Senior Outbound Operations Manager

Zendbox; East Malling; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Career development

32 days holiday

Company pension

Collaborative culture

Late shifts

Job summary

Zendbox is looking for an experienced Outbound Operations Manager to own direct-to-consumer outbound fulfilment. You will lead a fast-paced warehouse team, ensuring orders are picked, packed and despatched accurately, safely and on time, while meeting carrier SLAs and quality standards.

Based in the United Kingdom, the role involves planning labour, developing leaders, using WMS data to drive improvements, and maintaining health and safety.

Qualifications

• Experience leading outbound warehouse teams in fast-paced e-commerce.
• Proven ability to set expectations and develop operational staff.
• Strong focus on safety, quality, and customer service.
• Experience planning labour and capacity against volumes.
• Knowledge of WMS and data-driven decision making.
• Experience in lean or continuous improvement is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead outbound pick, pack and despatch operations and meet SLAs.
• Own daily outbound performance including volumes and cut-offs.
• Plan labour and resources against forecast and demand.
• Develop managers and team leaders into a high-performance culture.
• Maintain quality control and reduce errors in outbound processes.
• Use WMS data to monitor performance and drive corrective action.
• Collaborate with other departments to ensure smooth order flow.
• Drive continuous improvement to increase productivity and service quality.
• Identify and resolve recurring operational issues with root-cause solutions.
• Ensure effective shift handovers and escalation of risks.
• Maintain health, safety, housekeeping and compliance.
• Monitor attendance and performance with HR involvement.

Skills

People leadership

Operational planning

Process improvement

Lean/continuous improvement

Communication skills

Outbound, fulfilment ops

Tools

Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Job description

We’re Hiring: Outbound Operations Manager at Zendbox!

About the Role

As a key leader within our fulfilment function, the Outbound Operations Manager will take full ownership of direct-to-consumer outbound fulfilment, ensuring every customer order is picked, packed and despatched accurately, safely and on time. This role sits at the heart of our fast-paced eCommerce operation and is accountable for consistently high standards of service, productivity, quality and operational control.

You will lead and develop a high-performing outbound team, creating clear accountability and ensuring labour, workflow and capacity are aligned to forecast volumes. Working closely with Fulfilment, Customer Experience, Technology and other operational teams, you will remove blockers, improve processes and ensure seamless order flow through to carrier handover.

The role requires a visible, hands-on operational leader who is comfortable working at pace, using data to make decisions and driving continuous improvement as Zendbox continues to scale.

Late shift, 2.00pm to 10.00pm 5 out of 7 days

Your Responsibilities

• Lead and manage all direct-to-consumer outbound pick, pack and despatch operations, ensuring orders are completed accurately and within agreed customer and carrier SLAs.
• Take ownership of daily outbound performance, including order volumes, backlog, productivity, accuracy, service levels and carrier cut-offs.
• Plan labour and resources against forecast and actual demand, identifying capacity gaps early and taking action to protect service.
• Lead, coach and develop managers, team leaders and warehouse operatives, creating a safe, engaged and high-performance culture with clear accountability.
• Maintain robust quality control throughout the outbound process, reducing picking, packing and despatch errors and ensuring customer-specific requirements are consistently achieved.
• Use WMS and operational data to monitor performance, identify trends and drive timely corrective action.
• Work closely with other departments to ensure smooth order flow, rapid resolution of operational issues and exceptional customer outcomes.
• Drive continuous improvement across outbound workflows, layouts, processes and ways of working to increase productivity, capacity and service quality.
• Identify recurring operational issues and implement sustainable root-cause solutions rather than short-term fixes.
• Ensure effective shift handovers, clear communication of priorities and accurate escalation of risks, constraints and service issues.
• Maintain high standards of health and safety, housekeeping, compliance and operational discipline across the outbound operation.
• Monitor team attendance, performance and conduct, applying company people processes consistently and working with HR where required.

Key Performance Areas

• Orders despatched within SLA and carrier cut-off times
• Pick and pack accuracy and quality performance
• Productivity and labour efficiency
• Resource plan versus forecast and actual volume
• Health and safety compliance
• Team attendance, engagement and performance

Requirements

• A natural leader and people person with exceptional communication skills, able to build strong relationships and communicate clearly, confidently and positively across all levels of the operation.
• Proven management experience is essential, with demonstrable ability to lead, motivate and develop operational teams, set clear expectations and hold people accountable for performance.
• Sets and maintains high standards, with a strong personal commitment to operational excellence, quality, accuracy, safety and customer service.
• Strong motivator who creates an engaged, accountable and high-performing team culture while maintaining a positive working environment.
• Preferred: Experience leading outbound, pick and pack or despatch operations within a fast-paced warehouse, eCommerce or fulfilment environment.
• Strong organisational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to remain calm, visible and effective in a fast-paced operation.
• Experience planning labour and operational capacity against changing daily and seasonal volumes.
• Good understanding of warehouse KPIs, productivity, quality controls and service levels, with the ability to use operational data to identify issues and improve performance.
• Experience using Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) is preferred.
• Experience of Lean, continuous improvement or process optimisation would be advantageous.
• Forklift certification would be advantageous but is not essential.

Benefits

• Competitive salary £50,000 - £60,000 DOE
• 10% Performance Bonus
• Career development and ongoing training opportunities
• 32 days holiday including bank holidays
• Company pension scheme
• Supportive and collaborative work culture
• Late shifts, Monday to Friday with occasional Weekends