DC General Manager

takealot.com, a leading South African online retailer, is looking for a highly talented DC General Manager to join our Supply Chain team in Johannesburg DC.

The incumbent will manage the overall risk and compliance, including Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) of the Takealot Operations division, in the pursuit of a zero loss culture in the Group, with innovation and value add.

We are a young, dynamic, hyper growth company looking for smart, creative, hardworking people with integrity to join us.  We offer a market related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs, a great work environment and a promise that you won’t be bored as long as you are prepared for a challenge and want to build something great.

This position reports to:  Head of Operations

Standard working hours: Monday to Friday 08:00 – 17:00, however overtime may be required during peak periods and promotions

Purpose of position: Responsible for managing and directing all operation activities within the distribution center, covering above 50,000 square meters and employing over 500 staff members. A leader of change, providing overall leadership and management in operational areas such as: Operational efficiency, continuous improvement, driving  performance and optimally satisfying customer orders.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Overall management and coordination of all DC activities (inbound, outbound, returns, inventory management, Risk and facility management)
• Drive operational efficiency and excellence
• Implement operational best practices
• Provide staff leadership and direction
• Ensuring DC adheres to company policy and administer practices in fair and equitable manner.
• Managing budget and controlling expenses.
• Recommending policies and programs, which guide the organization in maintaining and improving its competitive position and the profitability of the operation.
• Ensures appropriate staffing levels by effectively forecasting resources needed to meet service, financial and operational requirements.
• Develops annual operating budgets in support of the company's financial goals and responsible for P&L management. Complete cost justification and determine ROI.
• Controls cost through process improvement initiatives, productivity of personnel, efficient utilization of space and protection of stored materials. Ensures protection and accuracy of inventory by adhering to all inventory control processes and procedures.
• Demonstrate the ability to understand and meet the needs of customers; both internal and external.
• Communicate and articulate to staff what the vision for the organization looks like and communicating clear strategies to move toward that vision.
• Provide team members with opportunities to develop new skills, carry out challenging assignments, and accept new responsibilities while ensuring a talent base necessary to meet organizational needs.
• Sets / clarifies requirements and expectations for DC Managers. 
• Measures performance, provides feedback, and hold DC Managers accountable for their performance and the performance of their departments. 
• Takes proactive steps to ensure that best practices are shared across all departments & shifts.
• Works closely with support functions (HR, Finance, IT and Supply Chain) to build and secure support and resources for projects and initiatives. 
• Identify opportunities to reduce logistics cost and improve operations
• Budget and expense control
• Ability to build and maintain a strong team
• Demonstrate an ability to assess the impact of short-term decisions on the longer term business goals.
• Supervise and motivate a large staff of managers, employees and temporary workers.
• Ensure that customer's service expectations are met, including achieving all service levels metrics and quality performance goals
• Generate, cultivate and communicate ideas for continual improvement of processes and activities across all areas of the DC operation.
• Prepare various reports and analyses as required.
• Research and reconcile forecasted financial results with posted General Ledger results as part of the Month end reconciliation.
• Foster a strong culture of teamwork and high staff engagement
• building a best-in-class safety operating environment and high quality.

Key Performance Indicators & Conduct requirements:

• Meet budgeted commitments
• Customer lates
• Departmental SLA and TAT
• Productivity targets
• Unit economics
• Zendesk tickets

Personal attributes:

• Strong operational person
• Strong systems affinity
• Ability to work on details / exception management
• Team player
• Ability to engage with various levels in the company
• Driven on results, ambitious and go getter
• Numerate and financial mind

Competencies:

• Very strong operational mind set
• Self starter
• Problem solver, ability to think fast
• Strong negotiation skills
• Tactical thinking and management skills
• Deep understanding of operations
• Responds quickly to changing situations and works well under pressure while maintaining individual team effectiveness.
• High degree of organizing and planning skills.
• Logical approach to analyzing problems and determining key issues.
• Personal qualities that include being proactive and a strategic thinker.
• Focus on accuracy and attention to detail.
• Able to interact with people at all the highest level of the organization and from diverse backgrounds.
• Good interpersonal skills - works well with others, able to motivate a complex team with diverse skills
• Mentoring and coaching skills
• Focused, self-motivated and target driven; determined to succeed.
• Service oriented attitude and great customer facing skills.
• Entrepreneurial ability to identify and develop new opportunities

Qualifications:

• Degree or National Diploma in Supply chain; engineering; Logistics; management
• At least 5-7 years senior managerial experience
• Previous experience and exposure in a highly complexed and detailed environment
• Experience and exposure in warehousing environment
• Stock management experience (inventory)
• Productivity improvement experience, reaching and exceeding targets
• Budget management experience (building; and managing)

The Environment:

• takealot.com employees are entrepreneurial and dynamic, smart, customer-centric, fun and have the shared ambition of takealot.com being the leading e-commerce company in Africa.
• We have fun, work hard, take ownership, work in teams to create solutions, and are always open to direct feedback/new ideas on where we can improve.
• We are short on ego and high on output.
• We are doers and not only thinkers, it’s all in the execution after all.
• We love what we do and what we are creating.

We seek to Employ an Extra Ordinary Mind who:

• is forthright but respectful
• is an expert at doing, who can not only design but also execute
• is analytical, able to use data to make decisions
• is competitive, self-directed and strive to be the BEST (GREAT requires a lot of work and does not only happen during business hours
• is passionate about the potential of e-commerce and delivering a world-class customer experience
• is entrepreneurial, thrives under change and accepts it is a constant and always looks for solutions to do something better and faster
• is business SMART. Able to think about problems from a business perspective using technical and product input
• is curious and challenge the status quo
• is innovative and enjoys iteration
• is collaborative
• will be at the cutting edge of developing new concepts for takealot.com.
• thinks like an owner of the business.
• is SMART, has INTEGRITY and is HARDWORKING

If you meet the above you are an Extraordinary Mind so come and join us!

Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applicants from the previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities, to apply.