If you’re starting up your own business, or if you’re simply interested in how one runs, it’s important to understand all the different roles and responsibilities that make up a successful business. Depending on the size of the business and the type of industry they’re in, both the number of employees and the roles they hire them for will differ drastically.
Across the board, however, there are a handful of roles that are continually present.
Typically, this will be because they have a highly responsible role within the business or manage a department that is crucial to their sustainability and growth.
In this article, we will discuss the key roles that keep a business running so that you can hire more effectively and make better decisions when you’re building your team.
Managing Director
The managing director of a business is the most senior executive who is in charge of managing the day-to-day operations and business strategy. There are, however, two more positions that technically rank higher than the managing director, which are a company’s CEO and Founder.
Strictly speaking, a business can operate without a CEO or founder being part of the active team. Some Founders and CEO’s will choose to continue to be involved in how the business runs, even if they’re not necessarily required to. REFY Beauty is a successful business that’s fairly new to the beauty industry and is well-known for viral makeup products like their lip gloss and face primer.
REFY is a strong example of how founders can play a central role in a brand’s success, with co-founder Jess Hunt regularly involved in their social media campaigns and community events. With or without a CEO or founder, the managing director of a business is typically responsible for running the business’s overall operations, managing its financial growth and leading the direction of the business’s growth strategy.
It’s common for the managing director of a business to have worked with the business for a significant amount of time, as they will have a good understanding of how the entire business operates. However, it is possible to hire managing directors who join the business directly at this senior level. In these instances, it’s likely that individuals will have extensive management experience from previous roles.
Finance Director
A finance director sits at the same or similar level as a managing director but is responsible for organising a business’s financial performance and growth.
Where a CEO is present, the finance director will likely report directly to them, giving them regular updates on the business’s financial growth and spending strategy. In larger organisations, usually with over 250 employees, a finance director may be referred to as the chief financial officer or CFO, and will often have a finance director beneath them.
Don’t confuse an FD with an accountant. Whether you’re an accountant in Milton Keynes or Marrakesh, you’ll be responsible for the day-to-day bookkeeping of businesses. A finance director however can be involved with everything from cash management to strategic planning with other senior executives.
Chief Operating Officer or Operations Manager
You may see an individual who’s responsible for business operations and administration referred to as a chief operating officer or operations manager, depending on which business level they sit at. Operational responsibilities are often the most varied and can range from improving business processes to supporting employee satisfaction.
However, it’s important not to get business operations mixed up with Human Resources. While operations managers can sometimes be responsible for team management and recruiting – particularly in SMEs – it’s common to see the two departments entirely separate. An HR manager instead, could be expected to deal with managing employee pay rises and advertising job roles.
While there are many other roles that also contribute to the smooth day-to-day running of a business, the three positions we’ve discussed – Managing Director (MD), Finance Director (FD), and Operations Manager (OM) – are particularly important in establishing and overseeing the key core areas of a business.
