About the Role
We’re excited to be looking for a Despatch Coordinator to join our team in Hinckley. This is a fantastic opportunity to play a key role in ensuring our customers receive the high-quality service they expect, while helping us optimise our transport operations.
In this role, you’ll be responsible for planning and coordinating vehicle loads to ensure orders are delivered on time, while maximising vehicle utilisation and minimising transport costs. You’ll act as a central point of communication between customers, hauliers, and internal teams, proactively managing any issues and helping to keep everything running smoothly.
This is a fast-paced and collaborative role where you’ll have the opportunity to make a real impact, contribute to continuous improvement, and be part of a supportive and driven team.
Key Responsibilities: (included but not limited)
Planning and Transport
Plan and optimise loads by destination, ensuring efficient vehicle utilisation and cost control
Arrange external transport, build load configurations, and manage routes and delivery trackers
Prioritise urgent or at-risk deliveries to meet customer commitments
Customer & Stakeholder Communication
Liaise with customers to arrange delivery bookings and provide updates on schedules
Proactively communicate any risks or delays, ensuring excellent service
Work closely with Customer Services, Planning, and Despatch teams to keep operations running smoothly
Coordination & Problem Resolution
Attend daily review meetings and collaborate with FLT loaders to manage risks
Handle customer returns, system updates, and support issue resolution efficiently
Continuous Improvement & Cost Control
Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce overs, and optimise backloads
Approve haulier invoices, complete vendor assessments, and maintain accurate cost data
Health & Safety
Promote a safe working environment by following procedures and challenging unsafe behaviours
Ensure visiting drivers understand and comply with site safety standards
Report incidents and risks promptly
About You
You’ll be a proactive and organised individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys solving problems collaboratively. With a strong customer focus, you’ll take pride in delivering a reliable, efficient service and go the extra mile to meet customer needs.
You’ll bring experience ideally from a busy despatch or logistics environment, with the ability to manage priorities, work confidently with systems and data, and communicate effectively with stakeholders.
Minimum Requirements:
Essential
Experience in a fast-paced despatch, logistics, or transport planning role
Strong organisational and communication skills
Customer-focused mindset with the ability to manage queries confidently
Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office – Excel (intermediate)
Ability to work accurately with strong attention to detail
Desirable
Experience within a manufacturing environment
Exposure to integrated business systems (e.g. CBS)
Continuous learning and development mindse
Benefits
Additional benefits include:
25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
Pension scheme
Life assurance
Income protection
Employee assistance program
Cycle to work scheme
Shopping discounts
Subsidised staff canteen
On site parking
Location: Hinckley
Working Pattern: On Site – Monday to Thursday 08:45 – 17:00 / Friday – 08:45 – 15:45
About us
We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!
Fair recruitment at DS Smith
To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria
#LI-CE
Skills Required
- Experience in a fast-paced despatch, logistics, or transport planning role
- Strong organisational and communication skills
- Customer-focused mindset with ability to manage queries confidently
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office - Excel (intermediate)
- Ability to work accurately with strong attention to detail
- Experience within a manufacturing environment
- Exposure to integrated business systems (e.g. CBS)
- Continuous learning and development mindset
DS Smith Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about DS Smith and has not been reviewed or approved by DS Smith.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered okay to good across many roles, with some plants indicating competitive or above‑market hourly rates for operators and similar positions. This supports a broadly fair perception of base pay even as experiences vary by site.
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Healthcare Strength — U.S. offerings include day‑one medical/vision and dental, employer HSA contributions, and 100% company‑paid life and short/long‑term disability, alongside an EAP. Some role descriptions also highlight mental‑health and fertility options.
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Retirement Support — Packages commonly reference a 401(k) with company match and, in some locations, pension eligibility or company‑funded retirement contributions. This positions retirement benefits as a meaningful component of total rewards.
DS Smith Insights
What We Do
DS Smith provides innovative packaging solutions, paper products and recycling services with a commitment to sustainability and a circular economy. Our core purpose is to Redefine Packaging for a Changing World, and our expert teams work closely with like-minded partners to incorporate renewable resources for products that minimize our environmental impact, reduce complexity and increase profitability through supply chain optimization
