Team Leader - Aviation Stores

Kuehne+Nagel; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Kuehne+Nagel in Farnborough is recruiting a Team Leader - Aviation Stores to lead four operatives within a regulated aviation maintenance environment. You will oversee receipt, storage, and despatch of aviation materials, ensuring safety, quality and compliance to Part 145 standards, while driving performance against KPIs.

You will mentor your team, support day-to-day operations, and maintain strong customer relationships as the operation grows and evolves within contract logistics.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a small operational team, ideally in aviation stores or regulated environments.
• Background in aviation or aerospace is desirable; transferable experience from regulated settings accepted.
• Strong knowledge of warehouse operations including receiving, storage, despatch and inspection.
• Hands-on leadership style with ability to support day-to-day activities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate day-to-day activities of a team of four operatives.
• Manage performance against KPIs and contractual requirements to improve quality and processes.
• Oversee receipt, handling, storage, inspection, packing and despatch of assets.
• Ensure receiving inspections comply with Part 145 and quality requirements.
• Oversee DG packing and despatch, ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Develop the team, train new starters and provide ongoing support.
• Maintain safety, quality, housekeeping and compliance standards.
• Maintain strong relationships with customer and management, communicating performance and challenges.

Skills

Team leadership

Aviation stores

Quality environments

People management

KPIs

English fluency

Forklift operations

DG shipping

Aviation ERP systems

Tools

Aviation ERP

Job description

It's more than a job As part of the Contract Logistics team at Kuehne+Nagel, you will play a key role in designing, managing, and optimizing solutions that keep goods moving efficiently. Whether you’re leading a team, engineering processes, or driving projects, your work ensures that our customers’ products are stored, handled, and delivered with precision. From everyday essentials to seasonal items, what we do in Contract Logistics impacts businesses and communities around the world. At Kuehne+Nagel, your contribution goes far beyond the warehouse—it helps shape the flow of global trade.

It's more than a job As part of the Contract Logistics team at Kuehne+Nagel, you will play a key role in designing, managing, and optimizing solutions that keep goods moving efficiently. Whether you’re leading a team, engineering processes, or driving projects, your work ensures that our customers’ products are stored, handled, and delivered with precision. From everyday essentials to seasonal items, what we do in Contract Logistics impacts businesses and communities around the world. At Kuehne+Nagel, your contribution goes far beyond the warehouse—it helps shape the flow of global trade. Are you an experienced team leader with a background in aviation stores, engineering, or another highly regulated and quality-focused environment? We are looking for a Team Leader - Aviation Stores to join our Contract Logistics operation in Farnborough, leading a team of four operatives based within our customer’s aviation maintenance facility. This is a hands-on leadership role where you will work alongside your team to ensure daily operational activities are completed safely, efficiently and to the required quality standards. You will oversee the receipt, handling, storage, inspection, packing and despatch of aviation materials, while supporting your team in achieving operational and performance targets. The position operates on a fixed 4-on/4-off, 12-hour shift pattern and is based within a customer maintenance hangar. Due to the nature of the working environment, the successful candidate must be able to meet the necessary vetting requirements. With the potential for the operation to grow in the future, this is an excellent opportunity for someone who is keen to develop their leadership capabilities, make a positive impact on team performance and contribute to the continued development of the operation.

How you create impact

• Lead and coordinate the day-to-day activities of a team of four operatives, ensuring workloads and resources are effectively planned.
• Manage team performance against agreed KPIs and contractual requirements, identifying opportunities to improve performance, quality and processes.
• Oversee the accurate receipt, handling, storage, inspection, packing and despatch of customer assets, providing hands-on operational support when required.
• Ensure receiving inspections are carried out in accordance with Part 145 and customer quality requirements, supporting receiving activities as required.
• Oversee Dangerous Goods (DG) packing and despatch activities, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations and standards.
• Lead, motivate and develop your team, ensuring new starters are fully trained and colleagues receive the ongoing support required to perform effectively.
• Promote high standards of health and safety, quality, housekeeping and operational compliance, while continually identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain strong relationships with the customer, colleagues and management, providing clear communication on performance, resources, workload and operational challenges.

What we would like you to bring

• Previous experience leading a small operational team, ideally within aviation stores, MRO, engineering materials or tooling.
• Experience within aviation or aerospace would be highly desirable; however, candidates with relevant transferable experience from other highly regulated and quality-focused environments, such as pharmaceutical or engineering operations, are also encouraged to apply.
• Good knowledge of warehouse or stores operations, including receiving, picking, packing, stock management and despatch.
• A hands-on leadership style, with the willingness and ability to support your team directly with day-to-day operational activities.
• Strong people management skills, with experience motivating, developing and supporting teams to achieve quality and performance targets.
• A good understanding of operational KPIs, continuous improvement and working within clearly defined processes and quality standards.
• Excellent communication and customer relationship management skills, with fluent written and spoken English.
• Experience with forklift operations, Dangerous Goods shipping, aviation parts inspection and/or aviation ERP systems would be advantageous, alongside the ability to achieve the required standards and qualifications for the role.

What's in it for you

This is an opportunity to take on a key, hands-on leadership position within a highly regulated and quality-focused aviation logistics environment. You will have the chance to make a visible impact on the day-to-day performance of the operation, support and develop a small team, strengthen customer relationships and contribute to continuous improvement. As the operation has the potential to expand its scope in the future, the role also offers an exciting opportunity for someone with the ambition and potential to grow alongside the business. You will be able to further develop your leadership and operational expertise while gaining valuable experience within specialist aviation logistics and an international organisation.

Who we are

Logistics shapes everyday life - from the goods we consume to the healthcare we rely on. At Kuehne+Nagel, your work goes beyond logistics; it enables both ordinary and special moments in the lives of people around the world. As a global leader with a strong heritage and a vision to move the world forward, we offer a safe, stable environment where your career can make a real difference. Whether we help deliver life-saving medicines, develop sustainable transportation solutions or support our local communities, your career will contribute to more than you can imagine.