Head - Institutional Catering Sales - Facility Management

Key Responsibilities:

1. National Business Development & Growth Strategy:

• Develop and execute the national business development strategy for education campuses and institutional catering.
• Identify and pursue high-value business opportunities across private universities, government institutions, colleges, IITs, IIMs, and other educational establishments.
• Build a strong national pipeline of prospective institutional clients and strategic partnerships.
• Identify new markets, business segments, and geographical expansion opportunities.
• Establish annual business acquisition, revenue, and profitability targets in alignment with the CEO.
• Lead strategic initiatives to strengthen Blue Dove's market presence and competitive positioning.

2. Strategic Tender Management & Institutional Bidding:

• Lead and oversee the complete tender acquisition lifecycle, from opportunity identification to contract award.
• Monitor major tenders and RFPs through GeM, CPPP, state government portals, and direct institutional invitations.
• Drive the preparation and submission of technical bids, commercial proposals, pre-qualification documents, and compliance requirements.
• Oversee EMD, bank guarantees, presentations, technical evaluations, and client tasting rounds.
• Develop tender strategies to maximise conversion rates and secure high-value institutional contracts.
• Ensure all submissions meet commercial, technical, legal, and regulatory requirements.

3. Commercial Strategy & Financial Management:

• Lead commercial assessment and feasibility studies for prospective institutional contracts.
• Oversee campus site visits and evaluate student strength, meal requirements, kitchen infrastructure, manpower, and facility management scope.
• Work closely with Finance and Operations teams to develop detailed costing, pricing, and profitability models.
• Evaluate per-meal, per-head, and overall contract economics.
• Lead high-value commercial negotiations with institutional decision-makers.
• Ensure all new contracts meet approved gross margin and profitability benchmarks.

4. Strategic Client Relationships & Stakeholder Management:

• Build and maintain long-term relationships with university leadership, trustees, registrars, vice-chancellors, procurement heads, deans, and other senior decision-makers.
• Represent the organisation in strategic meetings, presentations, negotiations, and institutional discussions.
• Develop partnerships with leading educational groups and institutional networks.
• Act as the senior relationship owner for key strategic accounts.
• Drive contract renewals, account expansion, cross-selling, and referral opportunities.

5. Contract Acquisition, Closure & Mobilisation:

• Lead strategic opportunities from initial engagement through commercial negotiations and final contract execution.
• Ensure successful closure of large-scale institutional catering and facility management agreements.
• Coordinate with Operations, Finance, HR, and Procurement teams for smooth contract mobilisation.
• Ensure clear alignment on commercial terms, SLAs, operational deliverables, and mobilisation timelines.
• Monitor newly acquired accounts during the transition phase to ensure successful implementation.

6. National Market Intelligence & Competitive Strategy:

• Monitor industry developments, competitor activities, pricing structures, and emerging business opportunities.
• Track institutional contract cycles, renewal dates, and upcoming tender opportunities.
• Develop market intelligence reports to support strategic business decisions.
• Identify opportunities to improve win rates, strengthen pricing strategies, and increase market share.

7. Leadership, Performance Management & Reporting:

• Lead and guide the business development and tendering function at the national level.
• Establish structured business development processes, reporting systems, and performance metrics.
• Monitor pipeline value, tender conversion, contract acquisition, revenue growth, and profitability.
• Present regular business development performance reviews and strategic growth plans to the CEO.
• Build a high-performance, target-driven business development culture.

Candidate Profile:

Mandatory Requirements:

• Professional experience, with substantial experience in business development and institutional sales.
• Proven track record of winning large university, college, or institutional catering and facility management contracts.
• Strong experience with leading contract catering or facility management organisations such as Compass Group, Sodexo, or their established Indian competitors.
• Demonstrated experience in handling large-scale institutional tenders and end-to-end bidding processes.
• Strong understanding of technical, commercial, financial, and compliance aspects of institutional tenders.
• Proven expertise in commercial negotiations, costing, pricing strategy, and contract profitability.
• Experience managing strategic relationships with senior institutional stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to independently drive business acquisition and achieve revenue targets.
• Graduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• Willingness to travel extensively across India.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Existing relationships with university trustees, vice-chancellors, registrars, procurement heads, and institutional leadership.
• Experience managing GeM, CPPP, PSU, central government, and state government tenders.
• Exposure to large private universities, IITs, IIMs, and other prestigious educational institutions.
• Background in Hotel Management, Hospitality, Institutional Food Services, or Facility Management.
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification.
• Experience leading national or regional business development teams.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• National Business Growth: Annual contract value of newly acquired institutional clients
• Revenue Generation: Achievement of annual business development targets
• Tender Win Rate: Percentage of successfully converted tenders
• Pipeline Development: Value and quality of qualified national business opportunities
• Contract Profitability: Gross margins achieved against approved costing
• Strategic Partnerships: Number and value of key institutional partnerships secured
• Client Retention: Renewal rate of acquired institutional accounts
• Business Expansion: Additional revenue generated through existing accounts
• Team Performance: Achievement of business development and tendering targets