Senior Ocean Freight Operations Lead — Southampton (37.5h)

SDW Recruitment Limited; Southampton; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Benefits package

Generous holiday entitlement

Pension & life cover

Wellbeing support

Training & development

37.5-hour week

Job summary

SDW Recruitment Limited seeks an experienced Ocean Freight Operations Manager to lead Southampton's busy ocean freight desk, take ownership of day-to-day operations, and drive profitability and customer service excellence.

You will coach the team, manage budgets and P&L, build strong relationships with carriers and customers, and push for continuous improvements in process efficiency.

Qualifications

• Proven management experience within freight forwarding.
• Strong knowledge of ocean freight imports and exports.
• Commercial awareness and P&L understanding.
• Confident leadership and people management skills.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop the Ocean Freight team.
• Oversee operational budgets and P&L for the department.
• Improve processes, efficiency and profitability.
• Build strong relationships with customers, carriers and suppliers.
• Drive KPIs, service standards and business growth.

Skills

Proven management experience

Ocean freight knowledge

P&L understanding

Leadership

Problem solving

Job description

SDW Recruitment Limited seeks an experienced Ocean Freight Operations Manager to lead Southampton's busy ocean freight desk, take ownership of day-to-day operations, and drive profitability and customer service excellence.

You will coach the team, manage budgets and P&L, build strong relationships with carriers and customers, and push for continuous improvements in process efficiency.