Role Summary:

The COO will own end-to-end operations of the company, from loan origination and underwriting operations to disbursement, servicing, collections and customer experience. The COO will also drive AUM growth and broaden the company's funding base by onboarding new lenders. The COO will build scalable, compliant and cost-efficient processes as the company grows across geographies and products, and will be the CEO's key partner in executing the business plan.

Key Responsibilities:

- Translate the company's strategic and annual business plans into operational roadmaps, budgets and KPIs.

- Own the full loan lifecycle: sourcing support, KYC, credit processing, disbursement, servicing, collections and closure.

- Set and monitor turnaround times (TAT), productivity metrics, cost-to-income ratio and operating cost per loan.

- Own the AUM growth roadmap and deliver year-on-year targets in line with the business plan, while maintaining portfolio quality.

- Drive disbursement growth across agri and MSME products through branch expansion, deeper penetration in existing geographies and new customer segments.

- Build and scale sourcing channels such as direct field sales, DSAs, business correspondents, FPOs, agri-input dealers, aggregators and digital partnerships.

- Improve branch and RM productivity, lead conversion, ticket size and repeat/top-up lending to increase portfolio depth.

- Launch and scale new products and value chain-led lending programs in partnership with the Product, Credit and Sales teams.

- Track AUM mix, yield, and product- and geography-wise profitability to ensure growth is sustainable.

- Lead branch operations, regional and area managers, and field teams across agri and MSME portfolios.

- Plan network expansion: new branches, hubs and geographies, including cluster-based and agri value chain-led models.

- Ensure strong governance, discipline and productivity across the field network.

- Work closely with the Chief Credit Officer / Credit Head to ensure disciplined implementation of credit policy and underwriting norms.

- Oversee collections and recovery strategy to keep DPD, GNPA and NNPA within targets.

- Drive early-warning systems, field verification quality and post-disbursement monitoring, including end-use checks.

- Manage seasonality and climate-linked risks specific to agri lending (crop cycles, harvest-linked repayments, weather events).

- Work with the CEO and CFO to onboard new lenders, including public and private sector banks, small finance banks, NBFCs, DFIs, NABARD, SIDBI, impact investors and other institutional funders.

- Lead the operational side of lender due diligence: portfolio data, process walkthroughs, field visits, audit trails, MIS and system demonstrations.

- Ensure the company meets lender eligibility criteria, covenants and rating requirements on portfolio quality, collections, governance and compliance.

- Structure and operationalize co-lending, direct assignment, securitization, term loan and on-lending arrangements, including the reconciliation, reporting and servicing processes they require.

- Maintain strong, ongoing relationships with existing lenders through timely reporting, transparent communication and prompt resolution of queries.

- Build lender-ready MIS, dashboards and data integrations to shorten onboarding and sanction timelines.

- Support the CFO in diversifying the funding mix and reducing the cost of borrowing.

- Ensure operational readiness to scale utilization of sanctioned limits into disbursements.

- Lead digitization of onboarding, underwriting, disbursement and collections through the LOS, LMS, mobile apps and field tools.

- Drive use of alternate data, satellite and agri data, bureau data, analytics and automation to improve TAT and reduce cost.

- Partner with the CTO/IT head on system roadmaps, integrations (account aggregators, e-sign, e-NACH, UPI, credit bureaus, co-lending platforms) and cybersecurity.

- Ensure operations comply with RBI regulations for NBFCs (Scale-Based Regulation, Digital Lending Guidelines, co-lending and securitization norms, Fair Practices Code, KYC/AML, outsourcing and recovery norms) and other applicable laws.

- Work with the Compliance Officer, Risk and Internal Audit on audit findings, RBI inspections and timely closure of observations.

- Maintain robust internal controls, SOPs, business continuity and fraud-prevention frameworks.

- Manage operational aspects of business correspondents, DSAs, FPOs, agri-input dealers, aggregators and fintech partners.

- Support access to government schemes (e.g., CGTMSE, agri credit and subsidy-linked programs) and meet their operational and reporting requirements.

- Build a customer-centric service model with strong grievance redressal, transparent communication and vernacular support.

- Track NPS, complaint volumes and resolution TAT.

- Build, mentor and retain a high-performing operations leadership team.

- Design incentive structures, training and capability-building programs, especially for field staff and collections teams.

- Foster a culture of accountability, ethical conduct and responsible lending.

- Own the operations budget and support the CFO on profitability, unit economics and MIS.

- Present operational performance, AUM growth, lender pipeline, risks and initiatives to the CEO, Board and committees.

Qualifications and Experience:

- Graduate in any discipline; MBA / PGDM (Finance, Operations or Rural Management) from a reputed institute preferred.

- CA / CFA / other professional qualifications are an advantage.

- 15+ years in financial services, with at least 5 - 7 years in senior operations or business leadership at an NBFC, small finance bank, MFI or bank.

- Proven experience in agri, rural, MSME or small-ticket secured/unsecured lending.

- Demonstrated track record of scaling AUM and disbursements across multiple states and managing large, distributed teams.

- Experience in lender due diligence and onboarding, co-lending, direct assignment or securitization, and working with banks, DFIs and other institutional funders.

- Hands-on exposure to collections, portfolio quality management and regulatory inspections.

Key Skills and Competencies:

- Deep understanding of NBFC operations, RBI regulations, and Indian agri and MSME credit ecosystems.

- Strong business-growth orientation with the ability to balance scale and portfolio quality.

- Strong stakeholder and relationship management with lenders, partners and regulators.

- Strong process orientation with expertise in TAT, cost optimization and productivity management.

- Working knowledge of LOS/LMS platforms, digital lending and data-driven decision-making.

- Ability to lead through influence in a fast-growing, multi-location organization.

- Strong analytical, problem-solving and negotiation skills.

- High integrity, with a strong customer-first and compliance-first mindset.

- Proficiency in English and Hindi; knowledge of regional languages is a plus.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

- AUM growth and disbursement targets

- Number of new lenders onboarded, sanctioned limits and funding drawn/utilized

- Diversification of funding mix and reduction in cost of borrowing (with the CFO)

- Portfolio quality (collection efficiency, PAR, GNPA/NNPA)

- Turnaround time from login to disbursement

- Cost-to-income ratio and operating cost per loan

- Branch and RM productivity, and new branch/geography rollout

- Audit, regulatory and lender covenant compliance

- Customer satisfaction and complaint resolution TAT

- Employee productivity and attrition, especially in field roles

- Digital adoption across origination and collections