Senior Operations Manager

About Nykaa & NykaaNow

Nykaa is Indias leading omnichannel beauty and lifestyle destination. NykaaNow is Nykaas ultra-fast commerce initiative, delivering top-tier beauty, personal care products to customers within minutes. We are scaling rapidly across India, establishing a high-density network of dark stores, optimized supply chain routes, and hyper-local fulfillment operations to set the benchmark for quick commerce excellence in beauty.

Role Overview

We are looking for a sharp, hyper-analytical, and execution-driven Senior Manager / DGM Quick Commerce Operations to lead end-to-end ground operations across NykaaNow cities. In this role, you will be the central nerve center for day-to-day execution, dark store scale-up, and last-mile delivery efficiency. You will manage 3PL courier partnerships, optimize rider payout structures, mitigate real-time operational stress, and work directly with tech and leadership teams to scale our Q-commerce footprint while keeping Cost Per Order (CPO) low and customer NPS high.

Key Responsibilities

1. Daily On-Ground Operations & Live Mitigation

• Real-Time Oversight: Drive real-time, hour-by-hour operational oversight across all active NykaaNow cities and dark store networks.
• Stress Mitigation: Monitor live delivery stress pockets and execute swift mitigation strategies (e.g., dynamic surge incentives, rider re-allocation, order throttling).
• Graceful Degradation Protocols: Manage degradation protocols during high-stress periods (e.g., severe weather, unexpected surges) using dynamic levers like serviceability radius reduction, surge fees, or temporary store closures.
• Uptime Optimization: Minimize store downtime and remove operational failure points to ensure maximum dark store uptime and continuous order processing.

2. 3PL & Last-Mile Delivery Partner Management

• Vendor Governance: Own the operational relationship, service level agreements (SLAs), and performance monitoring for all 3PL courier partners.
• Partner Scaling: Onboard, negotiate, and scale new 3PL partners to support rapid city expansions and network density.
• Issue Resolution: Partner with courier leadership to resolve real-time operational bottlenecks and establish escalation matrix mechanisms.

3. Rider Lifecycle, Retention & Commercial Design

• Payout Structures: Design, implement, and periodically revise rider payout structures, incentives, and commercial frameworks to balance delivery economics with competitive earnings.
• Fleet Retention: Build programs to improve rider retention, decrease churn, and guarantee peak-hour rider availability across all operational zones.

4. Network Expansion & Dark Store Scaling

• Store Launch & Ramp-Up: Lead store network planning, location feasibility, dark store layout designs, and operational ramp-up schedules for new city launches and cluster expansions.
• Fulfillment SOPs: Set up standard operating procedures (SOPs) for dark store inventory handshakes, dispatch lanes, and order handoffs to last-mile riders.

5. Process Optimization, Analytics & Cost Efficiency

• CPO & O2D Reduction: Conduct statistical analysis at store, city, and regional levels to drive continuous reduction in Cost Per Order (CPO) and Order-to-Delivery (O2D) times.
• RCA & Quality Control: Perform root-cause analysis (RCA) on delivery breaches, Return to Origin (RTO), and Damage Delivery (DTO) in-transit failures.
• Tech Automation: Collaborate closely with Tech, Product, and Data teams to automate operational workflows, build real-time monitoring dashboards, and deploy tech-led levers for hyper-local route optimization.

6. Leadership Governance & Business Reporting

• Executive Reviews: Lead weekly, monthly, quarterly, and Annual Operating Plan (AOP) business reviews with senior executive leadership.
• Data-Backed Strategy: Define and track operational metrics, presenting data-backed strategic recommendations for network expansion, tech investments, and budget allocation.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Operational Category - Key Metrics & Objectives

1. Speed & Serviceability

• O2D Improvement: Continuous reduction in end-to-end Order-to-Delivery time.

• Coverage SLA: Expansion & strict adherence to 15, 30, and 45-minute

delivery zones.

2. Delivery Success & Quality

• Breach & RTO Reduction: Minimizing delivery SLA breaches and RTO rates.

• First-Attempt Success: Improving overall First-Attempt Delivery Success Rate.

• 100% Closure: Achieving 100% order closure within 24 hours of the first attempt.

• Damage Control: Minimizing DTO and inventory write-offs due to in-transit damage.

3. Rider & Store Efficiency

• Rider Availability & Retention: Maintaining optimal fleet density, rider shift planning and low rider churn.

• Store Uptime: Maximizing dark store uptime and reducing store-level

operational failures.

4. Customer Experience

• Delivery NPS: Driving market-leading NPS for NykaaNow.

• Escalations: Drastic reduction in customer complaints and delivery-related tickets.

Required Candidate Profile

• Experience: 8-10 years of total professional experience, with a minimum of 45 years specifically within Quick Commerce (Q-commerce), Hyperlocal Delivery, or Fast-Fulfillment E-commerce operations.
• Network Scale: Proven track record of managing multi-city ground operations (preferably 20+ cities) and handling high-volume daily order throughput.
• Partner Management: Hands-on experience in managing large-scale 3PL courier partners and designing rider payout/incentive models.
• Analytical Prowess: Strong proficiency in SQL, Excel, and data visualization tools (Tableau, PowerBI, Looker) to perform store-level statistical analysis and cost optimization.
• Tech-Driven Mindset: High comfort working with product and technology teams to build, test, and deploy operational features.
• Education: Bachelors degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or related technical fields from a premier institute; and MBA is preferred.
• Leadership & Crisis Management: Demonstrated ability to remain calm under pressure, execute real-time operational calls during live outages/stress,