Operations Director

HIVED; Gillingham; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement 25 days

Private medical insurance

Annual compensation review

MacBook Air / Windows laptop

Job summary

HIVED is seeking an Operations Director (East) to drive end-to-end performance of our East London depot, currently in Silvertown and relocating to Rainham. You will own P&L, lead hiring and org design, and sit at the Ops Leadership table with central planning and technology partners.

The role requires hands-on leadership of day-to-day operations, managing from the floor, and aligning site goals with the company’s growth strategy.

Qualifications

• 6+ years' experience leading operations teams.
• Experience owning P&L and driving cost efficiency.
• Hands-on operator with ability to manage large frontline teams.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end site performance for the East London depot, including KPI delivery and safety.
• Lead on site P&L, hiring, org design and leadership development.
• Oversee relocation readiness from Silvertown to Rainham with minimal service disruption.
• Manage day-to-day operations, shift coverage, and capability building.

Job description

About HIVED

At HIVED, we’re steamrolling forward as one of Europe’s fastest growing startups, and our momentum shows no signs of slowing.

About HIVED

At HIVED, we’re steamrolling forward as one of Europe’s fastest growing startups, and our momentum shows no signs of slowing.

Based in London, we are a climate and logistics start‑up building the first sustainable parcel delivery network at scale, powered by a 100% electric fleet. In an ever‑growing industry where unreliable service has long been the norm, HIVED has been built from the ground‑up to meet the demands of modern consumers and disrupt parcel delivery.

A tech company at heart, our talent and technology is laser‑focused on delivering the best possible delivery experience for end‑customers and meeting the needs of our retail partners. From our drivers to our data engineers, we are constantly working to improve this customer experience that makes us deliver better.

Already trusted by leading international brands such as John Lewis, Nespresso, Uniqlo, H&M brands and more, we are solidifying our position as the leaders in Europe to tackle this growing market.

Our tight‑knit team is made up of ex‑Revolut, Bain, HelloFresh, ASOS, Apple and Google employees, and we are backed by some of Europe’s leading investors and VCs in climate‑tech, logistics and mobility including Planet A Ventures, Maersk Growth, Pale Blue Dot VC, Eka Ventures, NordicNinja VC and the British government. We’re passionate about driving innovation and redefining the future of delivery.

Role Overview

The Operations Director (East) is fully responsible for end‑to‑end performance of HIVED's East London depot — currently based in Silvertown, relocating to Rainham.

Role

This role combines the hands‑on, day‑to‑day site leadership of a General Manager with director‑level seniority. This is a hands‑on leadership role — leading from the floor, owning local P&L levers, and acting as the primary link between central planning/tech and real operational execution. This includes:

• Full P&L ownership for the site
• Hiring and org‐design authority for the site's team
• A seat at the Ops Leadership table

The Operations Director (East) reports directly into the COO. A mirrored Operations Director (West) role owns HIVED's West London site on the same basis. This role includes leading the depot's relocation from Silvertown to Rainham.

Accountabilities

Accountable for end‑to‑end and day‑to‑day site performance, including:

• All on‑road activities & KPIs, including driver capacity, driver compliance, overall site performance (SLA, Delivery Success)
• All in‑depot day and night activities & KPIs, including people (labour pool, engagement, leadership succession planning), safety (auditing and near miss/incident reporting), quality (SLA, set‑off/on‑time dispatch), and cost (labour planning D+1/W+1/TPH)
• Health and Safety on‑site
• Full site P&L ownership
• Org design, headcount planning, and hiring decisions for the site's team
• Successful delivery of the Silvertown > Rainham depot relocation: site readiness, continuity of operations through the move, and team transition

Responsibilities

• On‑the‑road
  • Own DSP management and HIVED Partner Driver capacity & performance management
  • Handle driver issues, escalations & approvals
  • Own legal compliance (hours on road, breaks, safety checks) and driver incident support
  • Drive OTR KPIs: DPR, cost per route, vehicle utilisation, driver attendance, punctuality & reliability
• Under‑the‑roof
  • Own labour planning for week‑ahead & night
  • Own Sortation Handler hiring & performance management
  • Own inbound, processing, sortation, and dispatch performance, including set‑off/on‑time dispatch
  • Drive UTR KPIs: TPH and cost per parcel
• Team
  • Lead and oversee all site operations, directly managing the site's Ops Managers and Senior Ops Managers (currently 4x, with the team growing to include more senior operations managers)
  • Hours must be flexible to manage Day and Night teams — may sometimes come in for set‑off, or stay late to meet Night teams, to fully understand E2E performance and areas for improvement
  • Build a high‑performing depot team — lead & inspire, develop and performance manage the team; ensure all levels receive training and are motivated; coach Managers to develop into company leaders
  • Own org design, staffing structure, and hiring for the site, including growing the Ops Manager layer into Senior Ops Manager roles; ensure absence cover arrangements are in place
  • Responsible for Health and Safety on site; work with the H&S Manager to drive continuous improvement and embed company processes
• Overheads
  • Own full site P&L (CM2 & CM3), including budget vs. actuals; fully understand site performance and its cost drivers, contributing to central reporting as required
  • Drive continuous site improvement by proactively understanding levers, prioritising and embedding on an ongoing basis; identify CAPEX opportunities and pitch business cases
  • Own facilities, asset utilisation, and maintenance costs for the site
  • Lead the Silvertown > Rainham transition: site readiness planning, driving continuity of service and safety standards through the move, managing team communication and transition, and coordinating with central/Facilities/Property teams on the physical move

Requirements

• 6+ years' experience leading operations teams. Direct last‑mile experience is not required.
• Proven ability to manage large frontline teams via managers, including managing managers of managers as the team grows more senior
• Experience owning P&L
• Experience with org design and hiring decisions, ideally including growing/restructuring a frontline management layer
• Hands‑on operator with a strong understanding of unit economics and cost drivers
• Track record of high impact — able to ideate and implement new initiatives to drive impactful change
• Track record of running safe, reliable, high‑throughput operations
• Experience leading a site move or major operational transition with minimal service disruption is highly valued, given the planned Silvertown > Rainham relocation
• Comfortable working in fast‑changing, high‑growth environments
• Strong people leader: clear, fair, and direct
• Excellent cross‑functional stakeholder management skills

How We Reward Our Team

• Dynamic working environment with a diverse and driven team
• Huge opportunity for learning in a high growth environment, with progression opportunities based on success in the role
• 25 days of holiday allowance plus public holidays
• 1 Birthday Day Off + 2 Tenure‑Based Additional Days Off
• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance including dental, vision & mental health therapy
• Bi‑annual performance reviews and tailored development plans
• Annual compensation review
• Team lunch provided once a week
• Quarterly team socials and annual sports day (HIVED Olympics)
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption policy as day 1 right
• Community volunteer days
• Cycle to work scheme
• Dog friendly office and depots
• MacBook Air or Windows Laptop (depending on your preference)

Our Values

• We Are Kind - Kind to the planet, our team and our partners. We listen with purpose, leave our egos at the door and aren't afraid to make difficult decisions. We must never confuse kindness with being "nice" - it requires us to be fair, consistent, honest, thoughtful and compassionate.
• We Are Tenacious - We fight every day to keep the customer promise, for every parcel entrusted to us. No matter how hard it gets or whatever stands in our way, we are relentless in our pursuit of excellence.
• We Are Curious - We never settle, constantly challenge convention and are never afraid to ask why. We believe there is always more to learn, always a better way, and that we're always only just getting started. We never fight the urge to be inquisitive, to understand the world around us and to explore where others might not.
• We Are Resourceful - Our planet's resources are scarce and our future depends on our ability to use them wisely. Waste is the enemy. We strive to do more with less, be more efficient and make the most of what we have.

Want to learn more?

• HIVED is B Corporation certified
• HIVED is #7 on The Sunday Times Tech 100
• Read how HIVED raised $42M to transform parcel delivery with AI and all‑electric logistics network
• Check the Impact Reports for 2024 and 2025
• Keep up with HIVED here