Contract: Permanent, full time Location: Tamworth, covers sites across the sector, predominantly Midlands based Salary: To £85,000 plus car / car allowance, 33 days holiday, pension, bonus, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits scheme About the Job As the Head of Stock and Space within our Automotive and Production Logistics sector, you will lead the stock team in delivering world class standards by supporting the Automotive Director in delivering the operational and commercial aspects of the UL Stock Function. You will lead the Stock function in driving stock excellence, ensuring KPIs and SLAs are met, and continuous improvement is focused on by the teams. Ensuring that stock integrity and liability targets are exceeded through the active management of operational process adherence and effective root cause remedial actions is a key part of your role. You will provide additional onsite support during peak, projects, stock counts, and other priority stock issues and challenges, and will support the integration of new sites into the Stock Team, through data analysis, advocating and implementing the Stock team mindset, process, and ways of working. With development / best practice in mind you will continuously improve the operations through effective deployment of the Unipart Way. As part of your key responsibilities, you’ll focus on the delivery of the end-to-end stock process strategy, including management of all aspects of the Stock Function, having accountability for the following aspects: Strategy • Creation and development of a clear stock strategy, ensuring that the customer’s needs are met and exceeded • Effectively manage resource and skills to deliver tactical and strategic objectives • Advocate and implement the Stock Team strategy, vision, mindset, processes, and ways of working • Identification of initiatives and projects that reduce cost, developing a best-in-class service, and/or improve the customer experience through greater stock control and accuracy • Ensure that the stock function is ready to deliver known projects, and able to support rapid change – for example seasonality management and dynamic responsiveness in peak production environments • Offering of stock expertise through a Consultation and/or support requirement • Responsible for driving and delivering performance management systems Partnership Development • Understand deeply the customers’ business and the operational activities required to support it through a best-in-class stock management system • Lead and encourage the development of robust relationships with the Operational team and relevant individuals within the clients’ team Financial and Commercial • Ensure that all team costs are in line with client budgets • Drive the stock performance within tolerance and ensure costs are controlled and mitigated • Ensure all potential risks are identified and communicated • Aid in provisioning year end requirements and ad hoc finance request Operational Standards • Leading the Stock teams to ensure the demonstration of world class standards, as well as managing the delivery of the service for the clients and UL through robust and effective working relationships with the General Managers and Op’s Directors • Ensure clear reporting of performance exists and take personal responsibility to ensure this meets the client’s and UL’s needs, ensuring all data is validated • Ensuring storage strategies are appropriate and actioned in a timely manner • Ensure all Stock processes and requirements are integrated into the UL Operational processes so that they support and enhance our end-to-end service offering • Ensure all stock integrity issues are being managed effectively and all escalations/issues dealt with appropriately by the stock management team • Work with the appropriate teams to ensure robust IT systems and infrastructure requirements are maintained and developed in line with the requirements • Responsible for compliance with health and safety regulations and environmental and quality standards • Accountability for operational performance to Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators at a strategic and operational level • Responsible for effective two-way communication processes with team, customer, and clients • Ensure stock file management and integrity is maintained and operates in a robust manner that delivers the effective and efficient management of the stock file process across UL • Accountable for ensuring additional support, expertise and issue resolution including decision making across all sites during peak periods, stock counts, liability concerns, crisis stock issues and vacancies • Providing effective comms, updates and escalations as required to Ops Directors, including the exec summary for UL comm cell • Provide capacity to support other contracts should the request arise, through a consultancy methodology and provision of a best practice framework • Identify trends, risks, and concerns from data output to drive the appropriate focus and support – driving appropriate recommendations and decisions therein and leading the stock teams to deliver solutions • Leading site stock teams to ensure stock risks on site are effectively mitigated • Create a succession strategy and drive capability growth of the stock team contracts in line with best practice model line up to and including SSOM level • Responsible for capturing relevant learning’s to ensure evolution of the Stock Best Practice model is amended and updated • Responsible for identifying a site stock structure fit for purpose and aligned to stock vision – including realigning roles and headcount About You We’d love you to have the following skills and experience, but please apply if you think you’d be able to perform well in this role! • Educated to Graduate level or equivalent • Able to interact at senior level with a high degree of gravitas, impact, and credibility • Leading and developing teams of people to deliver outstanding performance • Able to build and develop relationships across all levels and functions and have experience of working with customers / stakeholders at a strategic level • Experience of stock management and integrity across multiple contracts • Ability to analyse stock integrity challenges, identify plan for resolution, and engage with appropriate stakeholders to rectify and deliver plan with minimal / negligible stock impact • Able to influence people and be able to inspire a working environment dedicated to improving customer experience • Experience of using performance management methodology such as KPI’s • Proven ability in implementing operational change projects • Ability to work under pressure in a challenging and constantly changing environment • Good commercial management is required to ensure financial success • Experience of delivering complex management information with Excel at advanced stage, SQL queries, escalation knowledge, database management skills, along with a knowledge of standard stock management packages • Experience of operating in a dynamic, rapidly changing environment • Strong leadership skills with proven ability to engage, coach and develop high performing teams Our recruitment and selection process has been developed to ensure that it is consistent, fair and provides equality of opportunity - all selection decisions are based solely on technical and behavioural competencies. We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, or nationality, ethnic or national origins, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, disability, religion or belief, age or any other current or future protected characteristic as defined in the current Equality Act of England and Wales. As an organisation we also promote an environment which encourages diversity of characteristics and thought, where you feel included, safe, and confident to be the best version of yourself and do your best work every day. You may have experience in the following: Stock and Space Manager, Inventory Control Manager, Logistics Operations Manager, Supply Chain Manager, Warehouse Operations Lead, Inventory Management Director, Distribution Centre Manager, Stock Control Supervisor, Materials Management Head, Fulfilment Operations Director, Inventory Optimization Manager, Logistics Planning Manager, Warehouse Efficiency Lead, Inventory Strategy Director, Production Logistics Coordinator, Stock Management Executive, etc. REF-(Apply online only)