Job Placement · Executive & Director+ · VP of Operations
BEG runs a milestone-fee, direct-hire search for a VP of operations, the seat that owns every operating site or team across the company at once, not a single location, and needs a candidate who has run operations at a larger scale than the hiring company’s own. Fees are billed on search progress, not a single contingency payout, and BEG is not a staffing agency. Average fill time is 23 to 35 days with an 86 percent fill rate.
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TL;DR
A VP of operations search covers every site at once, and the offer usually stalls on package versus salary, not scope. BEG runs a Tier V, milestone-billed direct-hire search built around multi-site scale and a compensation package modeled before the offer stage.
The Hiring Problem
Because the company wants someone who has already run operations at a larger scale than its own, and that candidate is comparing a base salary offer against a bonus and equity plan vesting where they work.
How the Search Runs
BEG runs four stages for a VP of operations search, and the package gets modeled well before an offer is on the table, since it stalls late otherwise.
| Step | What it requires | Where it stalls |
|---|---|---|
| Define the multi-site scope | Confirm every operating site or team this VP owns, the operating budget size, and the general managers and directors reporting in. | A scope defined as a single large site instead of the full multi-site footprint draws candidates who have never coordinated operations across locations. |
| Build the target list | Source against candidates who have run operations at a larger scale than the hiring company’s own, not a comparable or smaller one. | A list sourced at the same scale as the hiring company pulls candidates who would be stepping sideways, not up, and price accordingly. |
| Model the package early | Estimate the bonus and equity a finalist is likely vesting at their current employer before presenting a base salary figure. | Presenting a base salary alone against the $167,280 to $253,390 band undersells the offer to a finalist weighing what they would forfeit by leaving. |
| Close with a package across every site | Present total compensation, start timing and the full multi-site scope together, in one offer conversation. | An offer that separates the scope conversation from the compensation conversation reopens both at the last minute. |
This sequence is why a VP of operations search built around multi-site scale and a modeled package closes inside 23 to 35 days instead of stalling once a finalist totals up what they would leave behind.
Milestone Billing Against Contingency
A VP of operations search under BEG is billed in stages tied to the search’s own progress, not collected as a single commission once someone starts. Contingency firms typically take 20 to 25 percent of first year cash compensation instead, due only on a start date, a structure with no reason to model the equity a finalist is vesting at a larger operation elsewhere.
What Tier V Costs Against Contingency
At the $213,990 chief executive median, a 20 percent contingency fee runs $42,798. BEG’s fee of $22,640 to $27,168, the Tier V rate this seat borrows, is 53 to 63 percent of that figure. Measured against the $253,390 general and operations manager 90th percentile instead, the benchmark closer to a true multi-site candidate, BEG is 45 to 54 percent of a $50,678 contingency fee, and against the $167,280 75th percentile, BEG is 68 to 81 percent of a $33,456 contingency fee. BEG is cheaper than contingency at this tier across all three benchmarks.
Three Ways to Fill the Seat
A VP of operations seat can be filled three ways: BEG’s milestone-billed direct hire, a contingency recruiter, or a staffing agency for interim site coverage. Only the first is built to source at a larger operating scale and model the package before the offer stage.
| Model | Who employs | How you pay | Right when |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEG direct-hire | Your company, starting day one | Staged milestone fees tied to the search’s progress | Every operating site needs one permanent owner and the offer needs to be modeled as a package |
| Contingency search firm | Your company, starting day one | One commission, 20 to 25 percent of first year cash pay, collected on the start date | The multi-site scope is already defined and speed matters more than modeling a counteroffer |
| Staffing or temp agency | The staffing agency itself, not you | An hourly bill rate that includes the agency’s markup | One site needs interim coverage, not a permanent VP who owns every site at once |
A VP of operations opening that is really one site’s coverage gap belongs with interim or staffing support, not a placement search; the executive and director+ hub lists every tier from senior manager through C-suite.
FAQ
This seat borrows BEG’s Tier V milestone fee, shown above, not a percentage commission. At the chief executive median, that fee runs 53 to 63 percent of a 20 percent contingency fee, and 45 to 54 percent of it measured against the general and operations manager 90th percentile, the closer benchmark for a true multi-site candidate.
No. A VP of operations placed through BEG becomes a permanent, direct employee of your company, billed on milestones. A staffing agency instead keeps the worker on its own payroll and bills an hourly markup, which fits interim coverage at one site, not a permanent owner of every operating site.
BEG builds this search around the full multi-site scope and a modeled compensation package, which is where most mis-hires at this level actually start. Ask about current guarantee and replacement terms on the intro call, since they are set per search rather than published here.
Because the company wants someone who has already run operations at a larger scale than its own, and that candidate is comparing a base salary offer against a bonus and equity plan vesting where they currently work. The offer stalls until it is written as a package, not a salary number to negotiate from.
BEG asks for every operating site or team this VP would own, the operating budget size, and what compensation flexibility exists to structure a package rather than a salary line. Without that, the offer stage turns into a renegotiation once the finalist discloses what they would actually be leaving behind.
A VP of operations owns every operating site or team across the company, reporting to the COO or CEO, without the enterprise strategy or the balance sheet. A COO owns the full operating model company-wide and pairs directly with the CEO on where that split sits, one step above this seat.
None fixed. BLS says chief executives, the closest proxy for a multi-site operating role, typically need extensive managerial experience in the organization’s specialty, and notes that executive training and development programs often benefit managers or executives at this level.
Yes. BLS says demand for general and operations managers, the closest match for this scope, grows as organizations rely on them to function smoothly, adding 181,300 jobs from 2025 to 2035. The harder part is finding candidates who have already operated at a larger scale than the hiring company’s own.
The seat above and the site-level seat below each get their own page: see chief operating officer and general manager searches, or the full executive and director+ hub.
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