Role & responsibilities

A. Operations & Manufacturing Leadership

- Lead end-to-end plant and operational activities to achieve business objectives.
- Ensure production is delivered as per quality, quantity, cost and timelines.
- Develop and implement operational strategies aligned with business plans.
- Drive productivity, capacity utilisation and operational efficiency.
- Ensure effective utilisation of manpower, machinery, materials and resources.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and implement corrective actions.

B. Production Planning & Execution

- Drive effective production planning in line with sales and demand requirements.
- Ensure optimum production schedules and timely order fulfilment.
- Monitor production performance against planned targets.
- Reduce downtime, rejection, wastage and production losses.
- Establish and monitor operational KPIs for all critical processes.

C. Quality, Food Safety & Compliance

- Ensure strict adherence to Food Safety, Quality and Hygiene standards.
- Drive compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory and certification requirements.
- Work closely with Quality/Food Safety teams to maintain and improve standards.
- Ensure corrective and preventive actions are implemented effectively.
- Build a strong culture of quality ownership across operations.

D. Warehouse & Supply Chain Coordination

- Ensure efficient coordination between Procurement, Production, Warehouse, Quality and Dispatch.
- Optimise inventory levels and material movement.
- Ensure proper storage, handling and traceability of raw materials and finished goods.
- Minimise inventory losses, damages, expiry and wastage.
- Improve warehouse productivity and process discipline.

E. Cost Optimisation

- Identify opportunities for cost reduction without compromising quality.
- Monitor conversion costs, wastage, manpower cost, energy consumption and operational expenses.
- Drive productivity improvement and process optimisation.
- Develop initiatives for better resource utilisation and operational savings.





F. Maintenance & Engineering

- Ensure preventive and breakdown maintenance systems are effectively implemented.
- Improve machine availability and reliability.
- Reduce unplanned downtime.
- Work with Engineering/Maintenance teams on capacity enhancement and automation initiatives.

G. People Leadership

- Lead, mentor and develop operational leadership teams.
- Build a high-performance culture based on accountability, ownership and teamwork.
- Ensure manpower planning and capability development.
- Identify training and skill-development requirements.
- Build strong succession plans for critical operational positions.

H. Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement

- Establish a culture of Kaizen, Lean, 5S and continuous improvement.
- Review existing processes and identify opportunities for automation and simplification.
- Implement SOPs, process controls and performance dashboards.
- Lead cross-functional improvement projects.
- Promote data-driven decision-making across operations.

I. Safety & Workplace Discipline

- Ensure strict compliance with occupational health, safety and workplace requirements.
- Drive safety awareness and incident-prevention initiatives.
- Ensure safe working practices across plant and operational areas.
- Promote a disciplined, clean and hygienic workplace.

J. Business & Leadership Responsibility

- Partner with senior management to translate business strategy into operational execution.
- Provide regular MIS and operational performance updates to management.
- Support capacity planning, expansion and new product/process initiatives.




- Participate in annual budgeting and operational planning.
- Identify operational risks and establish mitigation plans.
- Represent Operations in management reviews and strategic discussions.

3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Head of Operations will be evaluated on measurable business and operational outcomes, including:

- Production achievement vs. plan
- Capacity utilisation
- Productivity improvement
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
- Production downtime
- Rejection and wastage %
- Cost per unit / conversion cost
- On-time production / order fulfilment
- Inventory accuracy and control
- Quality and food safety performance
- Audit compliance
- Safety performance
- Manpower productivity
- Energy and resource efficiency
- Continuous improvement / cost-saving initiatives
- Employee retention and capability development

Preferred candidate profile

Education

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Food Technology or a relevant discipline.
- MBA / PGDM in Operations, Supply Chain or Business Management will be an advantage.

- 2030 years of relevant experience in manufacturing/FMCG/food processing or a similar operational environment.
- Strong experience in plant operations and leading large cross-functional teams.
- Experience managing production, warehouse, quality, maintenance and operational excellence functions.
- Experience in a structured manufacturing environment with solid quality and compliance requirements.

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are looking for a business-minded operations leader, not merely a plant administrator.

The successful candidate should be capable of building systems,

developing people, improving productivity and creating a culture where quality, safety, hygiene, cost, discipline and delivery are everyone's responsibility.

The candidate should have the ability to build, scale and transform operations while maintaining strong execution discipline.

📌 Head Operations (Navi Mumbai)
🏢 CANDOR FOODS
📍 Navi Mumbai