Location: Llanidloes
Business: Pilgrim's Europe – Fresh Division
About Pilgrim's Europe
Pilgrim's Europe is one of the leading food businesses in Europe, producing high-quality fresh and prepared food products. Our culture is built around ownership, determination, discipline, and simplicity, with safety, quality, and people at the heart of everything we do.
We are now looking to appoint an experienced Despatch Manager to lead our Despatch operation within the Fresh division .
The Role
As Despatch Manager, you will lead and develop despatch teams to ensure the safe, efficient, and compliant storage and distribution of lamb carcases, cuts, and offal products. You will be responsible for transport operations, stock control, cost management, and maintaining the highest standards of food safety, quality, and health & safety.
This is a key leadership role within the site where you will drive performance, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Lead and develop Despatch Supervisors and teams, ensuring the right skills and resource are in place to meet operational and seasonal demand
Manage transport operations from the lamb abattoir to customers and external cold storage facilities
Ensure all collections and deliveries meet agreed schedules, service levels, and cost targets
Maintain full compliance with Food Safety & Quality Management Systems (FSQM), customer requirements, and certification standards (including organic segregation and traceability)
Oversee hygienic storage, chilled operations, stock control, and dispatch selection
Monitor and manage transport and storage costs, investigating variances and driving efficiencies
Lead incident reporting, root cause analysis, and corrective actions relating to quality, food safety, and customer claims
Ensure dispatch, storage, and offal handling areas are audit-ready at all times
Promote a strong Health & Safety culture, living the principle that “Safety is a Condition”
Support sustainability initiatives, waste reduction, recycling, and carbon footprint reduction
Actively participate in site meetings including KPI reviews, HACCP/TACCP, OPEX, and management reviews
Represent the Despatch function within the Senior Leadership Team, presenting KPIs, actions, and results
About You
You will be a confident, hands-on leader with a calm and logical approach, able to build trust and strong relationships across all levels of the business. You thrive in fast-paced FMCG environments and take ownership of challenges through to resolution.
Key skills and experience:
Experience in FMCG manufacturing, chilled warehousing, and/or transport operations
Proven experience in transport and warehouse management
Strong leadership, coaching, and people development skills
Experience setting and delivering KPIs, margins, and cost-to-serve targets
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels
Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines
Knowledge of continuous improvement tools (e.g. 5S)
IT literate, including Microsoft Word and Excel
High levels of numeracy, literacy, and attention to detail
Qualifications (Desirable)
Degree qualified or equivalent
Food Safety Level 3
HACCP Level 3
TACCP / VACCP
What We Offer
A key leadership role within a leading European food business
The opportunity to influence site performance and continuous improvement
A culture built on ownership, humility, sincerity, discipline, and determination
Competitive salary and benefits package
If you are passionate about operational excellence, food safety, and leading high-performing teams, we would love to hear from you.
Apply now to join Pilgrim's Europe and be part of a business where people take ownership and deliver results together.
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