Chief Operating Officer / General Manager - Operations

Navjyot International; Dubai; On-site; AED 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Navjyot International seeks an experienced senior operations leader to own day-to-day performance across all departments and bridge the CEO with the teams in a high-structured environment.

You will translate company goals into departmental targets, supervise production planning, quality, logistics and finance oversight, and drive continuous improvement on the shop floor while maintaining strong cost controls in a busy manufacturing and logistics setting in the UAE.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Tech, Agriculture, Supply Chain or Business.
• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Certifications in Lean, Six Sigma, APICS/CSCP or food safety are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day performance across all operating departments and act as the bridge between CEO and team.
• Translate company goals into departmental targets, budgets and weekly priorities.
• Resolve cross-department issues before escalation to the CEO.
• Run weekly operations reviews and monthly management reports covering KPIs, risks and actions.
• Oversee production planning, capacity utilization, processing yields and wastage.
• Ensure product quality, food safety and compliance with standards.
• Drive preventive maintenance, health and safety, and continuous improvement on the shop floor.
• Monitor cost per tonne and conversion efficiency; take corrective actions.
• Manage inbound procurement logistics, warehousing, inventory control and outbound shipments.
• Coordinate with finance for customs, letters of credit, and export/import docs.
• Oversee contract delivery schedules and quality claims; optimize freight costs.
• Support payables, receivables, cash-flow forecasting and working capital management.
• Enforce cost controls and purchasing procedures; support audits.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, discipline and succession for staff.
• Document SOPs for core processes and lead ERP adoption; build CEO dashboards.
• Identify operational risks and put mitigation in place.

Skills

People leadership

Structured problem-solving

Cross-functional communication

Multicultural teamwork

Operations excellence

Factory floor presence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Science/Business

MBA or postgraduate qualification (advantage)

Lean/Six Sigma/APICS/CSCP (advantage)

Tools

ERP systems

Inventory & reporting tools

Dashboard tooling

Job description

Role & responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Own day-to-day performance across all operating departments and act as the main bridge between the CEO and the team.
• Translate company goals into departmental targets, budgets and weekly priorities.
• Resolve cross-department issues before they elevate to the CEO.
• Run a weekly operations review and a monthly management report covering KPIs, risks and actions.

Factory & Processing Operations

• Oversee production planning, capacity utilization, processing yields and wastage.
• Ensure product quality, food safety and compliance with relevant standards.
• Drive preventive maintenance, health and safety, and continuous improvement on the shop floor.
• Monitor cost per tonne and conversion efficiency, and take corrective action.

Logistics & Supply Chain

• Manage inbound procurement logistics, warehousing, inventory control and outbound shipments.
• Oversee freight, shipping lines, customs clearance, export/import documentation and letters of credit documentation in coordination with finance.
• Coordinate with trading desk on contract execution, delivery schedules and quality claims.
• Optimize freight and storage costs and reduce demurrage, losses and delays.

Finance & Accounts (Operational Oversight)

• Work with the Finance & Accounts Manager on payables, receivables, collections, cash-flow forecasting and working-capital management.
• Enforce cost controls, approval limits and purchasing procedures.
• Ensure timely, accurate month-end reporting and support audits, VAT and corporate tax compliance.

People, HR & Administration

• Lead, coach and hold department heads accountable for clear KPIs.
• Oversee hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, discipline and succession for mid-level and frontline staff.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability and escalation through proper channels.
• Oversee general administration, facilities, PRO/visa matters and vendor contracts.

Systems & Process

• Document and implement SOPs for every core process: production, quality, dispatch, procurement, payments and approvals.
• Define a clear decision-rights matrix (who decides, who approves, who is informed).
• Lead adoption of ERP, inventory and reporting tools; build simple dashboards for the CEO.
• Identify operational risks (supply, quality, counterparty, compliance) and put mitigation in place.

Key Performance Indicators

• Processing yield, throughput and capacity utilization
• Cost per tonne (processing, logistics, storage)
• On-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery and shipment turnaround
• Quality claims, rejections and customer complaints
• Inventory accuracy, stock losses and ageing
• Receivables days, payment discipline and cash-flow forecast accuracy
• Staff turnover, safety incidents and SOP compliance
• Reduction in operational issues escalated to the CEO

Preferred candidate profile

• 12-15+ years of progressive experience, including at least 5 years in a senior multi-department role (COO, GM Operations, Plant/Site GM or similar).

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Food Technology, Agriculture, Supply Chain or Business.
• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Certifications in Lean, Six Sigma, APICS/CSCP or food safety are a plus.

Skills & Attributes

• Firm, fair and calm people leader who can hold teams accountable without micromanaging.
• Structured problem-solver who fixes root causes, not symptoms.
• Excellent communication with a multicultural workforce; English & Hindi or other regional languages are an advantage.
• High integrity and discretion in handling commercial and financial information.
• Willing to spend significant time on the factory floor and at logistics sites.