JOB DESCRIPTION for Senior Manager / Associate Director – Operations (HITL & Catalog Services)
Department: Operations
Reporting To: Director / Business Head – Operations
Location: Mysore
Role Purpose
The Senior Manager / Associate Director – Operations will be responsible for leading large-scale Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) and catalog operations across multiple service lines in a highly dynamic and fast-evolving environment. The role demands strong operational leadership, workforce management, process design, change management, and execution excellence to drive scalable delivery outcomes.
The role will oversee operations involving catalog quality, product taxonomy and product-type validation, classification/reclassification, content enrichment, and AI/GenAI-assisted validation workflows to ensure accuracy, consistency, and quality-driven outcomes.
The incumbent will manage large operational teams, oversee multiple Statements of Work (SOWs), drive operational efficiency, ensure SLA/KPI adherence, and support continuous business transformation through evolving workflows, technologies, and operating models.
Key Responsibilities
1. Operations Leadership & Delivery Management
- Lead end-to-end operational delivery across multiple HITL and catalog-related workflows.
- Ensure consistent achievement of Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), quality metrics, productivity targets, and delivery commitments.
- Establish strong governance frameworks for operational reviews, risk mitigation, issue resolution, and escalation management.
- Drive execution excellence while balancing dynamic business priorities and evolving operational requirements.
- Ensure delivery predictability, operational stability, and business continuity.
2. Workforce Planning & Team Management
- Manage large-scale operations with headcount responsibility of approximately 300+ employees across multiple teams and workstreams.
- Drive workforce planning, staffing strategy, utilization, ramp-up/down planning, and resource optimization.
- Build leadership capability across frontline managers and operational teams to strengthen execution maturity.
- Drive employee engagement, performance management, succession planning, and retention strategies.
- Ensure effective capacity planning aligned to volume fluctuations and business requirements.
3. Process Design & Operational Excellence
- Design, implement, and optimize scalable operational workflows to support evolving business requirements.
- Develop and standardize SOPs, governance mechanisms, quality frameworks, and operational controls.
- Identify process improvement opportunities to enhance quality, productivity, efficiency, and turnaround time.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on First Time Right (FTR), accuracy, throughput, and operational effectiveness.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to improve workflow efficiency and operational scalability.
4. Change Management & Transformation
- Lead operations in dynamic environments requiring rapid adaptation to changing priorities, workflows, tools, and business expectations.
- Drive structured change management initiatives to support new scope transitions, workflow redesigns, pilot programs, and operational transformation.
- Enable seamless adoption of process changes through stakeholder alignment, communication, and execution readiness.
- Foster a culture of agility, adaptability, and continuous learning across teams.
5. HITL / AI-Enabled Operations Governance
- Oversee Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) workflows supporting AI-enabled operational processes and validation frameworks.
- Ensure robust governance over accuracy, relevancy, consistency, truthfulness, compliance, and quality standards.
- Drive continuous operational improvements through structured validation and feedback mechanisms.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to improve operational effectiveness and workflow maturity.
6. Stakeholder Management & Governance
- Partner with business leaders, operations teams, support functions, and internal stakeholders to drive execution excellence.
- Lead periodic business reviews, operational governance discussions, and performance reporting mechanisms.
- Provide data-driven operational insights and recommendations for informed decision-making.
- Manage operational risks and escalations proactively to ensure stakeholder confidence and business continuity.
7. Business & Financial Ownership
- Drive operational efficiency, productivity improvement, cost optimization, and resource effectiveness.
- Support execution of SOWs through strong planning, operational governance, and delivery oversight.
- Ensure adherence to operational, compliance, and business expectations.
- Contribute to business growth, scalability, and operational sustainability.
Required Skills & Competencies
- Strong expertise in large-scale operations management and delivery leadership.
- Proven ability to manage dynamic, fast-changing, and ambiguous business environments.
- Strong workforce planning, headcount management, and productivity optimization capabilities.
- Expertise in process design, SOP governance, operational controls, and change management.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and executive presentation skills.
- Strong understanding of quality management, SLA/KPI governance, and operational excellence frameworks.
- Ability to drive transformation, adaptability, and execution excellence at scale.
Preferred Experience
- Experience in Human-in-the-Loop (HITL), catalog operations, content enrichment, taxonomy validation, product classification, annotation services, validation workflows, content moderation, or digital commerce operations.
- Exposure to AI-enabled operations, Model Validation, Generative AI workflows, structured content validation, or quality-governed decision-making environments is preferred.
- Experience managing large-scale operational teams and multiple SOW-based delivery environments.
- Demonstrated experience in handling dynamic workflows, ambiguity, process transitions, change management, and operational scaling.
Educational Qualification
- Bachelor’s degree in any discipline (mandatory).
- Master’s degree in business administration, Operations, Management, or related field preferred.
- Certification/exposure in Lean, Six Sigma, Quality Management Systems, Project Management, or Operational Excellence will be an added advantage.
Key Success Metrics (Indicative)
- SLA & KPI adherence
- Quality / Accuracy / FTR performance
- Productivity & utilization improvement
- Workforce stability and engagement
- Delivery predictability and operational governance
- Change adoption effectiveness
- Stakeholder satisfaction
- Cost optimization and operational efficiency
- Business continuity and scalability
Candidate Profile
A highly driven operations leader with strong execution rigor, business adaptability, and transformation mindset, capable of managing large-scale dynamic operations while driving operational excellence, workforce effectiveness, and sustainable business outcomes in evolving service environments.
Pay: ₹1,200,000.00 - ₹1,800,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Cell phone reimbursement
- Flexible schedule
- Leave encashment
- Provident Fund
Work Location: In person
