Website:
premiumtransfers.co.uk
Job details:
JOB DESCRIPTION
Country Manager — India
Premium Transfers Ltd | Chandigarh, India
Role
Country Manager — India
Location
Chandigarh, India (on-site).
Reports to
Director, Premium Transfers Ltd (United Kingdom)
Direct reports
Function leads across Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, IT and Finance (to be recruited), plus the existing Mohali delivery team
Employing entity
Premium Chauffeur FZE (UAE) on an interim basis, with transfer to the Indian entity on incorporation
Engagement
Full-time, permanent. Six-month probation.
Compensation
₹17–20 lacs per annum fixed (CTC), plus performance bonus of up to 2 lacs linked to the objectives in this description
ABOUT PREMIUM TRANSFERS
Premium Transfers is a London-based luxury chauffeur and private hire operator, licensed by Transport for London and by Hertsmere Borough Council. We serve corporate clients, hotels and concierge partners, weddings and events, and airport transfers across London and the South East, alongside a related UAE entity, Premium Chauffeur FZE.
We are now establishing a permanent India operation in Chandigarh. This is a build from the ground up. The person we appoint will not be inheriting a running business — they will be creating one.
THE OPPORTUNITY
We are looking for an experienced operator to establish and lead our India business: to open and run the Chandigarh office, recruit and build the marketing, sales, customer service, IT and finance functions, and take the operation to sustainable profitability.
This is a broad remit with real autonomy. You will be the senior Premium Transfers presence in India and will own the plan, the team and the numbers. You will not, however, be expected to do all five functions yourself. We expect you to hold operations and customer experience personally, and to build the remaining functions through the right hires and the right partners.
You will work closely with the Directors in the United Kingdom. We are hands-on owners, we make decisions quickly, and we expect the same in return.
WHAT YOU WILL OWN
Office establishment and operations
– Identify, secure and fit out suitable office premises in Chandigarh, within an agreed budget.
– Establish day-to-day operating rhythm: shift patterns, escalation routes, business continuity and cover arrangements across UK, UAE and India time zones.
– Put in place the vendor relationships the site needs — facilities, telecoms, connectivity, security, insurance and equipment.
– Work with our UK Directors and external advisers on the Indian entity, registrations, licences and statutory compliance.
Building the team
– Design the organisation structure and headcount plan for the site, phased against the commercial plan.
– Recruit, onboard and develop function leads for Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, IT and Finance.
– Take on line management of the existing Mohali delivery team and the project management arrangements already in place.
– Establish performance management, KPIs and review cadence for every function.
– Build a culture that reflects how we serve clients in London: precise, discreet and reliable.
Commercial performance and P&L
– Own the India P&L: revenue, cost, margin and cash.
– Build and deliver the annual operating plan and budget, agreed with the UK Directors.
– Set pricing, commercial terms and partner arrangements for the Indian market within agreed parameters.
– Take the operation to the agreed profitability milestone within the timeframe set out below.
– Report monthly to the UK on performance, pipeline, risks and forecast, with a clear view of what is on track and what is not.
Marketing and sales
– Set the India go-to-market approach for corporate, hotel and concierge, wedding and events, and airport transfer segments.
– Build a corporate and B2B sales pipeline, and personally lead the first significant client relationships.
– Oversee digital marketing, brand consistency and lead generation, working with our existing agency partners and the UK marketing function.
– Ensure all India-facing marketing is consistent with Premium Transfers brand standards.
Customer service and service quality
– Establish the customer service operation, including booking handling, escalation, complaint resolution and quality monitoring.
– Define and hold service standards that match the expectations of a premium chauffeur brand.
– Own the customer experience end to end and act as the final escalation point in India.
Technology and technical project management
– Work with our technology team and partners on the booking platform, integrations and internal systems as they affect the India operation.
– Ensure appropriate IT security, access control and data protection practice across the site, in line with UK GDPR and Indian data protection requirements.
– Act as technical project manager for technology initiatives delivered from or supported by India, including the rebuild of the customer web and booking platform, business process automation and internal tools.
– Own project scope, plans, milestones, budgets and RAID logs (risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies), and run the delivery cadence — sprint planning, stand-ups, demos and retrospectives — with in-house developers, the Mohali delivery team and external partners.
– Translate requirements from the UK Directors and function leads into clear specifications, user stories and acceptance criteria, and sign off each release against them.
– Manage third-party development partners and agencies: statements of work, competitive quotations, change control, delivery against contract and accountability for missed commitments.
– Oversee testing, user acceptance, release management and post-launch support, so that changes to customer-facing systems never disrupt live bookings in the UK.
– Report technology delivery status, risks and spend to the UK Directors as part of the monthly reporting pack.
Finance and compliance
– Establish financial controls, budgeting, invoicing, collections and management reporting, supported by a local chartered accountant and a fractional CFO rather than a full in-house finance team in the early phase.
– Ensure statutory, tax and regulatory compliance in India.
HOW SUCCESS WILL BE MEASURED
We will agree a detailed plan with you in your first month. As a guide, we expect the following:
Period
Milestone
First 30 days
Business, systems and existing team understood. Written 12-month plan and budget submitted to the UK Directors, including headcount, premises and the route to profitability.
First 90 days
Office secured and operational. First two function leads hired. Operating rhythm, reporting pack and KPIs in place. Mohali team integrated under your management. Technology project portfolio, priorities and delivery cadence agreed and running.
Six months
All five functions staffed to agreed phase-one headcount. Sales pipeline established with named target accounts. Customer service operating to agreed standards. Monthly reporting reliable and on time.
12 months
Revenue and margin targets in the agreed plan met. Operation at or ahead of the agreed profitability milestone. Team stable, with a credible succession layer beneath you.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Essential
– Twelve or more years’ experience, including at least three in a country manager, general manager, site head or equivalent role with full profit and loss responsibility.
– Demonstrable experience of setting up an operation from scratch — premises, team, systems and process — rather than only running an established one.
– Track record of recruiting and leading multi-functional teams, including at least two of marketing, sales, customer service, IT or finance.
– Strong commercial judgement, with genuine ownership of a budget and a demonstrable record of moving an operation towards profitability.
– Experience of reporting to an overseas owner or parent company, and comfort working across time zones.
– Sound working knowledge of Indian statutory, employment and tax compliance, sufficient to direct advisers and spot problems early.
– Excellent written and spoken English. Working Hindi and Punjabi.
– Willing and able to be based in Chandigarh.
Desirable
– Background in chauffeur, ground transportation, travel, hospitality, luxury services or premium logistics.
– Experience of an offshore delivery centre, shared services or global capability centre serving a UK, European or Middle Eastern parent.
– Existing corporate, hotel or concierge network in North India.
– Familiarity with booking platforms, CRM and dispatch technology.
– Hands-on technical project management experience (Agile/Scrum, Jira or similar), ideally delivering web, booking or SaaS platforms with external development partners. PMP, PRINCE2 or a Scrum certification is an advantage.
– Established recruitment network in the Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula tricity.
How you work
– You are hands-on. In the first year you will be doing as much as you are delegating.
– You are direct with bad news and early with it. We would far rather hear about a problem in week two than month three.
– You are comfortable with ambiguity and will build the structure rather than waiting to be given it.
– You hold a standard. This is a premium brand and the detail matters.
WHAT WE OFFER
– A genuine build role with the autonomy to shape the India business and the team.
– Direct access to the owners and fast decision-making, with no intervening layers.
– Fixed compensation of ₹17–20 lacs per annum (CTC), plus a performance bonus of up to [•]% linked to the milestones above.
– [Equity or long-term incentive arrangement, if offered — to be confirmed.]
– The opportunity to grow the role as the India operation scales.
TO APPLY
Please send your CV and a short note — no more than one page — covering: an operation you have set up from scratch and what it looked like twelve months in; a profit and loss you have owned and what you did with it; and why Chandigarh works for you.
Click on Apply to know more.