Company: Murugan Idli Private Limited
Position: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Factory Operations
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Employment Type: Full-Time
Reporting To: Board of Directors / Promoters
About the Role
Murugan Idli Private limited is looking for an accomplished and results-driven Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Factory Operations to lead and scale our manufacturing and central production operations.
The CEO will have overall responsibility for the strategic, operational, financial, commercial, and organisational performance of the factory, ensuring that the facility operates efficiently while maintaining the highest standards of food quality, safety, consistency, productivity, and cost control.
The ideal candidate will be a strong business leader with extensive experience in food manufacturing, FMCG, QSR central kitchens, food processing, hospitality supply chains, or large-scale manufacturing operations.
Key ResponsibilitiesStrategic Leadership
- Develop and execute the overall strategy for the factory in alignment with the company's business objectives.
- Establish the factory as a scalable, efficient, technology-driven and professionally managed manufacturing operation.
- Develop long-term plans for production capacity, automation, infrastructure, technology and expansion.
- Identify opportunities for process improvement, innovation, new product development and operational transformation.
- Provide strategic recommendations to the Board and Promoters regarding factory growth and investments.
Factory & Production Operations
- Take complete ownership of end-to-end factory operations and production performance.
- Ensure production planning is aligned with demand, branch requirements and business growth.
- Optimise production capacity, manpower utilisation, machinery utilisation and overall productivity.
- Establish and continuously improve SOPs, systems, processes and operational controls.
- Ensure timely production and uninterrupted supply to all required business locations.
- Drive continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and process optimisation initiatives.
- Minimise production losses, downtime, wastage and operational inefficiencies.
Food Quality & Safety
- Ensure consistent product quality, taste, specifications and standards across all production.
- Establish robust Quality Assurance and Quality Control systems.
- Ensure compliance with applicable food safety, hygiene, statutory and regulatory requirements.
- Develop systems for traceability, quality monitoring, testing and corrective actions.
- Build a strong culture of food safety and quality across the factory.
Procurement & Supply Chain
- Oversee procurement, sourcing, vendor management and raw-material planning.
- Develop strategic vendor partnerships and negotiate commercially competitive terms.
- Ensure availability of quality raw materials without excessive inventory holding.
- Optimise inventory levels, storage, material movement and supply-chain costs.
- Establish strong systems for demand forecasting, purchase planning and supply continuity.
- Improve logistics and distribution efficiency from the factory to business locations.
Financial & Commercial Management
- Take complete ownership of the Factory P&L and financial performance.
- Develop and manage annual budgets, forecasts and capital expenditure plans.
- Monitor and improve manufacturing costs, labour costs, raw-material costs, energy costs, logistics costs and overheads.
- Drive cost reduction without compromising quality or food safety.
- Establish measurable financial and operational KPIs.
- Improve factory profitability, productivity and overall cost efficiency.
- Evaluate ROI for automation, machinery, infrastructure and technology investments.
People & Leadership
- Build and lead a strong professional factory leadership team.
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, accountability and performance metrics.
- Develop succession plans for critical factory positions.
- Improve employee productivity, engagement, training and retention.
- Create a performance-driven culture focused on safety, quality, discipline and continuous improvement.
- Develop future leaders within the factory organisation.
Technology & Automation
- Identify opportunities to automate production, packaging, inventory, quality and supply-chain processes.
- Introduce modern manufacturing technologies and data-driven decision-making.
- Implement appropriate ERP, production planning, inventory and business intelligence systems.
- Use operational data and analytics to improve productivity, forecasting and cost control.
- Drive digital transformation across factory operations.
Compliance, Safety & Risk Management
- Ensure compliance with all applicable statutory, labour, environmental, food safety and factory regulations.
- Establish strong workplace health and safety systems.
- Ensure proper documentation, audits, licences and regulatory compliance.
- Identify operational and business risks and implement appropriate mitigation measures.
- Maintain high standards of workplace discipline and safety.
Business Expansion & Capacity Planning
- Develop plans to increase production capacity in line with business growth.
- Evaluate new machinery, technologies, production lines and infrastructure requirements.
- Lead factory expansion, modernisation and commissioning projects.
- Evaluate opportunities for additional manufacturing facilities or central production units.
- Ensure expansion projects are delivered within approved budgets, timelines and quality standards.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The CEO will be evaluated on measurable business outcomes including:
- Factory revenue and profitability
- Factory P&L performance
- Production capacity utilisation
- Production efficiency and productivity
- Cost per unit / manufacturing cost
- Raw-material cost optimisation
- Labour productivity
- Reduction in wastage and production losses
- Product quality and consistency
- Food safety and audit compliance
- On-time production and supply fulfilment
- Inventory optimisation
- Procurement savings
- Machinery utilisation and downtime reduction
- Successful automation and technology implementation
- Employee productivity and retention
- Successful factory expansion and capacity enhancement
We are looking for a senior business leader with:
- 15+ years of progressive experience, with significant experience in food manufacturing, FMCG, food processing, QSR manufacturing, central kitchens, hospitality supply chains or a similar manufacturing environment.
- Proven experience managing a large-scale factory, manufacturing facility or central production operation.
- Strong experience in P&L management, cost optimisation, production planning and operational excellence.
- Demonstrated experience in scaling manufacturing operations and managing business growth.
- Strong understanding of food manufacturing processes, quality systems and food safety.
- Experience in procurement, supply chain, inventory and vendor management.
- Proven experience in leading large teams and senior functional leaders.
- Strong financial and commercial acumen.
- Experience with automation, technology implementation and process transformation.
- Strong understanding of statutory, regulatory, labour and factory compliance.
- Excellent strategic thinking, problem-solving, negotiation and decision-making abilities.
- Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a high level of ownership and accountability.
Leadership Competencies
The ideal candidate should demonstrate:
- Strategic vision and business acumen
- Strong operational discipline
- Financial ownership
- Manufacturing excellence
- Data-driven decision-making
- Cost-conscious leadership
- People development
- Innovation and technology orientation
- Strong execution capability
- High integrity and accountability
- Ability to work closely with the Board and Promoters
Why Join Murugan Idli Shop?
This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for an experienced professional to build, transform and scale the manufacturing backbone of a recognised South Indian food brand.
The successful candidate will have significant autonomy and responsibility to build world-class systems, improve operational efficiency, introduce technology and automation, strengthen quality and safety, and create a scalable manufacturing platform to support the company's future growth.
Pay: ₹3,000,000.00 - ₹3,500,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Food provided
- Internet reimbursement
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Provident Fund
Work Location: In person
