Chief Operating Officer — Water And Utilities Business

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model within a listed infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the water and utilities business during a safety and claims reset. For mandate 321, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Operating Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹30,500 crore in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several water and utilities business customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Operating Officer Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,300 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Operating Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the water and utilities business. The Chief Operating Officer Infrastructure seat must resolve a safety and claims reset, while preserving the underlying strengths of the water and utilities business. For mandate 321, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Operating Officer’s first year on the water and utilities business is expected to end with delivery reliability, productivity and end-to-end accountability. In mandate 321, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Operating Officer — Water And Utilities Business seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the water and utilities business, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a safety and claims reset cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Operating Officer value-creation thesis for the water and utilities business, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹30,500 crore in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Operating Officer Infrastructure organisation of about 1,300 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the water and utilities business economics and execution constraints created by a safety and claims reset, with Chief Operating Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Operating Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the water and utilities business; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 321.
• Build the Chief Operating Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the water and utilities business, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the water and utilities business baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Operating Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the water and utilities business, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable water and utilities business trend against delivery reliability, productivity and end-to-end accountability, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Operating Officer’s agreed first-year water and utilities business value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Operating Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the water and utilities business’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Operating Officer mandate’s highest-priority water and utilities business risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical water and utilities business talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Operating Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Operating Officer-owned improvement in the water and utilities business operating constraint behind a safety and claims reset, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 321: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a COO, EVP Operations or Business Operations President in a listed Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the water and utilities business, your Chief Operating Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Operating Officer brief.

As a Chief Operating Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Infrastructure or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹17,700 crore and led an organisation of at least 1,000 people.

For mandate 321, the board wants two transitions: a difficult water and utilities business portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a safety and claims reset. As the prospective Chief Operating Officer for this water and utilities business, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 321 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Operating Officer role in Infrastructure is based in Mumbai; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of COO, EVP Operations or Business Operations President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven Chief Operating Officer ownership of at least ₹17,700 crore and leadership of no fewer than 1,000 employees in a comparable water and utilities business context.
• One completed Infrastructure or adjacent-sector example of operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Operating Officer-level water and utilities business consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Mumbai location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 321.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Operating Officer package is ₹3.2–4.6 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final water and utilities business scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 321 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Operating Officer appointment in Mumbai, centred on the water and utilities business, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 321.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 321. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 321.