Associate Director - Last Mile

The Associate Director – Last Mile will lead and own the strategic and operational execution of the last-mile delivery network. This role demands a hands-on leader who can scale operations, control cost, deliver on customer service commitments, and partner across functions (operations, supply chain, tech, analytics).

Key Responsibilities

- Define and execute the last-mile delivery strategy: network design, delivery partner model (in-house vs 3PL), zone modelling, service level (e.g., same-day / next-day) goals. - Own P&L, cost per order, delivery cost reduction initiatives and overall delivery network economics. - Establish and monitor key KPIs: On Time In Full (OTIF), delivery lead time, first attempt success rate, cost per delivery, returns on delivery attempts, customer satisfaction (NPS, CSAT) for last-mile. - Build, lead and scale a team of last-mile operations managers, zone leads, delivery partner managers, and field supervisors. - Drive process design and optimisation for last-mile operations: from dispatch, routing, delivery, proof of delivery, returns collection, to settlement with delivery partners. - Partner with technology & analytics teams to implement route optimisation, real-time tracking, delivery partner apps, dashboards and automated workflows. - Work with supply chain, fulfilment, and warehouse teams to ensure smooth hand-off into last mile, minimise bottlenecks, and improve end-to-end delivery speed and quality. - Manage relationships with delivery partners / couriers / fleet vendors: selection, contracting, SLAs, performance management, cost negotiations. - Plan for capacity, peak volume surges (sales/promotions/festive), geographic expansion, fleet planning and zone-infrastructure rollout. - Ensure compliance with safety, regulatory and fleet standards (if in-house vehicles), and maintain strong focus on customer experience, driver safety, and service quality. - Report to senior leadership on last-mile delivery health, present dashboards, identify risks, propose and drive corrective actions.

Required Qualifications & Experience

- Bachelor’s degree (Engineering / Supply Chain / Business) required; MBA preferred. - 8-12 years (or more) of experience in logistics, operations or supply chain roles with significant exposure to last-mile / final-mile delivery operations in e-commerce / retail / FMCG. - Proven track record of scaling delivery operations, managing large teams, geography-wide operations, and delivering cost / service improvements. - Strong analytical skills: ability to use data and metrics to drive decisions, build dashboards, define and measure KPIs. - Excellent stakeholder management skills: ability to influence across functional teams (tech/analytics/operations/finance) and senior management. - Comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment; able to handle ambiguity and change. - Strong commercial acumen: understand P&L, cost drivers, unit economics of delivery. - Experience negotiating with delivery partners / 3PLs, managing vendor contracts and service levels.