Head of Final Mile - London and South East

Smiths News plc; Greater London; In loco; GBP 70.000 - 75.000; Tempo pieno

Vantaggi offerti da questo lavoro

Car allowance

Company bonus

Health cash plan

25 days holiday

Training and development

Descrizione del lavoro

Smiths News plc is seeking a Head of Final Mile to lead regional operations across London and the South East. The role requires turning strategy into regional delivery with strong governance, holding site leaders accountable for Cost, People, Service and Compliance.

You will guide performance, challenge sites, and build capability across Regional Operations Managers. A pivotal moment in our growth, this position offers influence over how the region scales and delivers results.

Competenze

• Strategic delivery for regional operations across multiple sites.
• Lead and develop regional Operations Managers and site leaders.
• Manage budgets, costs and contractor spend with governance.
• Drive standardisation, visual management and continuous improvement.
• Maintain safety and compliance culture across regions.

Mansioni

• Translate network vision into measurable regional actions.
• Build and mentor regional leaders and managers.
• Oversee regional P&L and cost drivers.
• Champion standardisation and continuous improvement across sites.
• Ensure safety and compliance across all operations.

Conoscenze

Strategic execution

Leadership

Financial acumen

Operational excellence

Safety & compliance

Influence & collaboration

Customer focus

Multi-site leadership

People coaching

Strumenti

Budget ownership

P&L management

Descrizione del lavoro

£70,000 to £75,000 per annum plus £5,688 per annum car allowance, bonus and benefits.

Field based role - London and South East - Hammersmith, Broxbourne Hornsey, Crawley, Croydon, Eastourne, Maidstone, SE London, Slough, Hemel, Milton Keynes, Stevenage

Our reputation as the UK’s largest newspaper and magazine wholesaler speaks for itself. Every day, we serve more than 22,000 customers from 34 distribution centres across the country. Behind every nightly miracle is a team of dedicated people carrying out more roles than you realise – we’re the unseen force that delivers. So when we say we’re excited for what the future holds for our customers and colleagues, you can trust we’re as good as our word.

Going national is not simply about scale; we are securing the future of print media, investing in long‑term partnerships, and creating opportunities for our people, customers and stakeholders for years to come. Be part of the journey, join the team!

As our business continues to grow, we're excited to introduce this brand‑new hands on regional leadership role. It's a fantastic opportunity to join us at a pivotal moment, influence how the role develops, and be part of our ongoing success story.

About the role

The Head of Final Mile is one of four regional leadership roles reporting to the Final Mile Director. Each Head provides end-to-end leadership for an allocated region and is accountable for consistent performance across Cost, People, Service and Compliance (CPSC).

The role turns strategy into regional delivery through strong governance and disciplined leadership. All four Heads share the same core accountabilities, adjusted only for regional scale and complexity.

The successful candidate will be expected to understand what is happening across their sites, challenge performance constructively and build the capability of their Regional Operations Managers and site leaders.

See job description for full job details.

What we can offer you

Not only do we offer free onsite parking, 4x salary life assurance and 5% match pension but you’ll also have access to:

• £5,688 per annum car allowance
• Company bonus
• Company funded Health Cash Plan – providing cash back for everyday healthcare costs such as dental, optical and physiotherapy
• 25 days holiday plus holiday buy scheme
• 24/7 E-Learning modules, Training and Development opportunities
• Sharesave Scheme, Cycle to work schemes, Health cash plan
• Private medical insurance
• Colleague Assistance Programme & Colleague referral scheme

About you

• Strategy Execution - Translates network vision into measurable regional actions.
• Leadership - Builds and mentors high‑performing Regional Operations Managers and site leaders.
• Financial Acumen - Manages regional P&L, cost drivers, and contractor spend effectively.
• Operational Excellence - Champions standardisation, visual management, and continuous improvement.
• Safety and Compliance - Maintains a safety‑always culture with rigorous compliance discipline.
• Influence and Collaboration - Builds trust and alignment across central functions and stakeholders.
• Custome Focus - Anticipates and resolves service challenges to maintain customer confidence.
• Strong multi‑site operational leadership experience within a complex, fast‑paced environment.
• Evidence of delivering performance through others, with clear accountability for cost, service, people and compliance.
• Strong people leadership and coaching capability, including developing managers and addressing underperformance.
• Commercial and financial experience, including ownership of budgets, cost drivers and performance improvement.
• The confidence and credibility to challenge, influence and work across operational and central teams.

Please note: you must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for this position.

A career with us is a career filled with people, pride, and passion. We rely on each other to get the job done, and we deliver what we say we will. Let’s see if we can rely on you, too.