Transport Shift Manager

Warburtons; Banbury; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Profit sharing (annual profits)

Extra weeks of annual leave

Award-winning pension scheme

Life assurance

Product discounts (Extra Dough)

Personal development investment

Fully stocked kitchens

Job summary

Warburtons is seeking a Transport Shift Manager at our Banbury distribution centre to lead a large team of Class 1 & Class 2 drivers and manage the daily transport operation. The role requires driving performance, safety, and continuous improvement across 92 drivers and 55 routes.

You will oversee onboarding, performance management, coaching and development, while ensuring compliance with all transport regulations and company standards.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading and developing large driving teams.
• Strong coaching, mentoring and performance development skills.
• Excellent communication across teams and functions.
• Understanding of health, safety and wellbeing principles.
• Experience using data and systems to drive performance.
• Knowledge of transport operations and regulatory requirements.
• CPC qualification would be beneficial but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and develop a large driving team with focus on attendance, engagement and wellbeing.
• Use telematics and data to identify trends and drive improvements in safety, service and fleet performance.
• Promote a safety-first culture and ensure best practices across the operation.
• Ensure compliance with Operator Licence, drivers' hours, tachograph regulations and health and safety laws.
• Conduct operational audits, vehicle checks and safety briefings; implement preventative actions.
• Coach and develop drivers; provide refresher training and load security procedures.
• Lead investigations into accidents and near misses and share lessons learned.

Skills

Team leadership

Coaching & development

Communication

Health & safety

KPI tracking

Data-driven decisions

Shift pattern management

Job description

Are you ready to take your career to the next level? Join the Distribution Team at Warburtons site in Banbury, our state of the art cross docking centre in the heart of Oxfordshire and become part of our national network of Distribution Operations across the UK.

This role offers excellent development opportunities, to develop your knowledge across the wider distribution areas.

Function: Distribution

Contract: Permanent, Full Time (4 on 4 off rota) Including Days and Nights

Salary: £40,000- £45,000 Per Annum - Dependant on experience

The Recipe

As a Transport Shift Manager, you'll play a pivotal role in leading our transport operation, ensuring the safe, efficient, and reliable delivery of products while maintaining the high standards of service our customers expect.

You'll be responsible for leading and developing a team of Class 1 & Class 2 Drivers, overseeing all aspects of the employee lifecycle, from onboarding and performance management to coaching, engagement and development.

With a fleet operation comprising 92 drivers operating across 55 delivery routes, you'll create a positive, high-performing culture where safety, accountability and teamwork are at the heart of everything we do.

Key Responsibilities:

People Leadership & Team DevelopmentLead, motivate and develop a large driving team, managing performance, attendance, engagement and wellbeing while fostering a culture of inclusion, accountability and continuous improvement.

Operational Performance & Continuous Improvement
Utilise telematics, transport systems and performance data to identify trends, optimise efficiency and drive improvements in safety, service and fleet performance.

Championing a Safety-First Culture
Act as a visible leader in health and safety, embedding best practice and positively influencing behaviours to ensure safety remains a core value across the operation.

Compliance & Governance
Ensure full compliance with Operator Licence requirements, Drivers' Hours, Tachograph regulations, the Working Time Directive, and all Health, Safety and Environmental legislation.

Risk Management & Auditing
Conduct regular operational audits, vehicle checks, driver observations and safety briefings, proactively identifying risks and implementing preventative measures.

Training, Coaching & DevelopmentSupport the ongoing development of drivers through coaching, mentoring and refresher training, ensuring high standards in safe driving, load security and operational procedures.

Incident Investigation & Resolution
Lead investigations into accidents, incidents and near misses, identifying root causes, implementing corrective actions and sharing lessons learned to prevent recurrence.

Shift Pattern
This role operates on a 4 on, 4 off rotating shift pattern, covering both day and night shifts to support our 24/7 transport operation.

Essential Ingredients

• Proven experience in a Team Manager, Supervisor, or Operational Leadership role, with a strong track record of leading, motivating, and developing high-performing teams
• Passion for people management, including coaching, mentoring, performance development, and employee engagement
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive relationships across teams and functionsExperience driving a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Understanding of Health, Safety and Wellbeing principles, with a commitment to creating a safe and inclusive working environment
• Confident using business systems and data to support decision-making and team performance managementExperience managing operational performance through KPI tracking, planning, and resource coordination
• Knowledge of transport operations, driver compliance, and industry regulations would be advantageous but is not essentialTransport Manager CPC qualification would be beneficial, though not required

• Exceptional organisational skills, with the ability to effectively prioritise and manage multiple tasks, deadlines, and competing demands in a fast-paced environment.

About Us

In Banbury you’ll find our newly built distribution and consolidation centre, situated on the junction of the M40, giving us the very best access to the UK’s motorway network. With almost 200 drivers and warehouse colleagues working on various shift patterns, it’s the biggest purpose-built distribution site for Warburtons, at 85,000 square feet.

We are currently delivering over 4 million items to our customers and Cross Docking 85,000 stacks of bread, this is equivalent to 559 double deck trailers or 965 single deck trailers, every four weeks. And we’re still growing!

Banbury is now a dedicated Test Centre for License Acquisition, developing our own talented bunch of drivers and supporting them through their required driving licences.

Extra Dough

At last and by no means least, you will want to know what your bread is worth.

• A slice of the annual profits
• Family time is important to us so as well as your holiday entitlement, we’ll give you the opportunity to purchase up to an extra weeks annual leave
• Award winning pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Products you'll love along with deals and discounts for you and the family through our Extra Dough website
• Continued investment in your personal development
• Fully stocked kitchens filled with our delicious products for you to enjoy with your daily brew!

We respect and value difference. We look to create an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, or any other aspect which makes them unique, are proven to be better companies. More importantly, creating an environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work, is the right thing to do.