Removalist Driver / Leading Hand - Sydney Rail & Interstate

Port Removals PTY LTD; Sydney; On-site; AUD 52,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Uniform supplied

Licence upgrade support

Travel allowance

Paid accommodation on overnight trips

Job summary

Port Removals & Storage is expanding into Sydney with a hands-on Removalist Driver/Leading Hand role. You will drive container trucks, load and secure removals, and lead a small crew on daily operations between Sydney, Canberra and interstate routes.

The successful candidate will have at least five years in furniture removals, two years in crew leadership, an HR licence, and a forklift permit. You’ll work on rail/intermodal tasks and be part of a growing Sydney depot.

Qualifications

• At least five years in furniture removals, including two years running a crew as a leading hand or supervisor.
• Confident using a smartphone for inventories, photos and job finalisation.
• Sound understanding of fatigue management and Chain of Responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Operate container trucks across metro, regional and interstate work.
• Load, secure and unload containers with attention to weight distribution.
• Brief and lead the crew, including offsider and hired labour on larger jobs.
• Maintain safety and load restraint per Load Restraint Guide.
• Record weights, complete declarations and manage terminal bookings.

Skills

Leading hand experience

Manual handling

Fatigue management

Team leadership

Education

Certificate III in Furniture Removal or Driving Operations

Job description

Removalist Driver / Leading Hand - Sydney Rail & Interstate

Port Removals & Storage is a family run removals and storage business operating since 1992. From our Port Macquarie head office we move families and businesses along the east coast, Melbourne through to Hervey Bay, and every job is delivered as a Fixed Price Move Plan so our customers know exactly where they stand before we arrive.

We are now setting up a Sydney base and moving a large share of our interstate volume onto rail between Sydney and Brisbane. Sydney is a container operation: we run containers and container trucks there, not pantechs.

About the role

This is the first position we are putting into Sydney, so you are the business in that city. You will be on the tools doing the removals work yourself every day, and you are the senior person on the ground as we build the base up around you.

We are putting two people into Sydney from the start: you and an offsider working alongside you, with extra hired in labour on the bigger jobs. Be straight with yourself about what that means day to day. You will be carrying, wrapping and loading yourself on every job, not supervising from the side, and you will be the one who teaches your offsider how we do things, because you are the only person in Sydney who will know. If you are looking to stop doing the physical work, this is not the role. If you want to build a city from the first truck, it is.

Your week is a mix of three things:

Local and metro Sydney removals.

Household and office moves across greater Sydney, loaded into containers to our standard and finalised in the app before you leave site.

Canberra and regional runs.

Road work between Sydney, Canberra and the Southern Highlands, with the occasional overnight stay.

Rail linehaul work.

Packing, weighing, restraining and sealing removal containers, delivering and collecting at Sydney intermodal terminals, and running containers through our Sydney yard for the Sydney to Brisbane service.

How the role works with head office

Our sales team and our operations team both sit at our Port Macquarie head office, and that is where all sales, pricing and job scheduling are handled. You are never asked to sell, quote or dispatch. What you own is the execution: the truck, the load, the crew on the day and the customer in front of you.

You will speak to the operations team every day, and one of them will be in Sydney with you every week. That is deliberate. You have someone alongside you rather than being left to work it out on your own, and it keeps the way we load, the way we use our software and the way we look after customers the same in Sydney as it is in Port Macquarie. You will need to be comfortable working to an established standard.

What you will be doing

Operating our container trucks across metro, regional and interstate work

Loading, securing and unloading containers on and off the truck, including at properties with tight access

Packing removal containers to maximise cube without compromising the load, with correct weight distribution

Applying load restraint that meets the Load Restraint Guide, including decking, strapping, bracing and void filling

Recording container weights, completing weight and packing declarations, and fitting and recording seals

Booking and meeting terminal slots and gate cut off times, and managing container lodgement and collection paperwork

Briefing your crew at the start of every job and holding the standard on wrapping, padding, tie downs and property protection

Working the weekly visit from our operations team as a working session rather than an inspection: raise problems, get decisions made

Inducting and training your offsider in our loading standard, our paperwork and our customer approach

Supervising hired in labour on the larger jobs

Completing inventories, condition reports and job finalisation in our app on the phone before leaving site

Walking the property with the customer on arrival, confirming the plan and setting expectations for the day

Working within Chain of Responsibility obligations, maintaining an accurate work diary and managing fatigue within legal limits

What you need

Current HR licence as a minimum, with a clean driving record and no suspensions in the past three years

Current forklift licence (LF high risk work licence)

Experience driving a container truck: side loader, tilt tray, skel or flat bed carrying 20ft and 40ft containers

At least five years in furniture removals, including at least two years running a crew as a leading hand, 2IC or crew leader

Experience packing and restraining removal containers for rail or sea transport

Working knowledge of intermodal terminal procedures: slot bookings, gate cut offs, seals and weight declarations

Sound understanding of fatigue management, work diaries and Chain of Responsibility

Confident using a smartphone for inventories, photos and job finalisation

Physically fit and able to carry out sustained manual handling across a full day

Australian work rights, and willing to complete a national police check and a pre employment medical including drug and alcohol screening

Available for the occasional overnight or multi day trip

Still wanting to be on the tools, reliable and self starting with nobody standing over you, and comfortable following an established process rather than reinventing it

Highly regarded

HC or MC licence

Container handling experience on a forklift in a yard environment

Experience with pianos, safes, antiques, artwork or other high value and awkward items

Experience opening or running a new depot, yard or branch

Certificate III in Furniture Removal or Driving Operations

What we offer

[$38] to [$45] per hour, plus overtime and allowances

Leading hand allowance on top of your base rate

Travel allowance and paid accommodation on overnight trips

Uniform supplied, and licence upgrade support for the right person

A genuine growth path: as the Sydney base and the rail service build out, this role is the natural first step toward a Sydney supervisor or depot lead position

A family run business where the owner knows your name and decisions get made quickly

Port Removals & Storage is an equal opportunity employer.