Chief Operating Officer

The Bridge Associates; Delhi; On-site; INR 7,000,000 - 12,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Bridge Associates is aiding a fast-growing FMCG business in Delhi to recruit a strategic Chief Operating Officer to lead Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain and Procurement for scalable, cost-efficient operations.

You will partner with the CEO and leadership team to drive productivity, capex delivery, process excellence and governance across plants, warehouses and networks, ensuring readiness for new product launches and category expansion.

Qualifications

• 18–25+ years of experience across FMCG/food/consumer/manufacturing sectors.
• Strong experience in manufacturing, operations and supply chain with exposure to procurement and engineering.
• Experience managing multiple functions rather than a single specialty.
• Proven track record in large-scale manufacturing operations and complex supply chains.
• Good understanding of FMCG economics, procurement, planning, inventory and distribution.
• Experience with capacity expansion, automation, CAPEX and building manufacturing infra.
• Balanced focus on cost, quality, service and working capital.
• Experience in high-growth or transformation environments preferred.
• Strong people leadership with senior functional heads management.

Responsibilities

• Lead Manufacturing & Operations strategy across plants and units.
• Drive productivity, capacity utilization, quality, yield, cost and service levels.
• Align capabilities with growth and future capacity needs.
• Build culture of operational excellence and governance with KPIs.
• Own end-to-end Supply Chain including planning, inventory, warehousing and logistics.
• Improve forecast accuracy, inventory turns and overall efficiency.
• Develop robust procurement processes and supplier partnerships.
• Oversee CAPEX, capacity expansion, plant automation and infra projects.
• Ensure readiness for new product launches and market expansion.
• Partner with CEO and leadership to scale operations and partnerships.

Skills

Manufacturing

Operations

Supply Chain

Procurement

CAPEX

Automation

People Leadership

Cross-functional Leadership

Job description

Our client is looking for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead the end-to-end operations function for a fast-growing FMCG business. The COO will have overall responsibility for Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and overall operational excellence, ensuring the business has the right capabilities, systems and infrastructure to scale efficiently.

This is a strategic and hands‑on leadership role, requiring a strong understanding of FMCG manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, planning, engineering and operational execution. The individual will work closely with the CEO/Founders and the broader leadership team to build a high-performance, scalable and cost-efficient operations organisation.

Key Responsibilities

1. Manufacturing & Operations

• Lead the overall manufacturing and operations strategy across all plants and manufacturing units.
• Drive improvements in productivity, capacity utilisation, quality, yield, cost and service levels.
• Ensure manufacturing capabilities are aligned with business growth and future capacity requirements.
• Build a culture of operational excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Establish and monitor key operational KPIs across manufacturing and operations.

2. Supply Chain

• Own the end-to-end supply chain covering demand planning, supply planning, S&OP, inventory, warehousing, logistics and distribution.
• Improve forecast accuracy, inventory turns, OTIF and overall supply chain efficiency.
• Build a robust and scalable supply chain infrastructure to support business growth.
• Ensure optimum balance between service levels, working capital and cost.
• Drive cross-functional alignment between sales, marketing, finance and operations.

3. Procurement

• Lead the strategic procurement function across raw materials, packaging, indirect procurement, capex and other key categories.
• Develop strong supplier partnerships and a robust supplier ecosystem.
• Drive cost optimisation, strategic sourcing, alternate sourcing and procurement efficiency.
• Ensure security of supply while maintaining quality and commercial competitiveness.
• Establish procurement processes, governance and performance metrics.
• Lead engineering, maintenance, utilities and technical operations across manufacturing facilities.
• Ensure high levels of plant reliability, equipment uptime and operational efficiency.
• Drive automation, technology adoption and manufacturing excellence initiatives.
• Oversee major CAPEX, capacity expansion, new plant, plant automation and infrastructure projects.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget and to required quality standards.

5. Business Scale-Up

• Partner with the CEO/Founders to build the operational infrastructure required for the company's next phase of growth.
• Evaluate and develop new manufacturing capabilities, capacity expansion, contract manufacturing and strategic partnerships where relevant.
• Build scalable processes and systems that can support significant business growth.
• Ensure operational readiness for new product launches and expansion into new categories/markets.

6. Quality, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure strong adherence to quality, food safety, regulatory, statutory and EHS standards across operations.
• Build robust systems and processes to maintain consistent product quality.
• Establish operational governance, review mechanisms and performance dashboards.
• Identify and proactively mitigate operational and supply chain risks.
• Lead and develop a high-performing leadership team across Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement and Operations.
• Build organisational capability, succession plans and strong functional leadership.
• Establish clear KPIs, accountability and performance management systems.
• Drive a culture of collaboration, ownership, speed and continuous improvement.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 18–25+ years of experience across FMCG / Food / Consumer / Manufacturing businesses.
• Strong experience across manufacturing, operations and supply chain, with significant exposure to procurement and engineering.
• Should have managed multiple functions rather than being a specialist in only one area.
• Proven experience managing large-scale manufacturing operations and complex supply chains.
• Strong understanding of FMCG manufacturing economics, procurement, planning, inventory and distribution.
• Experience in capacity expansion, automation, CAPEX and building/optimising manufacturing infrastructure.
• Strong commercial orientation with the ability to balance cost, quality, service and working capital.
• Experience working in a high-growth or transformation environment will be strongly preferred.
• Strong people leadership skills with experience managing senior functional heads.