Job Description: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Location: Bangalore, India (with extensive pan-India travel)

Company exists to elevate the campus and workplace experience by delivering wholesome, balanced, and nutritious meals. Backed by an 80+ year heritage in the hospitality sector under Clarks Hotels & Resorts, we currently serve over 70,500 meals to 16,500+ students daily across 7 institutional education campuses.

Our mission is to feed 100,000 people every day by 2032. As we aggressively scale our footprint across emerging markets through technology, strict quality controls, and an "anti-food fatigue" mindset to maintain our competitive edge, we are seeking a highly driven Chief Operating Officer to lead our expanding operations and ensure we remain the most preferred vendor on every campus we serve.

Role Summary:

The Chief Operating Officer will be the operational anchor of the company, taking full responsibility for the day-to-day activities across the organization. This leader will drive operational excellence, enforce our gold-standard quality and hygiene protocols, and ensure robust financial health across all operating sites.

Key Responsibilities:

- Operational Leadership: Take ownership of all day-to-day activities across the organization, ensuring seamless service delivery from central kitchens and satellite food outlets.

- Multi-Site Management: Directly manage and scale operations across 10+ sites throughout the country, ensuring uniform quality and process adherence.

- Financial Stewardship: Take full ownership of the operational P&L, demonstrating a deep understanding of cost drivers, unit economics, and the financial impact of day-to-day operational decisions.

- Client Engagement: Travel extensively across the country to meet with institutional customers, campus committees, and stakeholders on a regular basis to gather feedback and strengthen long-term partnerships.

- Quality & Compliance: Uphold our stringent safety standards, ensuring all sites maintain 100% compliance with HACCP and FSSAI norms, utilize the three-sink method, and undergo regular hygiene audits.

- Innovation & Experience: Champion our student-first initiatives, including the 6-month chef and menu rotation policies designed to combat food fatigue.

Qualifications & Requirements:

- Experience: Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in institutional food catering.

- Scale: Proven track record of successfully managing a P&L of at least INR 200 Crores.

- Industry Expertise: Strong preference will be given to candidates who have extensive experience working directly with educational institutes and managing large-scale university campus operations.

- Mindset: Highly entrepreneurial approach with proactive problem-solving capabilities; must thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

- Mobility: Willingness and physical ability to travel continuously across the country for site visits and regular customer meetings.