Head - Operations

Role Purpose

The Project Delivery Head will have end-to-end accountability for successful execution and delivery of SDS India projects.

The role will own the complete project lifecycle from order handover through planning, engineering, software development, procurement coordination, FAT, installation, commissioning, SAT, customer acceptance and project closure.

The individual will lead multidisciplinary teams delivering projects involving PLC/SCADA, robotics, MES/MOM, IT-OT integration, digitalisation, electrical & controls engineering and industrial software.

The fundamental expectation from this role is:

"Own the outcome, not just the project plan."

The Project Delivery Head will be accountable for schedule, cost, quality, technical delivery, project profitability, customer satisfaction and successful closure.

Preferred candidate profile

Key Responsibilities

End-to-End Project Delivery

• Take complete ownership of project execution from order handover to final customer acceptance.
• Establish project execution strategy, milestones, governance and delivery methodology.
• Ensure projects are delivered within agreed scope, schedule, budget and quality parameters.
• Review project status regularly and intervene proactively in critical projects.
• Ensure timely identification and resolution of execution bottlenecks.

Project Planning & Governance

• Develop detailed project execution plans, schedules and resource plans.
• Establish project milestones, critical paths and dependencies.
• Implement structured project review mechanisms.
• Conduct regular internal and customer project reviews.
• Drive recovery plans for delayed or at-risk projects

Engineering & Technical Delivery

Provide leadership and coordination across multidisciplinary engineering teams covering:

• PLC / SCADA / HMI / Robotics
• MES / MOM
• IT-OT integration
• Electrical & controls engineering
• Digitalisation and Industry 4.0 solutions

The role does not require the individual to be the deepest technical expert in every domain, but the candidate must possess sufficient technical understanding to challenge engineering decisions, identify technical risks and make sound delivery decisions.

Resource & Capacity Management

• Plan manpower requirements across the project portfolio.
• Allocate Project Managers, Engineering Leads, Software Engineers, Robotics Engineers and Commissioning Engineers.
• Optimise utilisation of engineering and site resources.
• Identify capacity constraints well in advance.
• Build a strong second line of Project Managers and Delivery Leaders.
• Work with HR and leadership on recruitment, capability development and succession planning.
• Develop a culture of accountability and ownership within the delivery organisation.

Customer Management

• Act as the senior delivery escalation point for key customers.
• Establish relationships with customer project, engineering and management teams.
• Conduct periodic project reviews with strategic customers.
• Communicate project status, risks and recovery actions transparently.
• Resolve customer escalations quickly and professionally.
• Ensure successful customer acceptance and handover.

Candidate Profile:

• 1520+ years of overall professional experience.
• Minimum 7–10 years in project/program delivery leadership.
• Proven experience managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering and site teams.
• Experience with large industrial automation / manufacturing projects is strongly preferred.
• Automotive / BIW experience will be a significant advantage.

Technical Exposure

Candidates should have meaningful exposure to several of the following:

• PLC / SCADA / HMI / Robotics
• MES / MOM
• IT-OT integration
• Electrical & controls
• Industry 4.0 / Digital Manufacturing