Senior Business Manager/Operations Director

BRAVE BISON

Senior Business Manager/Operations Director — India

Permanent  ·  India Hub (Bangalore)  ·  Reports to COO

Job Title

Senior Business Manager/Operations Director

Team

Operations

Hiring Manager

Laura (COO)

Reports To

Laura (COO)

Location

India Hub — Bangalore

Employment Type

Permanent

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Senior Business Manager/Operations Director is a business and operations leader, someone who has built and scaled an India operation and who acts as the trusted local advisor to an overseas leadership team.

Brave Bison is a global marketing and technology group headquartered in the UK, with a growing India hub currently at around 50 people. The business has more than doubled in headcount over the last two years through organic growth and acquisition, and the India hub is central to its next phase of scale, spanning HR, operations, performance, AI, and delivery functions.

This role is the single most senior in-country operational leader for Brave Bison's India hub. It is not a coordinator or go-between. The person in this role owns the end-to-end operational delivery of the hub, acts as the primary escalation point for UK managers, drives how the hub scales, and serves as a genuine thought partner to the COO and board.

The ceiling is high. There is no cap on where this role can grow as the business continues to scale.

A note on structure:  All roles in India are employed through the Engage India entity. This role is operationally responsible for Brave Bison — not Engage Digital Partners. The HR function currently sitting within Engage will move to report into this hire, bringing all Brave Bison people operations under one team within BB central.

SCALING OPPORTUNITIES

This role is being hired now at a smaller headcount, but with the explicit expectation of significant growth. The foundations need to be fit for purpose and scalable from day one. The current pipeline of scaling opportunities across Brave Bison's India hub includes:

Function

Opportunity

1

Finance, Operations, HR, IT & Marketing

Senior roles will remain UK-based; support and delivery roles will grow in India across these functions.

2

Organic Performance & Paid Performance

Currently one role in India with appetite to grow. Commerce technology roles will continue through Egypt.

3

AI & Measurement

Currently two roles plus one freelance. The business is actively shaping AI team requirements and will look to India to build this team out.

4

Media Network

Currently three roles in India with clear opportunity to expand the team.

5

MiniMBA

Future operational roles for this business line will be explored in India. Early attempts were unsuccessful, but the leadership team is open to building this capability here.

Future acquisitions will present further opportunities for growth in India beyond this list. The person coming into this role should expect the scope and scale of their remit to increase materially over time.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

Operations & Hub Leadership

• Act as the bridge between UK and global leadership and the India teams — not passing messages, but owning the relationship and translating strategy into local execution.
• Drive the scaling of the India hub in line with business growth plans, helping to define what that growth looks like, at what pace, and with what infrastructure.
• Build management layers and local leadership capability within the India organisation.
• Define and monitor KPIs and SLAs to ensure high-quality, efficient service delivery across all hub functions.
• Partner with the COO and central operations to continuously improve processes, governance, reporting, and ways of working.
• Provide cultural insight and practical guidance on local market realities to overseas leadership.
• Ensure consistent application of working arrangements in line with company policies and local requirements.
• Manage relationships with local vendors, including recruitment agencies and other service providers.

People, HR & Talent

• Lead all Brave Bison India people operations across the full employee lifecycle — from hiring through to exit.
• Take ownership of the HR function as it moves from Engage into Brave Bison central, consolidating people operations under one team.
• Oversee end-to-end recruitment activity, including sourcing, selection, background checks, and onboarding, scaling hiring activity as the hub grows.
• Provide market intelligence to support hiring strategy and compensation decisions, including salary benchmarking and local hiring practices.
• Lead and develop the local HR team, setting objectives, driving performance, and building capability.
• Contribute to the group people strategy, ensuring alignment with local market conditions and providing on-the-ground insight to inform decision-making.
• Advise UK managers on Indian employment practices, HR policies, and compliance requirements — acting as the local expert, not a relay point.
• Lead employee engagement, retention, and culture initiatives within the India team.
• Manage employee relations cases locally, ensuring fair, timely, and compliant resolution.
• Oversee HR operations including employee records, HR administration, employee support, and exit formalities.
• Ensure compliance with Indian labour laws and statutory requirements, keeping UK and global leadership informed of relevant changes and obligations.
• Oversee payroll processing and statutory contributions to ensure accuracy and compliance.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Must-Haves

1

Scaling operations in India — you have driven the growth of an India-based operation, not just been part of one. You know what it takes to scale a team from ~50 people upwards.

2

Working with UK or international stakeholders — you have reported to or worked closely with UK or overseas leadership, and you understand the dynamic of bridging local realities with global expectations.

3

Operations leadership with strong HR expertise — you are primarily an operations or business leader; HR is a core competency, not your only one.

4

Experience building and professionalising a growing operation — you have designed governance, processes, and reporting structures, not just managed within existing ones.

5

Strong knowledge of Indian employment law, compliance, and HR practices — you can advise confidently without always needing a lawyer in the room.

Experience & Background

• 10+ years in operations, business management, shared services, or people operations within a global organisation.
• Experience as a country operational leader for a distributed workforce — the most senior person on the ground, not one of several functional leads.
• Background in a global marketing agency, professional services, or technology-led organisation preferred.
• A track record of scaling and professionalising growing operations, ideally from around 50 people upwards.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Strong experience working with UK or other overseas leadership teams — able to influence senior stakeholders, challenge constructively, and provide practical guidance on local market realities.
• Proven ability to translate business objectives into effective local execution — a thought partner to board-level leadership, not a managed stakeholder.
• Experience building manager capability and supporting performance management within a growing team.
• Excellent cross-cultural communication skills, with a clear understanding of how to manage the India/UK dynamic — an interpreter, not a messenger.

Operations & Scaling

• Demonstrated success building processes, governance, reporting, and operational structures from scratch or near-scratch in a growing organisation.
• Strong practical problem-solving skills with a bias for execution and continuous improvement.
• Experience creating local leadership capability and management layers within a scaling team.

Talent & People Management

• Experience leading recruitment and scaling hiring activity, including sourcing, selection, and onboarding.
• Strong understanding of the India talent market, salary benchmarking, and improving hiring outcomes.

HR & Employee Relations

• Strong knowledge of Indian employment law and HR practices — PF, ESIC, gratuity, the new wage code, Shops & Establishments Act, and related statutory obligations.
• Experience handling employee relations matters and advising UK or international managers on people issues.
• Able to balance compliance requirements with commercial and operational needs — practical, not purely procedural.

WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE IN YEAR ONE

By the end of year one, the person in this role will have:

• Built a clear, documented understanding of the India hub's current state — people, processes, governance, and gaps.
• Successfully taken ownership of the HR function as it transitions from Engage into Brave Bison central, ensuring continuity and an improved employee experience.
• Established a trusted working relationship with UK and global leadership, acting as a genuine thought partner rather than a local relay point.
• Introduced or strengthened management layers within the India organisation, building local leadership capability.
• Scaled the hub in a structured, sustainable way — with the right processes, governance, and hiring infrastructure in place to support continued growth across all five identified scaling opportunities.
• Ensured the hub is fully compliant with Indian employment law and statutory requirements, with UK leadership confident in local governance.
• Driven employee engagement and retention initiatives that reflect the culture and ambition of the business.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

Stage

Format

Who

Focus

1

Screen call

Andy Schofield

Career overview, motivation, and initial fit

2

30-min video call

Dan & Laura (COO)

Operational depth, stakeholder approach, and scaling experience

3

Presentation

Dan & Laura (COO)

Task to be shared

ABOUT BRAVE BISON

Brave Bison is a global marketing and technology group headquartered in the UK, with offices across eight countries. Over the last two years the business has more than doubled in headcount through organic growth and acquisition, working with brands including New Balance, TikTok, Amazon Prime Video, and Specsavers.

The business is entrepreneurial and ambitious, with a growth mindset across the group. Nobody is set in their ways. Everyone is open to new ways of working and thinking. The India hub sits at the centre of Brave Bison's next phase of growth — and this role sits at the centre of the India hub.