration and law 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn legal use-of-force required
  • optional, not held consultation methods optional
05 services 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn security threats required
  • optional, not held cyber security optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required
  • still to learn security engineering required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a security manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 17 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • already held ensure equipment availability skill
  • already held ensure equipment maintenance skill
  • already held establish daily priorities skill
  • already held follow company standards skill
  • already held internal risk management policy knowledge
  • already held liaise with managers skill
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held manage logistics skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held manage supplies skill
  • already held organisational resilience knowledge
  • already held security regulations knowledge
  • already held strive for company growth skill
  • already held supervise daily information operations skill
  • already held information confidentiality knowledge
  • already held liaise with government officials skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held advise on strengthening security optional
  • optional, not held liaise with security authorities optional
08 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held ethical hacking principles optional
09 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held implement ICT security policies optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held advise on strengthening security optional
  • optional, not held consultation methods optional
  • optional, not held cyber security optional
  • optional, not held define security policies optional
  • optional, not held ethical hacking principles optional
  • optional, not held implement ICT security policies optional
  • optional, not held maintain facility security systems optional
  • optional, not held inspect government policy compliance optional
  • optional, not held liaise with security authorities optional
  • optional, not held manage outsourced security optional
  • optional, not held perform internal investigations optional
  • optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
  • optional, not held protect important clients optional
  • optional, not held undertake employee screening optional
74 held skills the security manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
  • 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 assess supplier risks 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 create solutions to problems skill
  • not needed by the target role database quality standards knowledge
  • 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 estimate duration of work skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate employees 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 insourcing strategy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interpret financial statements 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 facilities services skill
  • not needed by the target role manage maintenance operations skill

34 further entries not listed here

6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn legal use-of-force required
  • still to learn security engineering required
  • still to learn security threats required
  • optional, not held consultation methods optional
  • optional, not held cyber security optional
  • optional, not held ethical hacking principles optional
Index

Other moves recorded from operations manager

Full index of moves from operations manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an operations manager become a security manager?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An operations manager already covers 47% of what a security manager is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 15 of which the security manager role treats as required.

What skills does an operations manager need to become a security manager?

13 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is establish site security routines.

How hard is the move from operations manager to security manager?

Its learning distance is 60 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.