Your new company

A market-leading distribution and fulfilment organisation with a significant UK operational footprint is investing in its operational leadership capability and is seeking an experienced Distribution Manager to play a key role in the next phase of its growth and development.

This is a business that places real value on strong leadership, employee engagement and continuous improvement. The successful candidate will join a well-invested operation where they will have the opportunity to influence culture, develop talent and drive operational excellence across a fast-paced distribution environment.

Your new role

This is a highly visible leadership position with responsibility for leading a large operational team within a modern distribution environment.

Reporting into the senior operations leadership team, you will lead a leadership structure comprising 2 Supervisors and 5 Team Leaders, with overall responsibility for approximately 70 colleagues across a multi-shift distribution operation. This is a significant people leadership role requiring a visible, engaging and hands-on leader capable of developing high-performing teams and delivering operational excellence.

You will take ownership of operational performance across service, productivity, quality, turnaround times, safety and colleague engagement, ensuring operational objectives and customer expectations are consistently achieved.

The successful candidate will be a genuine people leader who enjoys developing teams, improving performance and building long-term capability. Whilst operational knowledge is important, the primary focus of this role is leading, coaching and motivating people to deliver exceptional results.

This role offers significant exposure to senior leadership and would suit an ambitious operational leader seeking to further develop their career within a large and successful distribution environment.

Key responsibilities include

Leading, managing and developing Supervisors, Team Leaders and operational colleagues across a multi-shift operation.
Driving a culture of accountability, ownership, engagement and continuous improvement throughout the distribution function.
Creating a high-performing operational environment focused on productivity, quality, service and safety.
Setting clear performance expectations and ensuring robust KPI management across all operational areas.
Monitoring operational performance, productivity, turnaround times, quality measures and service levels, implementing corrective action where required.
Balancing operational priorities to ensure customer expectations and business objectives are consistently achieved.
Coaching and mentoring frontline leaders to improve capability, performance and succession planning.
Identifying skills gaps and implementing effective training and development plans.
Managing employee relations matters including attendance, conduct, performance and disciplinary processes.
Driving employee engagement and developing an environment where individuals are motivated to achieve their full potential.
Leading continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, efficiency, operational effectiveness and quality enhancement.
Using operational data, reporting and performance metrics to identify trends and improve decision-making.
Ensuring full compliance with all health and safety, operational and company policies.
Maintaining a visible leadership presence within the operation and leading by example.
Acting as the senior operational lead in the absence of the senior manager.

What you'll need to succeed

You will be able to demonstrate

Significant leadership and people management experience within a fast-paced operational environment.
Experience leading large operational teams through Supervisors and Team Leaders.
Proven success delivering performance improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
Strong knowledge of KPI management, productivity measurement and operational performance reporting.
A track record of coaching and developing leaders and frontline teams.
Experience managing complex employee relations matters including absence, conduct and capability.
Strong understanding of warehouse, distribution or fulfilment operations within a multi-shift environment.
A data-driven approach to problem-solving and performance improvement.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills.
The ability to challenge underperformance whilst maintaining positive employee engagement.
A hands-on, visible and collaborative leadership style.
A passion for developing people and creating a culture of continuous improvement.
Experience of Lean, Continuous Improvement or Operational Excellence methodologies would be advantageous.

What you'll get in return

Salary of £45,000 - £55,000 plus benefits. (DOE)
Monday to Friday working pattern with flexibility across operational shifts when required.
Opportunity to join a well-invested, market-leading operation committed to strengthening its leadership capability and operational performance.
A role with significant influence over culture, engagement, leadership development and operational results.
Exposure to senior leadership and genuine opportunities for future career progression.
The chance to make a lasting impact through leadership, coaching, continuous improvement and team development.
A business that values strong leadership and invests in developing its people.

What you need to do now

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.

If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

Hays EA is a trading division of Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited and acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk

Distribution Manager @ Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited

About this role