Head

Zoho; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

SIM card provided

Annual bonus

Opportunity to lead strategic vertical

Job summary

Ethnus seeks a Head – Operations to lead the entire operations function and drive business growth across client engagements. You will own governance, delivery excellence, and strategic initiatives to scale the business.

The role requires deep client management skills, strong leadership, and a track record in skilling or education services. A MBA is preferred and you will work from Bangalore in a fast-paced, target-driven environment.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of overall experience in operations, program management, client management or service-based businesses.

Responsibilities

• Lead overall operations and drive business growth, client management, revenue generation, and strategic execution.

Skills

Leadership

Client management

Operations leadership

Strategic thinking

Negotiation

Presentation skills

Business development

Education

MBA or related field

Tools

MS Excel

CRM software

ERP systems

Job description

Our Vision - To Enable Wow And Delightful Careers

We believe a career is not merely an economic pursuit, but a vehicle for profound personal growth, where an individual's work, physical health, and inner well-being exist in complete alignment.

About ETHNUS: Ethnus is a leading Emerging Technology training provider and has trained over 2 million students. Pioneering in employability enhancement and skill development since 2007, Ethnus provides training, certification, and placement support to its students in relevant industry-specific jobs. We view our organization not just as a business, but as a powerful enabler for positive impact on society. Ethnus has the honor of being the Cloud expert for Team India in the WorldSkills 2024 competition. We are the Authorized Training Partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the Cloud Computing courses, EC Council for Cyber Security courses, and many more. Over 800 higher education institutions around the country trust our services to enhance and build the employability of their students. Our company has been mentioned by Hon. Minister of Education in the Parliament (2019) for delivering high-quality training and mentoring to students.

Department: Operations

Designation: Head

Locations:Bangalore

Qualification:

Master's degree in Business Administration, Management, Operations, or a related discipline.

MBA is preferred.

Position Overview

The Head – Operations will be responsible for leading the overall operations function while playing a key role in business growth, client management, revenue generation, and strategic execution .

The role will be responsible for building strong relationships with institutional and corporate clients, identifying new business opportunities, expanding existing accounts, and ensuring seamless delivery of client engagements.

The ideal candidate will combine strong operational leadership with commercial acumen, client management capabilities, and a deep understanding of training, skilling, education, or service-based businesses .

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Growth & Client Management

Develop and maintain strong, long-term relationships with key institutional, corporate, and strategic clients.

Act as a senior point of contact for key clients and understand their business, training, skilling, and workforce requirements.

Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships through new programs, geographies, services, and engagements.

Proactively identify and pursue new business opportunities in alignment with Ethnus's business objectives.

Work closely with the leadership and business development teams to convert opportunities into sustainable business.

Participate in client meetings, presentations, negotiations, and business discussions as required.

Understand client requirements and work with internal teams to develop appropriate solutions and proposals.

Ensure high levels of client satisfaction, retention, and repeat business.

Build a strong client network and identify potential partnerships and strategic opportunities.

2. Operations Leadership

Lead and manage the overall operations function, ensuring efficient and scalable execution of business and client requirements.

Develop operational plans, processes, and governance mechanisms to support business growth.

Establish clear goals, KPIs, SLAs, and performance standards for the operations team.

Ensure timely and effective execution of multiple programs and client engagements across locations.

Monitor operational performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement corrective actions.

Drive process standardisation, automation, and continuous improvement across operational functions.

Ensure effective coordination between Operations, Training Delivery, Business Development, HR, Finance, and other internal teams.

3. Program & Client Delivery

Oversee the end-to-end execution of client programs, from requirement understanding and planning to successful completion.

Ensure appropriate allocation of trainers, resources, infrastructure, and operational support.

Monitor program schedules, enrolments, attendance, assessments, student/associate data, billing inputs, and other operational deliverables.

Ensure client commitments, SLAs, timelines, and quality standards are consistently met.

Establish mechanisms for tracking program performance, client feedback, and operational outcomes.

Proactively resolve escalations and ensure timely closure of critical client issues.

4. Revenue & Commercial Management

Take ownership of operational aspects that directly contribute to business revenue and profitability.

Work with the leadership and business teams to develop account growth strategies and identify cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.

Support preparation of commercial proposals, budgets, costing, and business cases.

Monitor project profitability, operational costs, resource utilisation, and overall commercial performance.

Ensure timely billing, collections coordination, and closure of commercial and operational requirements with clients.

Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency while maintaining quality and client satisfaction.

Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing operations team.

Build a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, and customer centricity.

Set clear KRAs and KPIs and regularly review team and individual performance.

Develop team leaders and managers to take ownership of larger business and operational responsibilities.

Identify capability gaps and drive appropriate training and development initiatives.

Ensure effective manpower planning and resource allocation based on business requirements.

6. Stakeholder Management

Build strong working relationships with senior stakeholders across client organisations and partner institutions.

Work closely with trainers, freelancers, academic institutions, corporate partners, vendors, and internal teams.

Represent Ethnus professionally in client meetings, business reviews, partner discussions, and industry forums.

Ensure effective communication and alignment between external stakeholders and internal teams.

7. MIS, Governance & Performance Management

Establish and review operational dashboards and business performance reports.

Track key metrics including revenue, client retention, program delivery, resource utilisation, profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Present periodic business and operational reviews to senior management.

Use data and insights to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and areas for improvement.

Ensure adherence to organisational policies, processes, compliance requirements, and quality standards.

8. Strategic Initiatives

Work closely with the leadership team to translate organisational objectives into actionable business and operational plans.

Support expansion into new markets, geographies, client segments, and service offerings.

Identify opportunities for new partnerships, strategic alliances, and business models.

Lead strategic projects and transformation initiatives assigned by the leadership team.

Contribute to building scalable systems and processes that enable Ethnus to grow efficiently.

Strong business and commercial orientation with the ability to identify and convert opportunities.

Excellent client relationship and stakeholder management skills.

Strong leadership and team management capabilities.

Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.

Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.

Ability to manage multiple clients, programs, and priorities simultaneously.

Strong understanding of operations, program management, and service delivery.

Ability to work in a fast-paced, target-driven environment.

Strong ownership, accountability, and execution orientation.

Ability to build relationships at senior levels within client and partner organisations.

Strong proficiency in MS Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with CRM, ERP, and operational management tools is preferred.

Requirements

Experience

10–15 years of overall experience , with significant experience in operations, program management, business development, client management, or service-based businesses.

At least 5+ years of experience in a leadership role managing teams, clients, and business operations.

Experience in the education, skilling, training, technology, staffing, consulting, or other B2B service-oriented industries will be an advantage.

Proven track record of managing large client accounts and driving business growth or revenue expansion.

Experience working with multiple stakeholders across locations and managing geographically distributed operations is preferred.

Key Performance Areas

The success of the Head – Operations will be measured through:

Business growth and revenue contribution

New client acquisition and existing account expansion

Client retention and satisfaction

Operational efficiency and profitability

Successful and timely program delivery

Team productivity and capability development

Process improvement and scalability

Client escalations and resolution turnaround time

Resource utilisation and cost optimisation

Achievement of organisational and business targets

Health insurance coverage for self and dependents

Company-provided SIM card

Partnerships with leading brands such as Google, Zoho, MMT Mybiz and more

Tenure-based bonus

Opportunity to build and lead a strategic business vertical