Airfreight Operations Apprentice - Cardiff

DHL; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A global logistics company in Cardiff is seeking an Airfreight Operations Apprentice. You will support the delivery process, manage customer relationships, and ensure compliance with regulations. Ideal candidates have 5 GCSEs including Maths and English, and strong communication and interpersonal skills. The role offers a competitive salary and additional benefits, emphasizing training and development.

Benefits

Generous holiday entitlement

Pension scheme with life assurance

Employee assistance and wellbeing programme

Voluntary benefits including gym membership and discounts

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• GCSEs must include Maths and English.
• Clear communication skills are essential.
• Ability to work across teams is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Develop relationships with allocated customers.
• Process orders and create transport orders.
• Ensure compliance with export/import HMRC requirements.

Skills

Clear and concise communication skills

Ability to follow processes

Interpersonal skills

Education

5 GCSEs including Maths and English

Job description

In addition to our values, we promote an open and honest feedback culture based on Respect & Results, whereby our employees embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, while ensuring that we never compromise our integrity and compliance. As an Airfreight Operations Apprentice you will work alongside around 170 colleagues based throughout the UK to support the administration of processes and activities to deliver goods across the customers global supply chain: utilising air transportation, maximizing profitability and optimizing business and human assets in line with business strategy and objectives.

Responsibilities

• Develops relationship with allocated customers
• Accepts all orders (from customer or overseas office) and processes such.
• Creates and confirms transport order to ensure pickup of the shipment at origin.
• Process all booking to carriers and issues HAWB instructions.
• Runs all checks on HAWB prior to acceptance/print of HAWB.
• Completes all Export/Import HMRC Requirements.
• Fully ensures compliance with varying countries security needs, AMS/ACI etc.
• Prepares, controls and distributes all required Import/Export documents to counterparts (carriers, consignee, supplier) complying with regulations and internal procedures.
• Checks responses from counterparts and finalizes validation of required documents.
• Proactively informs customer on shipment status, exceptions and provides intermediate updates on incident solution.
• Provides spot quotations and closes contract.
• Performs up and cross‑selling (inbound calls) for existing customers and passes on leads to Sales.
• Takes and handles customer inquiries, e.g. Track and Trace.
• Takes customer requests with regard to Go Green topics and informs Country Go Green Head.
• Reviews reports (generated by the Performance Reporting & Exception Specialist) and sends them to the customer.
• Takes and registers all customer complaints and drives solution of customer complaints by solving it directly or assigning tasks to other functions.
• Acts as first contact point for customer claims
• Participates in joint Sales visits if necessary.
• Fully complies with GCCS input guidelines with root cause input and corrective action closure.
• Completes all financial input relating to job files (billing/cost provisions/printing of billing, invoice to customers and posting/distribution of same with required back up).
• Manages and controls Workflow on daily basis.
• Take ownership of all account queries both customer and carrier and their conclusion.
• Ensure that all customer enquiries are responded to promptly and professionally.
• Escalates issues if required
• Ensures that all interactions are compliant with DPDHL Code of Conduct and other compliance requirements e.g. anti‑corruption
• Contribute to the First Choice continuous improvement program

Qualifications

• 5 GCSEs including Maths and English
• Clear and concise communication skills (written and spoken)
• Ability to follow processes
• Ability to support a culture of continuous improvement
• Inter‑personal skills – Influencing, communication, relationship management, cultural awareness and ability to work across teams

Benefits

• A competitive salary
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Pension scheme which includes life assurance
• Access to professional employee assistance and wellbeing programme
• A competitive package of voluntary benefits including retail, entertainment, gym membership, cycle to work scheme, contribution to eye care costs, and many more discounts
• Training and Development opportunities with a strong focus on internal promotion