Head India COE

James Douglas; Mumbai; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

James Douglas seeks a senior leader to head its India COE, spanning Mumbai, Pune and Chennai, providing strategic direction and governance across India operations. You will align with global leadership and drive cross-functional collaboration.

Role requires transforming the India COE through AI adoption, automation, and operating-model changes, while overseeing budgets, risk, and workforce development across locations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Finance, Commerce, or MBA.
• 15–20+ years of executive leadership in BPO/GBS or captive finance centres.
• Strong BFSI workflows and risk controls understanding.

Responsibilities

• Lead the India COE with cross-functional coordination across businesses in India.
• Represent India at global leadership levels.
• Oversee governance including risk, compliance, audit and business continuity.
• Drive AI adoption, automation and operating-model transformation in India COE.
• Partner with business and functional leaders to implement transformation initiatives and budget planning.
• Oversee India operations, budgeting, cost and CAPEX planning and service delivery.

Skills

Executive leadership

Stakeholder engagement

AI transformation

Change management

BFSI knowledge

Education

MBA

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Brief About the Client

One of our clients, a global financial technology company, is looking to hire a senior leader to head its India Centre of Excellence (COE), providing overall leadership, governance and strategic direction across its Mumbai, Pune and Chennai operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the India COE, providing overall leadership and coordination across businesses and functions operating in India


• Act as the senior India representative, ensuring alignment across the India leadership team and representing India at the global leadership level


• Oversee India-wide governance, including risk, compliance, audit and business continuity matters


• Drive the transformation of the India COE through AI adoption, automation and new ways of working to improve productivity and operational effectiveness


• Partner with business and functional leaders to implement transformation initiatives, build capabilities and evolve the organization's operating model


• Oversee India operations, annual budgeting, cost and CAPEX planning, and key service delivery matters


• Lead workforce planning and partner with HR on employee engagement, organizational culture, talent retention and succession planning across locations

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Finance, Commerce, Business Administration (MBA), or equivalent professional qualification


• 15–20+ years of executive leadership experience in BPO, Global Business Services (GBS), or captive financial centres


• Strong understanding of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) workflows and risk controls


• Experience in country leadership, governance, operations management and stakeholder engagement


• Strong exposure to transformation, AI adoption, automation and organizational change management


• Demonstrated ability to lead large, matrixed organizations and drive alignment across multiple businesses and functions