Transport Planning Manager

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Overview

Transport Planning Manager - Portbury

Hours: 40 per week, Monday-Friday
Core Hours: 08:00-17:00 (flexibility required to support occasional morning and afternoon shift cover)

We are looking for a proactive and highly organised Transport Planning Manager to lead our Portbury Transport Planning team. In this key operational role, you will ensure the delivery of achievable, cost-effective routes while supporting our commitment to exceptional service standards.

Reporting to the Distribution Operations Manager, you will oversee the day-to-day planning and execution of the national delivery schedule. You'll act as the escalation point for complex decisions and provide vital coordination between Transport Managers, the Distribution Projects & Compliance Manager, and other key departments.

Safety, compliance, and service excellence sit at the heart of this position, ensuring our customers receive their deliveries on time and as promised.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a team of two Transport Planners, responsible for morning and evening planning shifts.
• Deliver all aspects of people management, including 1:1s, appraisals, constructive feedback, performance reviews, and overall wellbeing support.

Operational Planning

• Manage daily delivery route planning to ensure efficiency, compliance, and cost control.
• Respond quickly and effectively to operational changes or disruptions.
• Ensure all planning adheres to legal requirements and internal standards.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as the main point of contact between transport, warehouse, and customer service teams.
• Address queries promptly, ensure SLA compliance, and keep customers informed of delivery progress.

This role is ideal for someone confident in making decisions, passionate about operational excellence, and skilled at working under pressure while maintaining accuracy and focus.

Who we are

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.

Responsibilities

• Plan and organise driver routes to ensure staffing levels, route efficiency and performance meet the needs of the transport operation, while consistently delivering excellent customer service.
• Provide cover and operational support to the wider Transport team as required, ensuring continuity of service during busy periods or staff absence.
• Create compliant and efficient vehicle routes across the network, adhering to legal requirements such as vehicle weight limits, Working Time Directive (WTD) rules, and specific customer delivery standards.
• Work collaboratively with the Distribution Team to respond promptly to breakdowns, delays, or operational issues, ensuring customer services are kept fully updated on progress and impacts.
• Build strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to gather insights, feedback and operational data, enabling continuous improvement and early identification of potential issues.
• Lead, motivate and develop direct reports, ensuring clear objectives, strong performance, adherence to KPIs, and development plans aligned with future business needs.
• Ensure compliance with all legal, Health & Safety and company procedures, taking swift action to address issues and maintain a safe, compliant and continuously improving safety culture.
• Collaborate with the Driver Trainer to drive improvements in driver performance, including safety standards, driving behaviour, fuel efficiency and overall operational effectiveness.
• Support cost-reduction and performance-optimisation initiatives, identifying opportunities to streamline routes, reduce waste and enhance operational efficiency.
• Participate in the on-call rota, providing out-of-hours support one week in every six to ensure issues are resolved promptly and operations remain uninterrupted.

About you

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Experience in transport planning, logistics operations, or a similar managerial role.
• CPC in Road Transport Operations (Managers)
• Confident using dynamic Routing Software Packages
• Experience of using tracking and telematics application
• Knowledge of UK road networks, route optimisation and transport operating systems.
• Understanding of compliance requirements including vehicle safety, driver hours regulations and legal planning standards.
• Experience leading or supervising a small team.
• IT proficient, particularly with planning or fleet management systems and Microsoft Office tools.
• Strong organisational and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work flexible hours to support operational needs.

• Desirable but not essential:
  • Previous experience in multi-drop food or FMCG delivery operations.
  • Experience using SAP would be an advantage but is not essential.

Key Competencies

• Strong Leadership Skills
  Proven ability to coach, motivate and develop a team, with experience managing performance and wellbeing.
• Operational Planning Expertise
  Skilled in route planning, logistics scheduling and day-to-day operational problem-solving.
• Decision-Making Under Pressure
  Confident making timely, informed decisions and handling escalation in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent Communication
  Able to clearly communicate with planners, drivers, warehouse teams, customer service teams & senior management to resolve issues and maintain service performance.
• Analytical and Detail-Focused
  Able to interpret data, assess risk, and optimise routes for efficiency, compliance and cost control.
• Adaptability & Initiative
  Proactive in identifying improvements and responding swiftly to unexpected changes or challenges.
• Customer-Centric Mindset
  Committed to maintaining high service levels and ensuring customers are kept informed.
• Strong Understanding of Transport Compliance
  Working knowledge of relevant legislation such as driver hours, WTD and transport safety standards.

Company Benefits

• 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

Our Values

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.