Shipping Manager
Watford | £35 - £42K | Office Based | Monday to Friday
Take the lead in international shipping for a globally recognised sportswear brand!
Are you an experienced Shipping Manager with a strong background in international freight, import operations and team leadership?
We're recruiting for an exciting opportunity to join a well-established group representing some of the world's most recognisable brands, supporting the Reebok EU operation.
You will manage the Shipping team and make sure shipments are properly controlled from supplier readiness and booking, through to customs clearance, ASN, delivery and GRN.
This is a hands-on management role requiring good shipping knowledge, people management skills and the ability to manage priorities and resolve day-to-day issues independently.
You'll take ownership of day-to-day shipping operations, lead a dedicated team and work closely with international suppliers, freight forwarders, customs brokers and warehouse partners across the UK and Europe.
Essential Experience
- Good experience in international shipping/import operations.
- Strong knowledge of FCL, LCL and Air Freight.
- Good understanding of commercial invoices, packing lists, Bills of Lading, Air Waybills and other shipping documents.
- Experience working with suppliers, freight forwarders, customs brokers and warehouses/3PLs in UK & Europe.
- Good understanding of customs processes, HS codes, country of origin and Incoterms.
- Experience using ERP
- Strong practical Microsoft Excel skills.
- Good organisation, prioritisation and time-management skills.
- Able to manage multiple shipments and issues at the same time.
- Good written and verbal communication skills.
- Confident working with internal departments and external service providers.
- Able to make day-to-day operational decisions independently.
- Previous experience supervising, coaching or managing a team.
- Excel and Data Skills
- The person should be comfortable working with shipment trackers and larger amounts of operational data.
- Able to use Excel for shipment reconciliation, identifying differences, monitoring overdue activities, freight analysis and reporting.
- Good working knowledge of the following is required:
- XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP
- IF and IFERROR
- SUMIF/SUMIFS
- COUNTIF/COUNTIFS
- Date calculations
- Filters and sorting
- Conditional formatting
- Excel Tables
- PivotTables
- Charts
- Dashboard
- Power Query or similar data/ BI reporting experience would be useful but is not essential.
- Reporting Skills: The Shipping Manager should be able to prepare clear daily/weekly operational updates and monthly KPI reports.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Manage the day-to-day shipping operation covering FCL, LCL and Air shipments.
- Manage the Shipping team, including workload, priorities, deadlines and holiday/absence cover.
- Make sure bookings, ETD/ETA, shipping documents, ASN, customs clearance, deliveries and GRNs are properly controlled.
- Monitor outstanding actions, overdue shipments and upcoming risks.
- Manage shipment exceptions including delays, documentation issues, customs problems, shortages, damages, delivery issues and GRN differences.
- Make sure shipping documents and ASN information are accurate and correctly matched against PO, invoice, packing list and ERP information.
- Support customs requirements including HS codes, country of origin and required documentation.
- Work closely with suppliers, freight forwarders, customs brokers and warehouses/3PLs.
- Monitor and challenge service providers where service, cost or agreed timelines are not being met.
- Review freight quotations, additional charges, premium freight requirements and freight invoice differences.
- Work closely with Operations, Customer Service, Finance and other internal departments.
- Manage urgent and customer-critical shipping requirements.
- Coach and support team members to improve their knowledge, ownership and independence.
- Monitor shipping KPIs and identify repeated issues or areas requiring improvement.
- Review the cause of recurring problems and put practical corrective actions in place.
- Support improvements to shipping processes, systems and reporting.
- Escalate significant customer, customs/compliance, financial or operational risks to the Group Shipping Manager.
What’s in It for You?
- £40,000 to £42,000 per annum (depending on qualifications & experience)
- 25 days of annual leave + bank holidays
- Additional days holiday between Christmas and New Year if the Directors decide to close the business
- Standard working hours 8:30am to 5:30pm - 30 min lunch = 40 hours a week
- 1-day WFH after probation and training at the company’s sole discretion (non-contractual)
- Workplace Pension Scheme
- 60% Discount on our products that we have on Ecommerce
- Sample sales 2+ times a year
- Short Leave – with pre-approval from Line Manager to take up to 2 hours off without deduction from holiday allowance
- Statutory sick pay
- Annual pay review and/or bonus at the Directors discretion
Interested?
This is an excellent chance to join an established international business supporting a globally recognised sportswear brand, where you'll have genuine responsibility for shipping operations, team performance and continuous improvement.
If you're an experienced Shipping Manager, Import Manager or Shipping & Logistics Supervisor ready for your next challenge, we'd love to hear from you!
Contact Louise at 121 Personnel – [email protected] for further details.
