Operations Lead

Job Title: Operations Lead

Location: Hyderabad

Reporting To: General Manager – Process

Excellence and Quality

About Us:

KLAY is India's leading chain of Preschools and Daycare centres, supporting over 60,000 families by providing high-quality early childhood learning and care. Our centres focus on creating a safe, nurturing, and engaging environment for children through structured pedagogy, experienced facilitators, and best-in-class operational standards.

To strengthen service delivery and operational excellence across our centres, we are expanding our Quality and Process Governance framework and are looking for a Quality Auditor to drive audit, compliance, and continuous improvement across our centres.

Role Overview:

The Quality Auditor – Service Delivery & Operations will be responsible for ensuring consistent implementation of operational standards, service delivery protocols, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across KLAY centres.

The role will conduct structured quality audits, evaluate service delivery standards, analyse operational data, and drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to ensure centres maintain the highest standards of safety, child care, and parent experience.

This role combines operational auditing, data-driven quality analysis, and process improvement to support the organization's commitment to excellence.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Centre Quality Audits2

• Conduct periodic and surprise audits of centres to evaluate service delivery standards.

• Assess compliance with SOPs, operational protocols, and safety standards.

• Evaluate quality across key areas including:

•  

• Child safety and supervision

• Classroom processes

• Hygiene and infrastructure

• Parent experience

• Documentation and compliance

• Staff adherence to operational standards

• • Prepare structured audit reports with scoring and observations.

2. SOP Compliance Monitoring

• Evaluate adherence to existing Standard Operating Procedures.

• Identify gaps in execution and operational deviations.

• Recommend improvements to strengthen process compliance.

3. Corrective & Preventive Action (CAPA)

• Drive closure of audit observations through structured CAPA frameworks.

• Track and monitor corrective actions implemented by centres.

• Ensure systemic improvements rather than one-time fixes.

4. Escalation Review & Risk Identification

• Review operational escalations and complaints.

• Conduct root cause analysis for recurring operational issues.

• Identify early warning signals for quality risks.

5. Data Analysis & Quality Insights

• Analyze audit data to identify patterns, trends, and operational risks.

• Use statistical and analytical tools to derive quality improvement insights.

• Support the Process Excellence team with trend reports and dashboards.

6. SOP Development & Process Improvement

• Support development and documentation of new SOPs and operational frameworks.

• Recommend process improvements based on audit findings.

• Collaborate with operations teams to simplify and strengthen operational workflows.

7. Quality Governance & Reporting

• Maintain audit documentation and compliance records.

• Publish monthly quality performance reports.

• Present findings and improvement recommendations to leadership.

Key Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Quality Management, or related field.

Experience: 3–6 years of experience in Quality Assurance, Audit, or Process Compliance roles.

Experience in service industry audits (education, hospitality, healthcare, retail, daycare preferred).

Skills:

Strong understanding of audit methodologies and compliance frameworks.

Analytical mindset with ability to derive insights from operational data.

Knowledge of CAPA and root cause analysis techniques.

Strong documentation and reporting skills.

Excellent observation and attention to detail.

Tools

Proficiency in Excel / Google Sheets

Basic understanding of data analysis and reporting tools.

Behavioural Competencies

• High integrity and objectivity

• Strong observational capability

• Analytical thinking and problem solving

• Ability to challenge operational practices constructively

• Effective communication and stakeholder management

Travel Requirement

This role requires frequent travel across centres within the assigned region for audit and quality assessment.

KPI

Measurement

Centre Audit Coverage

% of centres audited vs plan

SOP Compliance Score

Average compliance score across centres

CAPA Closure Rate

% of corrective actions closed within timeline

Recurring Issue Reduction

Reduction in repeat audit observations

Escalation Trend Reduction

Reduction in operational complaints

Audit Insight Reports

Timely submission of quality analytics

Why Join Us?

•  

• Lead organization-wide transformational initiatives in a high-growth service sector.

• Work in a dynamic, customer-focused, and innovation-driven environment.

• Play a key leadership role in shaping the future of process excellence in the education sector.

If you are passionate about process optimization, customer excellence, and driving transformation at scale, we invite you to apply.