Senior Transport & Despatch Operations Lead

DS Smith Europe; Redditch; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Cycle to work

Job summary

DS Smith is seeking a Transport Planning Manager at our Redditch site to lead end-to-end transport planning, despatch, warehouse and yard operations. You will work with Customer Service, Production Planning and Operations teams to improve OTIF, cost efficiency and service levels while ensuring safety and compliance.

You will coach and develop Despatch and Warehouse teams, drive continuous improvement, and manage third-party hauliers; a commercial mindset and data-driven approach are essential to

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience in manufacturing, warehousing, or logistics.
• Strong background in transport planning, despatch, warehouse or distribution ops.
• Experience leading and developing operational teams.
• Strong understanding of Health & Safety compliance and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing third-party transport providers and transport costs.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Data-driven decision making and problem solving.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end transport planning, despatch, warehouse and yard operations to deliver safe, efficient and cost-effective deliveries.
• Champion a safety-first culture with compliance audits, risk assessments and incident investigations.
• Develop Despatch and Warehouse teams, manage day-to-day ops, performance, training and employee relations.
• Drive continuous improvement in transport efficiency, service, and cost reduction across the network.
• Build relationships with Production, Planning, Customer Service and external logistics partners; report to General Manager.

Skills

Leadership

Transport planning

Despatch & warehouse ops

Health & Safety

Data-driven decisions

Excel

Stakeholder management

Third-party transport management

Tools

Excel

Job description

DS Smith is seeking a Transport Planning Manager at our Redditch site to lead end-to-end transport planning, despatch, warehouse and yard operations. You will work with Customer Service, Production Planning and Operations teams to improve OTIF, cost efficiency and service levels while ensuring safety and compliance.

You will coach and develop Despatch and Warehouse teams, drive continuous improvement, and manage third-party hauliers; a commercial mindset and data-driven approach are essential to