Operations Manager

at  Great Bear

Company Description
Following years of accelerated growth Culina Group is now a £2.2billion+ turnover business, employing over 22,000 staff, with a fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles. Culina Group operates from over 100+ depots across the UK and Ireland, serving more than 1,000 clients over its framework of chilled, ambient, contract packaging solutions and fresh and baked goods.
Part of the Culina Group, Great Bear is the flexible, agile ambient 3PL alternative. Great Bear is a key player in ambient 3PL with an extensive depot network and some brand new, state of the art facilities.
Job Description
Joining Great Bear as Operations Manager you will will be responsible for day to day management of the Warehouse operation along with the requirement to deputise for the General Manager on occasions. This warehouse is a complex operation delivering high levels of service for a brand market leader. You will maximize site operational performance by providing a strong ethos of leadership and colleague engagement, having complete understanding of the operation, and closely managing customer requirements and ensuring that a variety of challenging KPIs are consistently achieved.
Shifts: Monday to Friday

Key Duties

• Responsible for all warehouse operational activities on site.
• Ensure all KPI’s are achieved to consistently meet the customer’s expectations.
• Develop and lead a culture of continuous improvement with the development of new and innovative ways of working in order to enhance operational performance and people development
• Manage and develop the entire operational team, identifying key team members for the future and ensuring they are able to fuel the Company’s growth and succession plans.
• Recruit, train and retain a team of staff that are committed to quality in line with the customer’s expectations as a premium brand.
• Creation and deployment of a site communication strategy that is informative and exciting whilst ensuring full colleague involvement.
• Ensure a favorable employee relations environment exists and that all personnel issues are dealt within a legal and timely manner.
• Closely manage business financial targets to ensure the attainment of improved financial performance through effective cost management.
• Assume responsibility for ensuring that Health & Safety is ‘No1 on the agenda’ aligned with the overall site and business goals and guidelines.
• Engage effectively with the customer and any representatives who are based on site and ensure that any input is considered appropriately in a full Partnership model approach.
• Pro-actively manage any other internal or external relationships as necessary ensuring a high level of professionalism at all times.
• Identify and implement appropriate visual management techniques and control measures throughout the operation.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Well educated, ideally to degree level and with a proven track record at this level within the 3rd Party / in-house Logistics sector, you will need to be a self-starter who possess above average enthusiasm and commitment, essential attributes for the role will include:
• A demonstrable track record in managing high volume, high service driven warehouse operations.
• Ability to think and work both strategically and operationally.
• A successful builder and leader of large and diverse teams.
• A positive can do outlook with the determination and tenacity to succeed.
• Proven ability of where personal drive, commitment and enthusiasm has led to Business success
• Experience of CIP, ideally including formal programs such as Kaizan, Six Sigma and Lean would be advantageous
• Excellent communication skills, ability to converse at all levels.
• Previous knowledge and experience or a retail type environment would be an advantage.
• A highly confident and proactive individual able to represent the Company and customer.
  Additional Information
  As part of our drive to make Great Bear a great place to work. We are proud to be an inclusive and diverse organisation where we are committed to employee development and recognising success for hard working performers.
  Our dedicated learning and development programmes are open to every employee to give you the opportunity to shape your own future within logistics and continue to work in an environment where team culture thrives.

Our People are the driving force behind our success, which is why we offer a wide range of benefits which include:

• Annual Leave – Competitive holiday entitlement of 33 days inclusive of bank holidays.
• Company Bonus – We do our best work to succeed together. When we achieve our goals you’ll be rewarded through our bonus scheme
• Private Medical Cover – This gives you peace of mind, you have choice, flexibility and speed of access to the most clinically appropriate care via Bupa
• Pension scheme – we want colleagues to enjoy a comfortable retirement so we offer a great contribution of 5% employee and 8% employer
• Life Assurance - 4 x your annual salary
• Wellness – Via our Employee Assistance Programme we offer immediate access to a confidential telephone counselling and legal information service that operates 24 hours a days, 365 days a year
• Eye Care Vouchers – We can provide you with substantial savings with free eye tests and discounts on prescription glasses
• Reward & Recognition – We recognise that employees have gone the extra mile via Employee of the month and year, special recognition and long service awards.
• Everyday discounts - via our benefit platform you will have access to over 50 retailer discounts for everyday savings!

If you meet the requirements for the above role and are looking for your next career opportunity please apply now and become a part of our #WinningTea

• Responsible for all warehouse operational activities on site.
• Ensure all KPI’s are achieved to consistently meet the customer’s expectations.
• Develop and lead a culture of continuous improvement with the development of new and innovative ways of working in order to enhance operational performance and people development
• Manage and develop the entire operational team, identifying key team members for the future and ensuring they are able to fuel the Company’s growth and succession plans.
• Recruit, train and retain a team of staff that are committed to quality in line with the customer’s expectations as a premium brand.
• Creation and deployment of a site communication strategy that is informative and exciting whilst ensuring full colleague involvement.
• Ensure a favorable employee relations environment exists and that all personnel issues are dealt within a legal and timely manner.
• Closely manage business financial targets to ensure the attainment of improved financial performance through effective cost management.
• Assume responsibility for ensuring that Health & Safety is ‘No1 on the agenda’ aligned with the overall site and business goals and guidelines.
• Engage effectively with the customer and any representatives who are based on site and ensure that any input is considered appropriately in a full Partnership model approach.
• Pro-actively manage any other internal or external relationships as necessary ensuring a high level of professionalism at all times.
• Identify and implement appropriate visual management techniques and control measures throughout the operation