Manipal Business Solutions - Head - Operations

Head of Operations role for Noida office for Manipal Business Solutions

We are looking for a high-energy, execution-oriented Head - Operations to lead and transform the company's end-to-end Operations across Financial Inclusion / Rural Extension Branch (FI/REB) and Doorstep Banking (DSB).

The role requires a leader who has demonstrated the ability to build, scale and transform large, distributed operations at speed, with strong ownership of P&L, productivity, service quality, cost optimization and customer experience.

The ideal candidate would bring the operating mindset of quick commerce / e-commerce / food delivery / logistics - high velocity, data-led decision making, technology-enabled execution and relentless focus on unit economics - and apply it to a large-scale financial services field network.

This is a business leadership role, not merely an operational management role. The incumbent will be expected to build a scalable operating model, improve profitability, strengthen execution discipline and create the operating engine for the next phase of growth.

1. Own End-to-End Operations & P&L:

- Own the overall operational performance of FI/REB and Doorstep Banking, including revenue, cost, productivity, service levels and profitability.

- Translate business strategy into clear operational plans, targets and execution priorities.

- Drive P&L, unit economics and contribution profitability, with clear accountability for both growth and cost.

- Establish operating metrics and dashboards to continuously track performance across regions, branches, agents, field teams and service points.

- Balance growth, service quality and profitability while ensuring operational sustainability.

2. Scale the Business Rapidly:

- Build the operating architecture required to support rapid and profitable business scale-up across multiple cities, states and geographies.

- Demonstrate the ability to take businesses from 0-to-1 and 1-to-10, rapidly establishing processes, teams, infrastructure and operating controls.

- Develop scalable models for market launches, branch/service-point expansion, field-force deployment and partner/agent acquisition.

- Create standardized playbooks that allow successful operating models to be replicated rapidly across markets.

- Build an organization capable of handling significant growth without proportional increases in cost or complexity.

3. Transform FI/REB & Doorstep Banking Operations:

- Reimagine existing operating models with a focus on speed, simplicity, productivity, digitization and customer experience.

- Identify opportunities to move from people-intensive processes to technology-enabled and data-driven operations.

- Simplify workflows, eliminate operational bottlenecks and reduce turnaround times.

- Drive transformation across field operations, branch/service-point operations, agent management, cash processes, reconciliation, customer servicing and escalation management.

- Build a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

4. Drive Field Productivity & Unit Economics:

- Improve productivity of the field force, BC/agents and operational teams through data-led interventions.

- Develop differentiated productivity metrics and incentive structures linked to business outcomes.

- Optimize manpower deployment, territory allocation, routes, service coverage and workload distribution.

- Identify and eliminate leakage, inefficiencies and avoidable operational costs.

- Continuously benchmark cost per transaction, cost per customer/service point, productivity per employee/agent and revenue per field resource.

5. Build High-Performance Distributed Teams:

- Lead a large, geographically distributed operations organization across multiple states and cities.

- Build a strong second line of leadership and a scalable regional operating structure.

- Set clear performance expectations, accountability mechanisms and operating rhythms.

- Develop high-performance teams with a strong bias towards ownership, speed and execution.

- Spend significant time on the ground understanding operational realities and solving issues firsthand.

- Build a culture where teams use data to identify problems, take decisions quickly and deliver measurable outcomes.

6. Technology, Product & Digital Transformation:

- Partner closely with Product, Technology, Data, Digital and CX teams to redesign and digitize operational processes.

- Identify technology-led opportunities to improve productivity, reduce manual intervention and enhance customer/agent experience.

- Translate operational pain points into product requirements and work with technology teams to develop scalable solutions.

- Lead pilots and rapidly scale successful technology-enabled operating models.

- Use real-time dashboards, analytics and predictive insights to drive operational decision-making.

7. Customer & Agent Experience:

- Own operational service quality and customer experience across FI/REB and DSB.

- Establish clear SLAs, TATs, quality metrics and escalation mechanisms.

- Improve reliability and consistency of customer service across geographies.

- Strengthen agent/BC experience through simplified processes, better technology, faster resolution and transparent performance mechanisms.

- Use customer and field feedback to continuously improve the operating model.

8. Cost Optimization & Procurement:

- Drive structural cost optimization across manpower, logistics, infrastructure, technology, vendors and other operating expenses.

- Build efficient vendor and procurement models with strong focus on quality, scalability and cost.

- Identify opportunities for automation, centralization, hub-and-spoke models and shared services.

- Establish cost benchmarks and continuously challenge existing cost structures.

- Drive measurable improvement in operating margins without compromising service quality.

9. Growth & Business Expansion:

- Partner with the CEO/Business Heads to identify opportunities for expansion, new products, new markets and new operating models.

- Assess market potential and develop operational feasibility plans for new initiatives.

- Lead pilots from concept - launch - stabilization - scale.

- Build operating models that can support new revenue streams and adjacent businesses.

- Ensure operational readiness for business launches and strategic initiatives.

10. Cross-Functional & CXO Leadership:

- Work closely with CEO, Business Heads, Product, Technology, Finance, HR, Risk, Compliance and Customer Experience teams.

- Act as the bridge between business strategy and ground-level execution.

- Influence stakeholders across functions and drive alignment on priorities.

- Present operational performance, transformation initiatives, risks and strategic recommendations to the leadership team/Board.

- Bring a strong problem-solving orientation and ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, high-growth environments.

Skills Required:

- Large multi-city operations

- Distributed field/delivery networks

- High transaction-volume businesses

- Rapid expansion and market launches

- Large partner/agent ecosystems

- Technology-led operational transformation

- Cost and productivity transformation

- Customer experience and SLA-driven operations

Technical/Functional Proficiency Required:

We are looking for an accomplished operations leader with:

- 15+ years of experience in large-scale, high-volume, distributed operations.

- Experience owning multi-city / multi-region P&L, preferably 1,000 Cr+ businesses.

- Proven track record of rapid business scaling and business building.

- Experience managing large field, delivery, partner, branch or distributed operating networks.

- Strong exposure to quick commerce, e-commerce, food delivery, logistics, hyperlocal delivery, retail or FinTech.

- Demonstrated success in cost optimization, productivity improvement and unit economics.

- Strong understanding of technology-enabled operations and digital transformation.

- Experience working closely with Product and Technology teams to develop and launch operational solutions.

- Strong customer-centricity and understanding of service-level driven businesses.

- Experience leading large, high-performance, geographically dispersed teams.

- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect operational decisions to revenue, profitability and P&L outcomes.

Educational Qualifications:

- MBA/PGDM from a reputed institution preferred.

Experience Level:

- 15-18+ years of operational leadership in Fintech, Core Banking, Payment Aggregators, or E-commerce financial operations.