Felixstowe European Roadfreight Operations Leader

Metro; Felixstowe; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Health & wellness perks

Health cash plan

Octopus EV car scheme

Free onsite parking

Respectful, inclusive culture

Ongoing training and development

Job summary

Metro is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to establish and lead its Felixstowe European Roadfreight operation. This role combines hands-on management with strategic leadership to drive growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction in a fast-paced environment.

Initially you will oversee accounts, operations and service delivery while laying foundations for a scalable operation. You will recruit and develop a dedicated team, build a culture of excellence, and work with the Commercial Team

Qualifications

• Experience within European Roadfreight operations.
• Strong knowledge of LTL, groupage, part-load, and full-load movements.
• Proven experience managing customer relationships.
• Previous leadership or management experience within freight forwarding.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of profitability.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills.
• Ability to make decisions and perform effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the day-to-day European Roadfreight operation in Felixstowe.
• Ensure shipments are executed efficiently, accurately, and profitably.
• Drive operational excellence through KPI delivery, service standards, and best practice.
• Act as the senior escalation point for operational issues and customer concerns.
• Develop scalable processes and procedures to support future growth.
• Deliver continuous improvement across service, efficiency, and operational performance.
• Recruit, train, and develop future operational team members.
• Create a positive, accountable, and performance-driven culture.
• Coach, mentor, and develop employees through regular reviews and development plans.
• Ensure effective workload allocation and resource planning.
• Build a team capable of supporting significant future growth.
• Build strong relationships with key customers and become a trusted operational partner.
• Support customer retention through exceptional service delivery.
• Attend customer meetings and reviews where required.
• Identify opportunities to enhance service levels and customer experience.
• Support the successful onboarding of new customers.
• Maintain visibility of profitability, gross margin, and operational costs.
• Work closely with the Commercial Team to support business growth.
• Contribute to customer quotations and operational solutions.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, maximise revenue, and protect margins.
• Support the continued growth of Metro's European Roadfreight division.
• Develop strong relationships with carriers, groupage partners, and suppliers.
• Monitor supplier performance against agreed service levels.
• Support supplier reviews and procurement initiatives.
• Drive performance and accountability throughout the supplier network.

Skills

European roadfreight operations

LTL movements

Groupage movements

Part-load movements

Full-load movements

Customer relationship management

Leadership

Commercial awareness

Communication

Organisational skills

Decision making in fast-paced env

Tools

CargoWise

Job description

Metro is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to establish and lead its Felixstowe European Roadfreight operation. This role combines hands-on management with strategic leadership to drive growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction in a fast-paced environment.

Initially you will oversee accounts, operations and service delivery while laying foundations for a scalable operation. You will recruit and develop a dedicated team, build a culture of excellence, and work with the Commercial Team