Warehouse Manager

Overview: apetito is the leading producer of delicious and nutritious food for nurseries, schools, care homes and hospitals. Its Wiltshire Farm Foods brand is enjoyed by our many consumers and we are very proud of the food that we provide to some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Our Portbury DC is the national hub for our UK distribution, housing 10,000+ pallets of frozen food, worth up to £10 million. Our team consists of 130 warehouse operatives, 80 drivers, 8 customer service colleagues and the local management team too.
The Warehouse Manager will have responsibility for successful delivery of high levels of customer service, operational efficiency and cost control, quality and housekeeping standards and excellent health and safety performance.
This role is key to delivering operational success as the business expands and we look to the next phase of our future. You will ideally have proven experience of implementation of lean management techniques with the insight to see opportunities to improve and experience to bring these to life. Your communication and collaboration skills will be needed to bring the Portbury teams and your stakeholders on the journey.
This is a demanding role and will give the right person the opportunity to broaden their skills and grow with us. Responsibilities: Reporting to the Site Operations Manager, and working closely with Supply Chain colleagues, you will be responsible for:

• Achievement of customer fulfilment levels consistently at or above 99.5%
• Achievement of budgeted direct labour and unit cost targets
• Driving KPIs on safety, quality, cost and service delivery.
• Management reports
• Improving operational effectiveness and productivity in our picking operation, including through analysis of data insights
• Workforce planning
• Inspiring pride in excellent housekeeping standards every day
• A commitment to health and safety standards across the site
• Communication with all teams to ensure clarity on aims and expectations, as well as progress and performance.
• Managing, developing and leading the Warehouse team.
• Inspiring team spirit and building morale

Qualifications/Personal Qualities: Essential:

• Previous experience as a warehouse manager
• Experienced in the implementation of lean management techniques and process/efficiency improvement
• Excellent people-manager, happy to lead from the front and spend quality time in operational areas
• Proven ability to controls costs and thinks in terms of profit, loss and added value.
• Good financial acumen with experience of delivering against demanding direct labour cost targets
• A personal reputation for high standards of health and safety
• An expert communicator, able to connect with warehouse staff, directors and everyone in between.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and customers.
• Strong analytical skills
• Problem solving skills; both in the day-to-day and at a strategic level
• Agility of thought and the ability to take swift action when needed

Desirable experience:

• FMCG environment
• Working in chilled/frozen food distribution

Personal Qualities:

• Team spirited
• High standards of ethics and values, always acting with integrity
• A natural leader, able to motivate and empower others
• Sets high standards for quality and output
• Focuses on customer needs and satisfaction, including internal customers
• Adapts interpersonal style to suit different people or situations
• Able to work under pressure, and support others who also need to.

Working hours: Primarily Monday – Friday based around 8.30-5.30 but with flexibility as required to oversee warehouse activities at weekends and out-of-hours.
Location: this role is based at Portbury near Bristol