Associate Director - City Operations

Role overview

This role sits within the Operations function and is focused on leading city-level first mile execution. The position calls for someone who can run large-scale ground operations with strong ownership, tight control over service levels, and a data-led approach to performance improvement.

What you will do

• Take full ownership of first mile operations across the assigned cities, including vendor collections, inwarding, hub movement, and transfers between hubs.
• Maintain high service discipline for pickups and dispatches while keeping losses, delays, and damage to a minimum.
• Improve inventory precision across hubs and dark stores through audits, reconciliations, and robust controls to prevent shrinkage and leakage.
• Work closely with Central Planning and Supply Chain teams to align inventory inflow, replenishment, and dispatch planning.
• Plan manpower based on demand forecasts so staffing levels remain efficient across hubs and ground operations.
• Guide and develop Hub Managers, Inventory Associates, and other ground staff with a strong focus on productivity and performance uplift.
• Continuously reduce per-unit operating costs without compromising service quality or operational standards.
• Create, roll out, and enforce standard operating procedures to minimize inefficiencies, pilferage, and process gaps.
• Use dashboards, warehouse management systems, and workforce tracking tools to maintain visibility and operational governance in real time.
• Partner with Product and Technology teams to support automation efforts such as barcode scanning, slotting improvements, and better pick-pack processes.
• Ensure that health, safety, and labor compliance requirements are followed across all warehouse locations.
• Serve as the city-level point of contact for escalations involving first mile flow, inventory mismatches, and manpower concerns.
• Run structured governance reviews using performance dashboards, metrics tracking, and accountability mechanisms.

What we are looking for

• A graduate degree is required; an MBA in Operations or Supply Chain is preferred, or an equivalent level of practical experience.
• 8 to 12+ years of experience in warehouse operations, dark store management, fulfillment centers, or first mile logistics, ideally across multiple cities.
• Deep working knowledge of first mile operations, inventory management, and warehouse management systems.
• Experience leading large, distributed ground teams and managing city operations at scale.
• Strong understanding of operational KPIs such as SLA adherence, shrinkage, cost per unit, manpower productivity, and service performance.
• Ability to balance cost control with efficient scaling of operations.
• Comfortable working with technology, data dashboards, and structured review mechanisms.
• A hands-on leader who is execution-oriented and thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
• Strong process mindset with the ability to design, standardize, and scale SOP-driven operations.

Why this opportunity stands out

This is an opportunity to contribute to a fast-moving business at scale and help shape operations that have a meaningful impact on the Indian startup ecosystem. The role is suited to someone who wants to work with urgency, take full ownership, and deliver on a large canvas.

Additional information

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Employment type: Full-time, onsite.

Company references in the source mention reaching out by email or applying through external career channels; external application links and source-site references have been omitted.

Notes

No salary, stipend, duration, start date, or number of openings was specified in the source.