The appointment of a highly experienced Transport Manager at our National Distribution Centre in Portbury, Bristol is key to supporting our ambitious business growth plans. As a senior member of the NDC Management Team, the successful candidate will report to the NDC Distribution Operations Manager. With responsibility for a team of over 50 people, this is a management & leadership role requiring an individual with the gravitas, energy and demonstrable track record to deliver a first class service to our customers. The business has achieved significant growth over the past 10 years and now has a very extensive product range with over 1,000 SKU’s that are delivered to over 1400 customers accross the UK. This is achieved in-house via our own picking systems and using our own fleet of vehicles.

This role is working 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday.

Competitive Salary + Benefits + Bonus

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.
Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.
Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

• Ensuring that all requirements relating to safety, health, environment, quality, & compliance are being fully implemented
• Vehicle and Personal Injury Accident investigation
• Management of Drivers Tachograph Records and infringements
• Driver Licensing & Dcpc quarterly Checks
• Maintain a comprehensive training record for all Drivers
• Ensure compliance against, legal, Health and Safety procedures / checks and act on issues as necessary to ensure that any issues are identified, rectified reported and a safe and legally compliant environment is operated always whilst constantly improving the safety culture.
• Benchmark depot performance and promote best practice and continual improvements
• Develop link with manufacturer to ensure vehicle technology and new advancements are optimised
• Ownership of FTA compliance and ISO 14001/45001 Audits
• Lead, develop and motivate direct reports so that they deliver or exceed their objectives and KPI’s, identify future potential and develop in line with business needs.
• Supports and implements ways in which reduce cost and optimise performance
• On a daily, weekly and periodic basis, collate, monitor and analyse vehicle and driver Costs, vehicle utilisation, Fuel use, KPI and operational data, and make operational adjustments accordingly, to achieve overall performance targets and identify improvement opportunities.
• Work collaboratively with the Distribution Team to ensure that all Breakdowns and Delays are dealt with in a speedy manner, where appropriate liaising with and updating customer services on progress.
• Investigate and resolve customer queries / complaints in a professional and sympathetic manner recording all information and reporting to the Distribution Manager any significant issues that may impact on the business.
• Weekly Meeting to be conducted with the Distribution Manager to discuss previous weeks costs, Team performance, Service and Operations and actions taken/required.
• Supports and implements ways in which reduce cost and optimise performance 
• Continual review and maintenance of Standard operating procedures
• On call duties 1 week in every 6 dealing with out of hours calls
• Management of Bristol Transport team and operation

 Essential:

• Customer Service experience gained from a 3PL or similar background
• Previous experience of managing a driver workforce (e.g. disciplinary, absence management, driver standards)
• Transport Managers Certificate of Professional Competence
• Full understanding of Working Time Directive, Drivers Hours and Operators licensing compliance
• Experience of routing and tracking applications
• Must be able to work to tight deadlines with accuracy and precision 
• Highly analytical, numerate and willing to source own data for analysis

 Desirable:

• Comprehensive experience within a complex network operational environment
• Experience of fast-paced customer-facing environments
• Demonstrable experience working in a change environment
• Clear evidence of managing a significant budget .
• Working knowledge of SAP or equivalent MRP systems

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 33 days holiday per year, including bank holidays (which are considered a normal working day)
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Free meals, snacks and beverages on site
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.
Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.