Functional Expert, Warehouse

John Lewis & Partners; Darwen; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Herbert Parkinson, part of the John Lewis Partnership, is seeking a Warehouse/Logistics Associate at our Darwen site. You will support safe receiving, storage, picking and despatch of materials and finished goods to meet branch KPIs, reporting to the Planning & Logistics Manager.

The role offers a fixed pattern of hours and a competitive salary depending on experience. We value a proactive, safety-conscious team player who can operate FLTs and other equipment, work across shifts if needed, and

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in a Warehouse, Stock control role
• Strong capacity to prioritise, multitask, and manage competing deadlines
• Flexible, adaptable and able work well under pressure in a dynamic environment
• Licence to operate FLT, Wave trucks & other relevant Warehouse equipment / Ability to obtain licence via training

Responsibilities

• Promote a positive Health & Safety culture and maintain housekeeping; coordinate recycling and address opportunities
• Book in and safely store incoming deliveries and report discrepancies
• Purchase picking of materials to feed manufacturing lines and update inventory promptly
• Carry out regular inventory checks and ensure stock is accurately reflected in systems
• Investigate issues and implement corrective actions where appropriate
• Operate warehouse vehicles and equipment safely and perform daily checks with PPE
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to locate and prepare customer orders for despatch
• Coordinate with transport partners to ensure timely delivery of orders
• Assist Planning & Logistics Manager to optimise warehouse labour planning
• Motivate the team and support Partners to achieve performance targets
• Ensure Partners have tools and equipment needed to perform their roles
• Maintain a safe, clean and tidy work environment and report unsafe conditions

Skills

Warehouse experience

Prioritisation

Multitasking

Adaptability

FLT licence

Health & safety awareness

Problem solving

Continuous improvement

Project work

Job description

About The Role

At Herbert Parkinson, a proud and historic part of the John Lewis Partnership, we are embarking on an exciting transformation journey to secure our long-term success. By investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, streamlining our operations, and creating broader, more fulfilling roles for our Partners, we are building a more sustainable and agile future. Join us as we continue to deliver exceptional quality and service for our customers while empowering our partners to thrive Reporting directly to the Planning & Logistics Manager, you will support & assist warehouse and logistics operations to ensure the safe, efficient receipt, storage, picking, and despatch of raw materials, consumables, and finished goods. In this role, you will power manufacturing operations and meet customer demand while driving key branch KPIs

• Expected salary - £31,700-£47,500 (dependent on experience)
• Contract type - This position is a Permanent role. 38.75 Hours per week
• Location - This role is based at our Herbert Parkinson Office in Darwen Nr Manchester.
• Hours of work - 08:00 - 16:00

About The Role

At Herbert Parkinson, a proud and historic part of the John Lewis Partnership, we are embarking on an exciting transformation journey to secure our long-term success. By investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, streamlining our operations, and creating broader, more fulfilling roles for our Partners, we are building a more sustainable and agile future. Join us as we continue to deliver exceptional quality and service for our customers while empowering our partners to thrive Reporting directly to the Planning & Logistics Manager, you will support & assist warehouse and logistics operations to ensure the safe, efficient receipt, storage, picking, and despatch of raw materials, consumables, and finished goods. In this role, you will power manufacturing operations and meet customer demand while driving key branch KPIs

• Expected salary - £31,700-£47,500 (dependent on experience)
• Contract type - This position is a Permanent role. 38.75 Hours per week
• Location - This role is based at our Herbert Parkinson Office in Darwen Nr Manchester.
• Hours of work - 08:00 - 16:00

Key Responsibilities

• Promote a positive Health & Safety and Continuous Improvement culture, ensuring high standards of housekeeping are maintained. Ensure recycling tasks across production and warehouse, including coordinating collection, sorting, and processing activities. All accidents, near misses & areas for opportunity are communicated and addressed
• Ensure the timely & accurate booking in & safe put away of all incoming deliveries through our in-house systems, reporting any discrepancies identified
• Ensure the timely and accurate picking of materials to feed manufacturing lines, confirming all inventory movements promptly in the system
• Conduct regular inventory checks to ensure physical stocks are accurately reflected on systems.
• Investigate issues identified and resolve / escape where appropriate.
• Operate all Warehouse vehicles and equipment in a safe manner, with the relevant PPE, adhering to SOP’s. Ensuring all daily start up checks are performed prior to use
• Collaborate with cross-functional internal stakeholders to ensure all customer orders are accurately located, consolidated, and ready for despatch to meet customer requirements
• Collaborate with transport partners & field team to ensure timely & accurate delivery of all customer orders
• In addition to fulfilling Warehouse activities, you will liaise with the Planning & Logistics Manager to optimise the Warehouse labour plan to meet customer requirements
• You will motivate the team; supporting & encouraging all partners to achieve performance targets, sharing performance concerns through your direct reporting line
• Ensure Partners have all the relevant tools & equipment to perform their role inclusive of available & working equipment
• Ensure the work environment - internal & external, is kept safe, clean and tidy, reporting any concerns of unsafe, hazardous activity through your reporting line

Essential Skills/experience You’ll Need

• Demonstrable experience in a Warehouse, Stock control role
• Strong capacity to prioritise, multitask, and manage competing deadlines
• Flexible, adaptable and able work well under pressure in a dynamic environment
• Licence to operate FLT, Wave trucks & other relevant Warehouse equipment / Ability to obtain licence via training

Desirable Skills/experience You May Have

• Sound knowledge of Continuous improvement methodologies, problem solving & root cause analysis.
• Recognised health and safety qualification (e.g., NEBOSH, IOSH
• Experience working with projects and with collation of goods for projects

About The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorthour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.