How To Become A Director Of International Operations: What It Is and Career Path

What is a director of international operations and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Andrew Spicer

A director of international operations is a management professional who deals with the production of goods and services in international markets. These individuals typically work for an organization or a business and seek to build market share in various international markets by boosting brand recognition and driving business development.

Directors also assist business units in developing international growth strategies, work with production and sales units, and oversee all aspects of operational and marketing strategies worldwide. They also should know international customs and cultural norms.

Many directors of international operations have a master's or a bachelor's degree in business, management, or a related field and should possess strong leadership, organizational, and communication skills.

A director of international operations can make up to $111,000 per year, and the career field is expected to grow 6% by 2028.

What general advice would you give to a Director Of International Operations?

Andrew Spicer

Associate Professor, Website

Resiliency is a particularly important skill for international business and career progression. Resiliency – the ability to recover quickly in the face of obstacles and failures – has always been a critical part of successful international assignments. The only constant of working abroad is that there will be miscommunication and mistakes. Successful international business careers depend on the ability to learn from these inevitable setbacks to improve over time. The constant change in the global business environment also leads to the demand for resiliency among international business specialists. An important role for those with a global mindset is to help companies adapt to the massive disruption to the global business environment for international trade and investment presently taking place across the world.

ScoreDirector Of International OperationsUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $102,574

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.6

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.43%

Black or African American 6.25%

Hispanic or Latino 15.43%

Unknown 4.35%

White 67.06%

Gender

female 31.33%

male 68.67%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.2

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.6

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Director Of International Operations in Columbus, OH

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a director of international operations

Explore director of international operations education requirements

Most common director of international operations degrees

Bachelor's

63.4 %

Master's

21.7 %

Associate

7.0 %

Start to develop specific director of international operations skills

Skills	Percentages
Oversight	13.12%
Project Management	11.35%
International Tax	10.70%
Litigation	7.84%
Transfer Pricing	4.74%

Complete relevant director of international operations training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of international operations learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of international operations based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of international operations resumes.

Research director of international operations duties and responsibilities

Lead team of specialize forwarders responsible for the secure transportation of articles of extraordinary value.
Develop ROI category analyses and lead negotiations with top retailers: Walmart, Ripley, Falabella.
Founded the Asia-Pacific division and lead the global professional services practices to become the company's largest and most profitable unit.
Manage logistics when sending equipment to foreign destinations.

Get director of international operations experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a director of international operations. The most common roles before becoming a director of international operations include operations manager, general manager team lead and director.

Prepare your director of international operations resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of international operations resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of international operations resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Director Of International Operations Resume templates

Build a professional Director Of International Operations resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Director Of International Operations resume.

Apply for director of international operations jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a director of international operations job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average director of international operations salary

The average Director Of International Operations salary in the United States is $102,574 per year or $49 per hour. Director of international operations salaries range between $63,000 and $165,000 per year.

Average Director Of International Operations Salary

$102,574 Yearly

$49.31 hourly

How do directors of international operations rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Director Of International Operations reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2022

Cons

I am responsible for everything be it any side of the business