Director, Business Operations

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Randstad India – Head, Business Operations Reporting To: MD Role Summary We are looking for a highly driven Head – Business Operations to serve as the strategic partner to all the business lines.

This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for driving Business Operations across the organization.

Working closely with senior leadership across Sales, Delivery, Finance, HR and Corporate Functions, you will drive business planning, operational excellence, financial governance, resource optimization and executive decision-making.

You will connect the dots across functions, solve complex business problems, enable faster decision-making and ensure strategic priorities are translated into execution.

The role provides unparalleled exposure to business strategy, finance, operations and executive leadership, making it an ideal platform for future business leadership roles.

Key Responsibilities  Serve as the trusted advisor to the MD on strategic and operational initiatives.  Drive the MD's priorities through effective planning, governance, stakeholder management and executive coordination.  Provide business insights, identify risks and opportunities & facilitate alignment across leadership teams.  Facilitate communication between the MD and senior leadership, ensuring alignment, accountability and timely execution of key initiatives.

Business Planning & Financial Governance  Partner with Finance and Business Leaders to drive monthly financial planning, forecasting and P&L governance.  Monitor business performance across revenue, costs and margins, ensuring financial discipline and budget adherence.  Lead the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and Long-Range Strategy (LRS) planning process by coordinating cross-functional inputs, validating business assumptions and supporting executive presentations.

Business Operations  Lead operational governance across customer engagements, ensuring adherence to contractual, commercial and financial commitments.  Drive governance across contracts, resource allocation, timesheets, invoicing, collections and project profitability.  Develop pricing models, profitability assessments, business dashboards and management reports to support business growth and decision-making  Establish scalable processes, SOPs and governance mechanisms that improve operational efficiency and business visibility.

Executive Governance  Drive preparation for monthly and periodic business reviews with the Managing Director, & EB.  Prepare executive dashboards, strategic presentations & business analyses for decision-making.  Track key decisions and action items to ensure timely execution and closure.

Key Outcomes Success in this role will be measured by the ability to:  Enable faster, data-driven decision-making for the MD and senior leadership.  Improve business performance through strong financial governance and operational excellence.  Simplify business operations through standardized processes and governance.  Improve cross-functional collaboration, execution discipline and organizational agility.  Reduce operational overheads for Sales and Delivery teams, enabling them to have greater focus on customers and business growth.

Desired Skills & Experience Experience  15 years of progressive experience in Business Operations, Strategy, PMO, Corporate Planning, or Commercial Governance within Staffing, HR Services, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Services (MSP), or IT Staff Augmentation.  In-depth understanding of staffing business models—including Flexible/Temporary Staffing, Permanent Recruitment, Executive Search, and Outcome-based Services.  Direct experience managing key staffing operating metrics: Gross Margin (GM%), Net Fee Income (NFI), Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Billing Efficiency, Billability/FTE Utilization, and Bench Management.  Proven track record in overseeing commercial contracts, pay-bill dynamics, statutory compliance frameworks (labour laws/PF/ESI), and high-volume billing/collection processes.

Skills & Competencies  Staffing Financial & Commercial Acumen: High proficiency in evaluating client contracts, rate cards, markup structures, gross margin leakage, and complex pay-bill mechanics across different labor categories.  Operational & Fulfilment Governance: Deep understanding of the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle, candidate pipeline metrics, onboarding compliance, timesheet management, and operational SLAs.  Executive Communication & Storytelling: Ability to translate complex staffing operations and client performance data into sharp executive dashboards, board packs, and strategic slides.  Cross-Functional Influence: Proven ability to drive alignment across Sales, Delivery/Recruitment Operations, Finance, Legal, Credit Control, and HR.  Process Scaling & Optimization: Track record of driving automation, standardizing SOPs, and lowering Cost-to-Serve while boosting operational yield across business lines.  Data & Tech Proficiency: Advanced analytical skills in Excel/Google Sheets (financial/margin modeling) and familiarity with modern Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), Vendor Management Systems (VM