Depot Front Line Manager

Allied Bakeries | part of Associated British Foods plc; Gateshead; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £46,355

6.6 weeks holiday

Pension up to 10%

Life Assurance

Simplyhealth cover

Cycle to Work

Extra Slice discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

Allied Bakeries in Gateshead is seeking a Depot Front Line Manager to lead our night operation across despatch and transport. You’ll manage a team of around 28 colleagues, including 14 despatch operatives and 14 drivers, ensuring safe, on-time departures and a smooth end-to-end operation.

This hands-on leadership role requires strong people skills, problem solving on the shop floor, and the ability to drive continuous improvement while maintaining compliance with Drivers’ Hours, Tachograph, and

Qualifications

• Experience leading a night-time depot operation.
• Experience managing despatch and driver teams.
• Knowledge of Drivers’ Hours, Tachograph, Operator Licence, Health & Safety and food safety requirements.

Responsibilities

• Leading the team – motivating, coaching and developing despatch and driver teams to deliver a safe, reliable and efficient operation.
• Keeping everything moving – overseeing the night-time depot operation and ensuring routes are accurately loaded and ready to leave on time.
• Maintaining high standards – ensuring compliance with Drivers’ Hours, Tachograph, Operator Licence, Health & Safety and food safety requirements.
• Managing performance – monitoring service, safety, compliance, attendance and productivity, and taking action where needed.
• Developing your people – providing regular feedback, coaching and support to help colleagues build capability and progress.
• Making things better – identifying opportunities to improve the way we work and supporting continuous improvement across transport and despatch.
• Solving problems – responding to operational challenges and making timely decisions to minimise disruption and protect customer service.
• Working together – building effective relationships with planning, manufacturing and other teams to keep the end-to-end operation running smoothly.
• Supporting your team day to day – carrying out return-to-work meetings, investigations, performance conversations and other people-management activities when required.

Skills

Team leadership

Coaching

Safety compliance

Despatch operations

Driver coordination

Job description

Allied Bakeries are owned by Associated British Foods. ABF is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £20.1bn and 138,000 employees in 56 countries. It has significant businesses in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia. Our sister companies in ABF UK Grocery produce products under many market-leading household brands, including Jordans, Ryvita, Pataks, Blue Dragon & Silver Spoon.

We are proud of our brands: we make top 10 UK grocery brand Kingsmill as well as Allinson’s and Sunblest. You’ll know us best through our white, wholemeal and seeded market-leading loaves, as well as Kingsmill 50/50, the nation’s favourite Healthier White, and our delicious pancakes, crumpets, hot cross buns and other bakery products.

The success of our business depends on us having the right people on the team. We are incredibly passionate about our business, but it isn’t for the faint-hearted - it’s pacey and demanding so our people need to have a positive attitude and to want to work inclusively. We take massive pride in what we do, not least in how colleagues based in our bakeries and depots have one of the best safety performance records in the industry.

Our Grocery Service Centre, based near Liverpool, is a hub for transactional activity across multiple ABF companies within the ABF Grocery division. Supporting some of our well-known brands such as Kingsmill, Pataks, Blue Dragon, Jordans, Ryvita and Silver Spoon, amongst others. We deliver Shared Service activities across a wide range of disciplines including Customer Services, Consumer Care, Finance, Payroll, HR and IS.

If you’re looking to join a business that is passionate, encourages you to be the best you can be, and values its people, we’d love to hear from you.

Overview Of Role

Location: Gateshead

Salary: £46,355 per year

Shift Pattern: 4 on, 4 off - Nights | 42 hours per week | 16:30-04:30

Contract: Permanent

Lead a team that keeps our operation moving

At Hovis Bakeries, home to some of the UK’s best-loved bread brands, our logistics teams play a vital role in getting our products to customers safely, efficiently and on time.

We’re looking for a Depot Front Line Manager to join our Gateshead team and lead our night operation across both despatch and transport.

This is a hands‑on operational leadership role where you’ll lead a team of around 28 colleagues, including:

• 14 Despatch Operatives
• 14 Class 1 and Class 2 Delivery Drivers

You’ll be visible on the floor, supporting your team, solving problems and making sure the operation runs smoothly throughout the night. Just as importantly, you’ll create an environment where people feel supported, know what’s expected of them and can perform at their best.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading the team – motivating, coaching and developing our despatch and driver teams to deliver a safe, reliable and efficient operation.
• Keeping everything moving – overseeing the night‑time depot operation and ensuring routes are accurately loaded and ready to leave on time.
• Maintaining high standards – ensuring compliance with Drivers’ Hours, Tachograph, Operator Licence, Health & Safety and food safety requirements.
• Managing performance – monitoring key measures including service, safety, compliance, attendance and productivity, and taking action where needed.
• Developing your people – providing regular feedback, coaching and support to help colleagues build their capability and progress.
• Making things better – identifying opportunities to improve the way we work and supporting continuous improvement across transport and despatch.
• Solving problems – responding to operational challenges and making timely decisions to minimise disruption and protect customer service.
• Working together – building effective relationships with colleagues across planning, manufacturing and other teams to keep the end‑to‑end operation running smoothly.
• Supporting your team day to day – carrying out return‑to‑work meetings, investigations, performance conversations and other people‑management activities when required.

What We’re Looking For

We’re proud to offer a competitive reward package and a culture that supports growth, wellbeing and development.

Our benefits include:

• Competitive salary of £46,355
• 6.6 weeks holiday entitlement
• Career development and progression opportunities
• Employee Recognition Programme celebrating safety and living our values
• Pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 10%
• Life Assurance
• Simplyhealth cash plan, helping you cover the cost of everyday healthcare expenses, including dental, optical and physiotherapy treatments
• Salary Finance, providing access to financial wellbeing tools, savings options and responsible borrowing solutions
• Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 support, legal and financial advice, and access to the My Healthy Advantage wellbeing app
• Electric Car Scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Extra Slice employee discount platform, offering savings at over 500 retailers

Our Commitment to Inclusion

At Hovis Bakeries, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and able to be themselves.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and are dedicated to creating an environment where everyone can succeed.

Ready for your next opportunity?

If you enjoy leading people, keeping a busy operation moving and making a difference to both your team and your customers, we’d love to hear from you.

Aim High | Work Together | I Do What I Say | Everybody Matters