Graduate Business Operations Executive

apetito Limited; Trowbridge; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Living wage salary

25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

Discretionary annual bonus

Pension scheme (employer matched)

Life assurance

Christmas turkey or voucher

Apetito perks scheme

Salary sacrifice options and retail/lu

UK travel and relocation support

Job summary

apetito Limited, via Wiltshire Farm Foods, offers a two-year graduate programme focused on operational leadership. You will rotate through frontline roles, gain customer-facing experience, and lead improvement projects sponsored by General Managers, with travel across the UK and all related expenses covered. The program culminates in readiness for a Retail Sales & Operations leadership role and future development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Ambitious graduates with a 2:1 degree or higher within the last two years.
• Strong interest in operations, people management and leadership.
• Passionate about delivering excellent customer service and experience.
• Confident in building relationships with diverse teams.
• Comfortable using data and interpreting performance measures.

Responsibilities

• Support people management, motivate colleagues and build engagement.
• Develop leadership skills to manage day-to-day operations and decisions.
• Monitor KPIs and drive actions to improve performance and growth.
• Support local sales activity and customer acquisition efforts.
• Champion customer service and resolve issues promptly.
• Assist with stock and fleet management to maintain efficiency.
• Understand cost lines and budgets to improve profitability.

Skills

People management

Leadership

Customer service

Data interpretation

Microsoft Office

Education

2:1 degree or above (last 2 years)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

This exciting two-year graduate programme offers a fast-paced operational and people leadership career pathway within Wiltshire Farm Foods.

Graduates will gain immediate customer-facing experience, completing all frontline roles before progressing into supervisory leadership and a management placement with increasing accountability for people and performance.

Alongside hands‑on operational experience, graduates will lead General Manager sponsored improvement projects focused on local growth, developing commercial, analytical and project leadership skills.

The programme builds capability across team leadership, customer service, sales growth, operational efficiency and cost management. On successful completion, graduates will be ready to progress into a Retail Sales & Operations leadership role and future development opportunities.

With Wiltshire Farm Foods depots located across the country, you’ll be based at a depot carefully selected to support your development, match your aspirations and give you the opportunity to make a real impact.

You’ll need to be flexible and willing to travel including staying away from home will be part of the program, with all associated expenses covered.

Who we are

Wiltshire Farm Foods, part of the apetito group, is the UK’s largest ready-meal supplier, cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK primarily to the elderly, their family members and healthcare professionals.

We’re dedicated to making a real difference to our customers' lives, by bringing sunshine to their doors through our commitment to provide good old-fashioned service.

Our intense pride drives us to continuously innovate and improve, ensuring our products and service exceed our customers' needs.

This is all whilst being an ethical and sustainable organisation that believes in doing the right thing.

Responsibilities

• People Management – Support, motivate and develop colleagues, building engagement, accountability and a positive team culture.
• Operational Leadership – Develop the confidence and leadership skills to manage day-to-day operations, make effective decisions and deliver consistently high standards.
• KPI & Performance Management – Monitor key operational and commercial KPIs, identifying performance gaps and supporting actions to improve and grow your business.
• Sales & Business Growth – Support local sales activity, customer acquisition and retention initiatives to contribute to local business growth.
• Customer Service – Champion excellent customer service, understanding customer needs and helping resolve issues quickly and professionally.
• Stock Management – Support effective stock control, availability, ordering, while maintaining appropriate stockholding levels.
• Fleet Management – Assist with the efficient management of the vehicle fleet, including utilisation, compliance, availability and operational performance.
• Cost & Financial Control – Develop an understanding of key cost lines, budgets and operational expenditure, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and profitability.
• Retail & Operational Management – Gain hands‑on experience across the operation, developing strong commercial awareness and an understanding of how people, service, sales and costs combine to drive performance.
• Health, Safety & Compliance – Take responsibility for supporting a safe working environment, ensuring colleagues follow health and safety procedures and promoting a strong safety-first culture.

About you

We’re looking for an ambitious, commercially minded graduate who is excited by the opportunity to build a career in operational leadership. You’ll be:

• Achieving a 2:1 degree or above within the last two years, ideally in a business, management or operations-related discipline.
• Strong interest in business operations, people management and leadership.
• Passionate about delivering excellent customer service and creating a positive customer experience.
• Confident in building strong relationships with a diverse range of people and teams.
• A strong communicator, both written and verbal, with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Comfortable presenting ideas and information to different audiences.
• Confident using Microsoft Office, with strong general IT skills.
• Comfortable working with data and able to interpret information and performance measures confidently.
• A creative problem solver who enjoys finding practical solutions to challenges.
• Naturally inquisitive, with a desire to understand how and why things work.
• Passionate about continuous improvement and always looking for ways to make things better.
• Detail‑oriented and organised, while maintaining sight of the bigger picture.
• A collaborative team player who can thrive in a high‑performing, fast‑paced operational environment.
• Confident, outgoing and enthusiastic, with the ambition to develop into a future operational leader.
• Ideally able to demonstrate previous experience in retail, customer service, hospitality or another customer‑facing operations environment.
• In possession of a valid UK driving licence ideally for at least 2 years.
• Flexible and comfortable with regular travel across the UK as part of the programme.

The graduate scheme is for 2 years. You must hold right to work for at least the full duration of the graduate scheme to be eligible for this role.

This role is not eligible for sponsorship under the skilled worker route as it does not meet the minimumrequirements set out under the UK Immigration Rules.

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

Our Values

As a family‑owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well‑being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.