Designation: COO

Location: New Delhi

Industry: Landscape EPC | Horticulture | Irrigation | Green Infrastructure

Experience: 15+ years

Role Purpose:

The Chief Operating Officer will be responsible for driving the overall business operations, project execution, strategic growth, and profitability of the company. The incumbent will lead large-scale landscape, horticulture, irrigation, and green infrastructure projects while ensuring operational excellence, client satisfaction, financial performance, and sustainable business expansion. The role requires a commercially astute leader capable of scaling operations, strengthening client relationships, developing new business opportunities, and building a high-performance organization.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Business Strategy & Growth:

- Partner with the promoters to define and execute the organization's long-term business strategy.

- Identify and develop new business opportunities across commercial real estate, industrial parks, airports, hospitality, educational institutions, healthcare, government, and infrastructure sectors.

- Expand presence into new geographies, market segments, and service offerings.

- Develop strategic partnerships with developers, architects, consultants, PMC firms, and government agencies.

- Drive sustainable revenue growth while strengthening the company's market position.

2. Operations & Project Delivery:

- Lead end-to-end execution of multiple landscape, horticulture, irrigation, and EPC projects across India.

- Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.

- Establish operational excellence through standardized processes, SOPs, and project governance.

- Monitor project schedules, resource utilization, procurement, quality, safety, and client deliverables.

- Improve operational efficiency through continuous process improvement and technology adoption.

3. Financial Leadership & P&L Management:

- Own the overall business P&L and drive sustainable profitability.

- Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and cash flow management.

- Improve gross margins through effective commercial management and cost optimization.

- Monitor project profitability, working capital, receivables (DSO), and overall financial performance.

- Establish financial discipline across projects and business functions.

4. Business Development & Client Management:

- Build and nurture relationships with developers, corporates, government agencies, consultants, architects, and key stakeholders.

- Support business development by participating in strategic client engagements, negotiations, and bid reviews.

- Identify opportunities for repeat business and long-term client partnerships.

- Serve as the executive escalation point for key clients and strategic accounts.

5. Project Commercials & Contracts:

- Oversee project commercial management, tender reviews, contract negotiations, and change order management.

- Ensure effective risk identification and mitigation throughout the project lifecycle.

- Monitor contractual obligations, claims, vendor management, and project profitability.

- Strengthen governance around procurement, subcontractor management, and commercial controls.

6. Leadership & Organizational Development:

- Lead and mentor senior leadership across Operations, Projects, Commercial, Procurement, Finance, HR, and Business Development.

- Build a culture of ownership, collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence.

- Drive succession planning, capability development, and leadership pipeline initiatives.

- Ensure effective workforce planning for both corporate and project teams.

7. Operational Governance & Compliance:

- Establish robust governance frameworks across all business functions.

- Ensure compliance with statutory regulations, environmental norms, labour laws, contractual obligations, and safety standards.

- Drive implementation of quality management systems and operational audits.

- Promote best practices in risk management, sustainability, and corporate governance.

8. Performance Management & Reporting:

- Develop MIS dashboards and business intelligence reports for leadership review.

- Track key business KPIs including Revenue Growth, EBITDA, Project Profitability, Order Book, Project Timelines, Client Satisfaction, Resource Utilization, Cash Flow, and DSO.

Desired Candidate Profile:

Education:

- Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, or a related discipline.

- MBA or Postgraduate qualification preferred.

Experience:

- 15-25 years of leadership experience in Landscape EPC, Infrastructure, Construction, Irrigation, Facility Management, Green Infrastructure, or allied industries.

- Demonstrated experience managing multi-location operations and large-scale project execution.

- Proven track record of owning P&L and driving business profitability.

- Strong exposure to commercial management, contracts, procurement, and project delivery.

- Experience leading organizations through periods of growth and operational transformation.

Core Competencies:

- Strategic Business Leadership, P&L Management, Operations & Project Management, Business Development, Client Relationship Management, Commercial & Contract Management, Multi-location Operations, Large Workforce Leadership, Financial Planning & Cost Optimization, Governance & Compliance, Risk Management, Change Management, Negotiation & Stakeholder Management.

Preferred Industry Background:

- Landscape Contracting, Horticulture & Green Infrastructure, EPC & Infrastructure, Irrigation Systems, Real Estate Project Delivery, Facility Management, Urban Infrastructure, Environmental Engineering, Smart City Projects.

Success Metrics (First 12 Months):

- Improve overall project delivery performance and on-time completion.

- Increase operational efficiency and profitability across business units.

- Strengthen client retention and generate repeat business.

- Build a scalable operational structure to support future expansion.

- Enhance governance, compliance, and reporting frameworks.

- Develop a high-performing leadership team and succession pipeline.