Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) is India's leading premium pet care brand, built on the belief that pets deserve the very best. From thoughtfully designed products to expert nutrition and wellness solutions, HUFT has become the go-to destination for India's growing community of pet parents - across its own stores, website, and every major marketplace.
We are a team that moves fast, thinks customer-first, and is deeply passionate about the lives of pets and the people who love them.
About The Role
We're looking for a highly organized and execution-driven
NSO & NCG Manager (PAN India) to lead end-to-end store readiness for all new HUFT locations. This role goes beyond procurement — it's about
owning store launches on the ground, ensuring every element is delivered, installed, and operational on time across multiple cities.
The ideal candidate has hands-on experience in store rollouts, thrives in ambiguity, and can balance vendor management, cross-functional coordination, and tight timelines without dropping the ball.
- 1. New Store Openings (NSO) – End-to-End Execution Ownership
- Own end-to-end execution of all new store openings across India, ensuring every store is launched on time, fully ready, and strictly according to brand guidelines.
- Drive multiple simultaneous store rollouts across cities, managing parallel launches with strict adherence to timelines.
- Act as the single point of accountability for store readiness and go-live execution, ensuring alignment across all internal teams, vendors, and contractors.
- Manage pre-opening audits and snag closure, ensuring all issues are resolved before store launch.
- Handle on-ground execution during store setup and opening, resolving real-time challenges such as delays, installation gaps, or site issues.
- Oversee post-launch stabilization for newly opened stores for minimum 1 week, coordinating with on-ground teams to ensure smooth operations and resolution of issues.
- 2. Non-Commercial Goods (NCG) – Planning, Procurement & Deployment
- Own end-to-end planning, procurement, and deployment of all Non-Commercial Goods for new store openings.
- Ensure timely sourcing and deployment of Furniture, Slat Walls, Signage, Lighting, Tiles, SPA Equipment (ABK & Non-ABK), and Store & Spa Amazon items.
- Build and manage a PAN-India vendor ecosystem to support scalable rollouts.
- Drive vendor negotiations focused on cost savings, quality, and timely delivery.
- Track vendor performance and enforce accountability on cost, quality, and timelines.
- Standardize materials and processes across stores to drive efficiency at scale.
- 3. Cross-Functional Coordination
- Work closely with Projects, VM, IT, and Supply Chain teams to ensure end-to-end store readiness.
- Coordinate with vendors and contractors to align timelines and execution across multiple store launches.
- Manage detailed project plans, tracking milestones, risks, and dependencies for each store.
What We're Looking For Must-Have Experience
- 2–4+ years of experience in store openings, retail expansion, or project rollouts across multiple locations.
- Proven experience in vendor negotiations with measurable cost savings or efficiency improvements.
- Strong project management skills with the ability to manage timelines across cities simultaneously.
- Demonstrated ability to work with cross-functional teams including IT, VM, contractors, and operations.
Good to Have
- Experience in retail, QSR, FMCG, or D2C environments with aggressive expansion plans.
- Familiarity with store design, fit-outs, and visual merchandising execution.
- Exposure to procurement systems or project tracking tools.
What Success Looks Like
In your first 30 days: You've understood HUFT's store rollout playbook, assessed current vendors, and identified key risks in ongoing and upcoming launches.
In your first 90 days: You've successfully executed multiple store openings on time, improved vendor coordination, and driven initial cost or efficiency gains.
In your first 6 months: You're independently managing PAN-India store rollouts, consistently meeting timelines, optimizing costs, and handling on-ground challenges with minimal escalations.
Why HUFT
- Be part of one of India's most loved pet care brands at an exciting growth phase.
- Work in a high-ownership environment where you directly impact store launches across the country.
- Collaborate with passionate teams who care deeply about execution and customer experience.
- Competitive compensation with strong performance-driven growth.
Skills: openings,store,project,timelines,pan,teams,launches,management
