Head of Global Operations Centre Woolworths Group India is partnering exclusively with Zinnov Group to recruit for this position.

About the role
The Head of Global Operations Centre (GOC) provides the single, unified strategic vision, executive operational leadership, and structural governance for 24/7/365 enterprise IT operations across Woolworths Group, incorporating the FlightDeck operational responsibility and 24x7 shift team leadership. This leadership role is directly responsible for organisation-wide Major Incident Management (MIM), 24/7 Event Monitoring & Rapid Triage, and Post-Incident Review (PIR) & Problem Management practices across a phased global transition model. Operating within a Service Integration and Management (SIAM) framework, the role fosters a collaborative "one team" operational culture across multi-vendor Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal global technical engineering squads, safeguarding Woolworths' business continuity and retail peak trading environments during IT disruptions. Crucially, while day-to-day triage and technical execution sit within 24/7 shift teams and engineering towers, this role focuses heavily on driving a shift left focus by providing recommendations and direction for Service Enablement Platforms, Service Delivery Managers, and Site Recovery Engineers to uplift and optimise Observability configurations, thereby maximising noise reduction and automated response based on actionable insights. The role defines requirements to automate processes, suppress alert noise, and embed AI, AIOps, and runbook automation capabilities across the operations ecosystem. Acting as the primary driver of operational modernisation, the Head of GOC defines operational guardrails and automation demands that central engineering and platform hubs build against, turning traditional Business Operations Centre (BOC) and FlightDeck operations into a future-focused, automated, and resilient GOC function. What you’ll experience
• We champion modern, sustainable ways of working, featuring structured hybrid models, flexible hours, and family-friendly policies designed to support work-life harmony.
• We are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment where diverse perspectives are celebrated, psychological safety is actively cultivated, and every voice is heard.
• Access senior executive sponsorship, continuous leadership coaching, and clear pathways for ongoing professional advancement.
• Enjoy competitive performance bonuses, 20 days annual leave, comprehensive healthcare coverage for you and your dependants, and bespoke adjustment support throughout the hiring process.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Portfolio Direction
• AI & AIOps Automation Vision: Develop and execute the strategic roadmap for the Global Operations Centre, defining precise requirements to embed AI, machine learning, and automated playbooks across event monitoring, incident triage, and problem management workflows.
• Unified Operations Framework Authority: Act as the ultimate owner of the GOC Operational Framework, ensuring incident command, event monitoring, FlightDeck operations, and problem governance practices align with the "Run, Grow, and Govern" strategic model.
• Executive Partnership & Advisory: Serve as the primary advisor to Group Technology Senior Leadership on operational performance, enterprise risk, and major outage impacts, ensuring GOC outcomes align with overarching business objectives.




• High-Performance 24/7 Culture: Lead a high-performing multi-disciplinary organisation of Senior GOC Shift Leads, Major Incident Managers, and Problem Coordinators, fostering a culture of operational discipline, blameless continuous improvement, and technical excellence. GOC Governance & Operational Execution
• Major Incident Leadership & Crisis Escalation: Act as the key executive escalation point for critical (P1/P2) incidents. Facilitate cross-functional virtual incident coordination rooms to ensure rapid service restoration, supportive bridge facilitation, and clear business-impact communications.
• 24/7 Proactive Event Monitoring: Establish the strategy, governance, and operational standards for 24/7 enterprise event monitoring across infrastructure and application dashboards, defining alert triage baselines and escalation pathways to mitigate issues before business impact occurs.
• FlightDeck Operations & Predictive Shift-Left: Drive the FlightDeck capability within the consolidated GOC, shifting operational focus from reactive firefighting to predictive triage and preventative containment through proactive observability, automated event correlation, and early intervention workflows.
• PIR & Problem Management Governance: Govern the enterprise Post-Incident Review (PIR) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) processes. Enforce blameless root cause rigor across internal squads and external MSPs, tracking Corrective and Preventative Actions (CAPAs) and maintaining a robust Known Error Database (KEDB) to systematically eliminate recurring defects.
• Performance & Metric Ownership: Own the function's key operational metrics (MTTR, MTTI, SLA compliance, Change Success, Automation Demand Rates) and present operational insights to executive forums. SIAM & Multi-Vendor Ecosystem Management
• One-Team Ecosystem Governance: Drive operational alignment, SLA/OLA/XLA fulfillment, and collaborative engagement across external Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal technical towers within a SIAM framework.
• Retail Peak Trading Resilience: Safeguard business continuity and store operations during high-stakes peak trading environments through proactive risk profiling and rapid incident triage.
• Talent & Capability Development
• Future-Ready Operations Workforce: Lead talent acquisition, 24/7 capacity planning, shift roster governance, and capability development for the GOC team.
• Tooling & Platform Modernisation: Champion tool modernization and integration within ServiceNow (ITSM/ITOM), observability platforms (Splunk, Dynatrace), PagerDuty, and automated alert communication channels. Capabilities Demonstrated capabilities in the following:
• Executive GOC & Major Incident Leadership: Proven ability to lead a 24/7/365 enterprise Global Operations Centre, facilitating cross-functional incident response rooms and guiding teams through IT disruptions with calm confidence and clarity.
• Blameless RCA & Analytical Rigor: Exceptional analytical skills to drive deep technical investigations beyond superficial root causes,



eliminating underlying structural defects.
• SIAM & Multi-Vendor Governance: Strong capacity to partner effectively with external MSPs and internal squads to meet operational SLAs while building a unified "one team" operational culture.
• AI & Automation Vision: Strategic understanding of defining requirements for AIOps, machine learning, and automation to streamline event triage, noise suppression, and incident resolution.
• Executive Communication & Influence: Superior communication skills to translate complex technical triage details into clear, executive-level business impact assessments. Career Experience
• Overall

Experience:
18+ years of progressive experience in IT Operations, IT Service Management, Infrastructure Operations, and Global Operations Centre (GOC/NOC) leadership.
• Executive Operational Leadership: Minimum of 12+ years of experience in IT Service Management, IT Operations, or GOC/NOC leadership within large, complex enterprises.
• 24/7 Operations & Major Incident Leadership: Proven track record of supporting 24/7/365 operations centers, guiding major incident response, and leading multi-disciplinary operational shift teams.
• Multi-Vendor Ecosystem

Experience:
Extensive experience operating within complex, multi-supplier managed services (SIAM) or Global Capability Centre (GCC) environments.
• Retail / FMCG Sector Acumen: Prior experience in Retail, FMCG, or Supply Chain environments, with deep understanding of retail business impacts and peak trading risks.
• Framework Certifications: Strong grounding in ITIL 4 practices (Incident, Problem, Continual Improvement); ITIL 4 Managing Professional or equivalent certifications highly preferred.

Location:
Corporate Edge, Level 10, M3, Block Acacia, Embassy Manyata Business Park, Nagavara Everyone belongs at Woolworths Group Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key to realising our purpose of better together for a better tomorrow. We recognise the value our team’s diversity brings to our business, customers, and communities and that teams with diverse experiences and backgrounds enrich our group and are better able to innovate and solve problems. As one of the largest employers in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to create a truly inclusive workplace where everyone feels that they belong, can be their best selves, and reach their full potential. We encourage all candidates to apply; please let us know in your application if we can support you with any adjustments in the hiring process. About Woolworths Woolworths Group is one of Australia's largest retailers, serving millions of customers across supermarkets, digital channels, supply chain operations, and related businesses. Through a strong focus on innovation, analytics, and technology, Woolworths continues to transform the retail experience and deliver better outcomes for customers, partners, and communities. As a data-driven organization, Woolworths invests heavily in advanced analytics, business intelligence, and digital capabilities to support strategic decision-making and operational excellence. Joining Woolworths means working in a team-oriented environment where insights and innovation directly influence business success. At Woolworths, you will have the opportunity to work on large-scale retail and digital transformation initiatives, leveraging data to enhance customer experiences, optimize operations, and influence key business decisions.

📌 Head of Global Operations Centre (Bengaluru)
🏢 Woolworths Group
📍 Bengaluru