Job profile 2026
What is an operations director? Job profile, salary and hiring in 2026
The operations director runs production for an industrial company across one or several sites: performance, safety, quality, costs and investment. A member of the executive committee, they turn strategy into plant results and manage the site directors.
In brief: operations director salary, €85-95k for a first appointment, over €140k beyond that. Source: Industry and Energy Pay Barometer 2026, Volta Executive, updated on 8 October 2026.
By Florian Beurtey, engineer and founder of Volta Executive. Published on 8 October 2026, updated on 8 October 2026.
Operations director : the role in figures
| Operations director salary | €85-95k for a first appointment, over €140k beyond that |
|---|---|
| Technical / operations director salary | €75-85k to over €120k |
| Position in the organisation | Member of the executive committee, reporting to the managing director |
| Common qualifications | Engineering degree, often supplemented by management training |
Duties of the operations director
- Set and meet production targets for safety, quality, lead times and costs
- Manage the site directors and the industrial functions (maintenance, methods, supply chain)
- Prepare and carry out industrial investments
- Lead continuous improvement and transformation programmes
- Represent production on the executive committee
Skills required
- Managing industrial performance across several sites
- Managing managers and leading change
- Making trade-offs on investments and costs
- Safety and quality culture
- Social dialogue and relations with employee representative bodies
Reference methods and standards
| Lean manufacturing | Continuous improvement methods for production |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | Quality management system |
| ISO 45001 | Occupational health and safety management system |
Training to become an operations director
- Engineering degree (general, mechanical, process, energy), Bac+5
- Further training in management or an executive programme
Career paths
- Production manager or methods engineer
- Plant director or site director
- Operations director
- Managing director or business unit director
Salary of the operations director in 2026
National basis, fixed annual gross, excluding variable pay and role allowances. The Paris and region columns are derived from the barometer's reference framework (Paris about 12% higher, regions about 5% lower, except for roles in extreme shortage, which are aligned with the national figure).
Operations director
| Seniority | National | Paris | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 85–95 k€ | 95–106 k€ | 81–90 k€ |
| 2 to 5 years | 95–115 k€ | 106–129 k€ | 90–109 k€ |
| 5 to 10 years | > 140 k€ | > 157 k€ | > 133 k€ |
| 10+ years | > 140 k€ | > 157 k€ | > 133 k€ |
Technical / operations director
| Seniority | National | Paris | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 75–85 k€ | 84–95 k€ | 71–81 k€ |
| 2 to 5 years | 85–95 k€ | 95–106 k€ | 81–90 k€ |
| 5 to 10 years | 100–120 k€ | 112–134 k€ | 95–114 k€ |
| 10+ years | > 120 k€ | > 134 k€ | > 114 k€ |
The operations director's variable pay generally depends on safety, industrial performance and costs; it comes on top of the fixed salary shown.
Source: Industry and Energy Pay Barometer 2026, Volta Executive. Figures in €k gross per year.
The full barometer, role by role
This profile reproduces part of the grids of Volta Executive's 2026 Industry and Energy Pay Barometer. The barometer covers every role in industry and energy, with lead times and shortage levels.
Operations director : the market in 2026
Fixed salary for a first appointment
Fixed salary of an experienced operations director
The role sits on the executive committee
Operations directors who can be hired are in post and do not answer job adverts. Hiring depends on confidentiality and on proof: quantified plant results, a team held together, a transformation delivered.
Who is hiring
Multi-site industrial groups and mid-sized companies: manufacturing, energy equipment, operators of energy installations.
Hiring an operations director?
Hiring a member of the executive committee is done in confidence, among executives in post. That is Volta Executive's business: direct search, exclusive mandate, shortlist within 10 days.
Talk about my hireAre you an operations director?
Send your CV without booking a meeting. If your profile matches a current or upcoming assignment, we will contact you.
See the openings and send my CVFrequently asked questions about the role of the operations director
What is an operations director's salary in 2026?
According to the Volta Executive 2026 pay barometer, on a national basis and fixed annual gross: €85-95k for a first appointment and over €140k for an experienced director. Variable pay comes on top.
What does an operations director do?
They run production at one or several sites, manage the site directors and answer to the executive committee for safety, quality, lead times and costs.
What is the difference between an operations director and a plant director?
The plant director runs one site. The operations director runs all of production, often several sites, and sits on the executive committee.
What career path leads to operations director?
Most often: an engineering degree, several roles in production or methods, then running a plant or a site before heading operations.
How do you hire an operations director?
Through direct and confidential search: credible candidates are in post. The firm maps the executives of comparable sites, approaches them one by one and presents an assessed shortlist.
Other job profiles
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- Methods engineer : salary and hiring
- Maintenance manager : salary and hiring
- Site director : salary and hiring
- EfW shift leader : salary and hiring
- Energy manager : salary and hiring
- Process engineer : salary and hiring
- Operations manager : salary and hiring
- Technical director : salary and hiring
- Mechanical engineer : salary and hiring
- Nuclear engineer : salary and hiring
- Project manager (chargé d'affaires) : salary and hiring
- Production manager : salary and hiring
- Quality manager : salary and hiring
Learn more
- Hiring industrial and operations directors
- Plant director recruitment firm
- Technical director: role and salary
- Executive search for industry and energy
Sources and method
- Industry and Energy Pay Barometer 2026, Volta Executive
The grids are on a national basis, fixed annual gross. Paris and region values are calculated with the barometer's geographic reference framework.