Vice President of Commercial Operations

Proxima Executive Search has been mandated by a 45+ year-old listed Indian engineering company serving the Defence & Aerospace sector to identify an accomplished professional for the position of Vice President – Commercial Operations, based at Ballabgarh, Haryana.
The company is entering an important phase of growth across defence, exports and strategic partnerships and is transitioning from a predominantly relationship-driven sales organisation to a structured, process-driven and scalable commercial organisation.
The Opportunity
The incumbent will build and institutionalise the commercial processes required to support the company's next phase of growth.
The role will ensure that strategic opportunities are systematically pursued, proposals are professionally managed, customer commitments are effectively executed, and commercial decisions are supported by robust CRM and management information systems.
This is a significant commercial transformation and capability-building role, rather than a conventional sales position.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Opportunity Management
Evaluate, prioritise and pursue strategic business opportunities with the Head – Sales and Management.
Develop structured capture strategies for major opportunities.
Coordinate demonstrations, field trials, technology partnerships and strategic customer engagements.
Establish opportunity-review and governance processes to improve win probability.
Proposal & Commercial Governance
Act as the custodian of the company's proposal-management process.
Institutionalise professional responses to EOIs, RFIs, RFPs and RFQs.
Coordinate technical, commercial, financial and legal inputs.
Establish proposal templates, approval workflows and review mechanisms that improve quality, responsiveness and risk management.
CRM, MIS & Key Account Management
Build and own the company's CRM and Commercial MIS framework.
Institutionalise disciplined opportunity tracking and sales forecasting.
Develop key-account plans, customer-engagement records and executive dashboards.
Ensure management has accurate and timely commercial information for decision-making.
Customer Success & Programme Execution
Drive seamless commercial handover from order receipt to execution.
Remain the custodian of customer expectations throughout the programme lifecycle.
Monitor contractual commitments, manage escalations and facilitate cross-functional coordination.
Strengthen customer confidence through proactive communication and reliable execution.
Process & Organisational Capability
Develop SOPs, governance mechanisms, performance metrics and review processes.
Build systems that enhance accountability and consistency without compromising the agility required in a growing organisation
Preferred Candidate Profile
We are looking for professionals with 18–25 years of experience across Business Operations, Commercial Operations, Proposal Management, Programme Management, Customer Success or related leadership responsibilities.
Relevant experience from Defence & Aerospace, Engineering, Capital Equipment and Industrial Automation organisations would be preferred.
About Proxima Human Capital
Proxima Human Capital is a management and leadership consulting firm established in 2008 and headquartered in Chennai. We partner with organizations to accelerate business growth by providing customized, transformational solutions aligned with their strategic objectives.
The Management Consulting practice helps organizations scale up, improve profitability, and transform business performance by strengthening five critical pillars—Strategy, People, Operations, Finance, and Markets. We also support businesses in unlocking value through strategic investor identification, mergers & acquisitions advisory, and capital market readiness.
The Leadership Consulting & Executive Search practice works closely with Boards, CEOs, and business leaders to assess leadership requirements and identify high-impact executives who can drive long-term business success. Our consultative approach ensures that leadership decisions are aligned with organizational strategy and future growth plans.

Work arrangement
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