Lead Forklift Operator

Butternut Box; Worksop; On-site; GBP 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A pet food manufacturer in Blyth, Doncaster, seeks a Lead Forklift Operator to oversee the warehouse team and ensure smooth operations. The ideal candidate will have forklift operation experience, strong leadership skills, and a commitment to safety. This full-time role offers a competitive wage of £13.78 per hour plus a shift premium, with various employee benefits like medical insurance and gym discounts.

Benefits

Holiday entitlement

Private medical insurance

Gym discounts

Pension scheme

Employee discounts on products

Refer-a-friend bonus up to £500

Qualifications

• Essential leadership experience in warehouse or manufacturing.
• Experience driving a Reach Truck is critical.
• Comfortable working in chilled/freezer environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate warehouse team activities.
• Operate mechanical handling equipment and perform quality checks.
• Complete stock counting and ensure safety procedures.

Skills

Leadership

Forklift operation

Safety compliance

Team coordination

Computer proficiency

Tools

Reach Truck

Counterbalance forklift

PPT

Job description

Overview

Location: Blyth Services S81 (near Worksop)

Join the paw-some team at Rudie\'s Kitchen, part of Butternut Box, where we cook up tails of success and wagging tails. We are looking for hard-working dog lovers to join our manufacturing team in Blyth, Doncaster. The role offers a competitive wage of £13.78 per hour plus a shift premium of 20% (equating to £16.54 per hour) with a base salary of £29,468 and a 20% raise to £35,387.

A bit about us

Butternut Box aims to deliver health and happiness to dogs and their humans worldwide. We operate a large kitchen in Blyth, Doncaster, where we prepare our meals using human-quality ingredients, package them, and dispatch orders across the UK. We are a close-knit team with a family feel and are looking to welcome more like-minded people who value a fun and enjoyable work environment.

Role type and hours

This is a full-time permanent contract. You will work an average of 41 hours per week on a rotating shift pattern that includes days, nights, and some weekend work. Typical shifts are 7:00 to 19:00 for days and 19:00 to 07:00 for nights. Example patterns include:

• 4 on, 4 off = 2 days, 2 nights
• 5 on, 5 off = 3 days, 2 nights
• 5 on, 5 off = 2 days, 3 nights

A bit about the role

As a Lead Forklift Operator you will report to the Warehouse Team Leader and lead our Warehouse team. We have 3 Lead Operators per shift and collectively oversee and support 12 operational team members, ensuring smooth warehouse operations including but not limited to:

• Goods in (in-take)
• Moving raw materials to production
• Moving finished goods to fulfilment for customer orders
• Loading trailers with packed customer orders
• Export to European markets

Responsibilities and expectations

• Plan and coordinate activities, including direct reports’ schedules and productivity, on your own initiative and escalate issues to the Team Manager as required
• Be a hands-on leader, carrying out tasks when required and setting a best-practice example
• Demonstrate the company values at all times
• Work safely, following procedures and wearing PPE, while ensuring the team does the same
• Operate mechanical handling equipment (MHE) such as reach trucks, counterbalance, and ride-on forklifts (PPT) as required, performing quality checks for safety
• Complete stock counting and systems transactions, including data entry
• Serve as the point of contact for the Team Manager for shift updates
• Attend Short Interval Control meetings (SIC) and occasional Daily Review Meetings (DRM)
• Demonstrate essential leadership experience in a warehouse, logistics, or manufacturing environment; experience driving a Reach Truck is essential
• Be computer confident and comfortable with online systems (we are a paperless company)
• Experience training a team is advantageous; willingness to learn is essential
• Maintain a safe working environment and keep the squad safe at all times
• Able to understand and work with numbers
• Happy with rotating shifts (days/nights and some weekends)
• Hard-working, diligent, and eager to learn
• Comfortable working with raw materials (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb) and in chilled/freezer environments
• Flexible, pragmatic, resilient, and humble
• Committed to food quality and safety
• Loves dogs by nature
• Employee benefits include holiday entitlement, include annual leave with enhancements for long service, pre-booked days, training budgets, private medical insurance, dental cover, gym discounts, staff meals and discounts for Butternut Box products, and more
• Butternut branded uniform provided; enrolment in pension scheme and sick pay; enhanced parental leave; on-site facilities including showers and lockers
• Access to learning and development opportunities and a vibrant, high-performing team
• Refer-a-friend bonus of up to £500; free parking and electric car charging

A Few Things to Chew On

• Role is based in Blyth, Doncaster (A1(M) and A614 Hill Top Roundabout, Blyth S81 8HG)
• We do not use external recruitment agencies for this role
• We aim to respond to all applicants; however, due to high volume, not all may receive a reply
• We value diversity and inclusion; you may complete the application in your native language and we will translate afterwards

We look forward to receiving your application!

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