James Latham is one of the UK's largest independent trade distributors of timber, panels and decorative surfaces. As a long-established, family-owned business with history back to 1757, we believe our success is down to our employees and are proud to say that many of our team stay with us for decades. In a recent survey 86% said they would recommend James Latham as a great place to work.

We are currently recruiting for a Group Operations Manager to join our established team based Nationally.

The ideal candidate will be highly motivated and enthusiastic with prior experience working as an Operations manager.

Group Operations Manager Job Duties:

Assists upper management in setting goals that promote company growth

Oversees daily activity of the team

Prepares budgets, schedules, and other organisational reports as needed

Provides advice and guidance to other employees

Manages team workloads in order to meet goals and deadlines

Develops plans to increase efficiency and reduce costs

Improves existing systems and policies

Ensures customer requirements are met in a timely manner

Promotes and enforces safety in the workplace

Oversees manufacturing functions

Works closely with other departments to promote efficient warehouse optimisation

Identifies improvement areas and plans and implements systems to boost company effectiveness

Manages internal and external service suppliers

Executes plans designed to meet company goals by changing policies and coaching employees

Operations Manager Skills and Qualifications:

Education & Qualifications

MBA, Supply Chain MSc or Equivalent. experience.

English fluency is an absolute requirement.

Specialisation in Logistics & transportation is a plus.

Project management certification or equivalent.

Business change management qualification.

Experience

Experience in the consumer goods industry.

Skilled at leading cross-functional projects.

Implementation of Warehouse management solutions and systems

Specialist Knowledge & Skills

Expertise in complex project management.

Knowledge and experience of WMS, TMS and ERP systems, and how to combine them to achieve the most efficient and productive. processes in support of the customer / consumer.

Operational process knowledge from purchase to pay through to sales, invoicing and returns management.

Excellent analytical skills – with the ability to use complex information to develop simple plans that are then executed perfectly.

Ability to use data to analyse trends and forecasts and translate this into action plans.

Proven ability to extricate, develop and implement best practice solutions across a large organization.

Excellent PC skills with high level of PowerPoint and Excel Proficiency.

Ability to navigate complex matrix organization, build strong coalitions across functional lines.

Ability to drive complex project on-time, anticipate risks, mitigate, challenge, create and maintain a strong momentum and group adhesion.

Interpersonal & Communication Skills

Language skills (fluent in English is a pre-requisite).

Superior communication skills, both written and spoken.

Advanced presentation skills (concise & convincing).

Multicultural approach, ability to lead seamlessly across different geographies and cultures.

Personable and collegial approach to working with colleagues and clients.

Ability to distil complex information and communicate with impact to a variety of internal and external audiences.

Ability to influence, persuade and align multiple parties to a position of mutual benefit and consensus.

We are flexible employers and will consider a mixture of homeworking and office attendance depending upon business requirements. However, we do believe that good teamwork contributes to our success so a regular presence in the workplace is important.

You’ll be working in a modern and well-equipped environment which provides opportunities to develop and grow your career. You will be part of a team that continually seeks out new and innovative products and better ways to serve its customers. Benefits include a competitive salary up tp £75,000 based on experience, up to 7.5% matched pension contributions, bonus schemes, a Health Cash Plan and life assurance.

James Latham – the natural choice