Part of the Culina Group, Great Bear is the flexible, agile ambient 3PL alternative. Great Bear is a key player in ambient 3PL with an extensive depot network and some brand new, state of the art facilities.
Great Bear is a successful business with ambitious growth aspirations and an opportunity has arisen for a confident and enthusiastic Solutions Development Manager, specialising in transport design to join our entrepreneurial and successful team.
Job DescriptionReporting to the Head of Solutions Development, working within the Business Development Team, you will principally be responsible for leading tender responses, analysing customer data and requirements and designing appropriate, commercially competitive, solutions.
You will lead a team of Solutions Development Managers. You will need to have a commercial awareness of the UK third party logistics sector gained through an operations background. You will possess excellent analytical and IT skills essential to produce detailed operating cost models. You will be comfortable communicating at board level and presenting proposals to customers.
Working hours: Monday to Friday, 40 hour week.
This position is flexible on location across the Midlands/North area. Travel will be required at times.
Key Duties of a Senior Solutions Development Manager:
- Communicate directly with customers during all stages of the tender process.
- Analyse customer requirements including tender documents and data. Assess business development opportunities in the context of Great Bear’s existing operations and provide executive summaries. Make recommendations regarding the suitability of potential new business.
- Plan and coordinate project and tender responses. Make recommendations regarding bid scope. Liaise with Regional Operations Directors, operations teams and specialist functions within the business throughout all phases of the tender process.
- Design warehouse and transport solutions taking into account industry best practice. Including: Warehouse processes; layouts; equipment; IT systems; management and admin structures.
- Develop and execute appropriate models to determine resources (people, equipment, property, IT, transport etc.) to feed into financial models.
- Manage quotes for sub-contracting any non-core services which form part of tender scope.
- Prepare profit and loss budgets in conjunction with finance teams.
- Provide detailed financial and operational comparisons for alternative solutions highlighting risk.
- Prepare tender response documentation and presentations.
- Assist with the development of company marketing materials.
- Maintain an up to date knowledge of developments in the industry through membership of a professional body (e.g. CILT), attending industry events and training courses.
- Support the development of other members of the business development team.
- Support the implementation of new contracts.
- Manage a team of up to 5-7 people.
- Monitor and assign projects to reflect project requirements and the skills / experience of team members.
- Review and evaluate technical and commercial solutions created by team members.
- Provide coaching for team members. Develop the team’s analytical and solutions development capability. Develop the skills of team members through mentoring and training.
- Successful track record working in a logistics solutions design role with commercial accountability.
- Personable, professional and flexible with the ability to adapt their approach to suit individual customers’ requirements.
- Ability to lead a team through the tender process and produce high quality results. Leverage support from other departments e.g. IT, operations, HR, facilities management, to ensure appropriate engagement in solutions design and the tender process.
- Technically proficient using advanced Microsoft Office Excel functionality (macros; pivot tables; data links; lookups; etc.) with the ability to deal with complex data management.
- Current and in depth understanding of commercial warehouse and transport rates and profit & loss.
- Confident communicating with Senior Management, Key Stakeholders and customers up to and including Board Level.
- A highly confident and proactive individual able to represent the company and customer.
- Capable of working under pressure to meet critical deadlines and complete objectives.
- Ability to use industry-recognised simulation and modelling tools is not essential but may be advantageous e.g. CLASS, CAST, Paragon etc.
As part of our drive to make Great Bear a great place to work. We are proud to be an inclusive and diverse organisation where we are committed to employee development and recognising success for hard working performers.
Our dedicated learning and development programmes are open to every employee to give you the opportunity to shape your own future within logistics and continue to work in an environment where team culture thrives.
Our People are the driving force behind our success, which is why we offer a wide range of benefits which include:
- Annual Leave – Competitive holiday entitlement of 25 days plus the bank holidays.
- Company Bonus – We do our best work to succeed together. When we achieve our goals you'll be rewarded through our bonus scheme.
- Private Medical Cover – This gives you peace of mind, you have choice, flexibility and speed of access to the most clinically appropriate care via Bupa.
- Pension scheme – we want colleagues to enjoy a comfortable retirement so we offer a great contribution of 5% employee and 8% employer.
- Life Assurance - 4x your annual salary.
- Company car or car allowance - business need
- Wellness – Via our Employee Assistance Programme, we offer immediate access to a confidential telephone counselling and legal information service that operates 24 hours a days, 365 days a year.
- Eye Care Vouchers – We can provide you with substantial savings with free eye tests and discounts on prescription glasses.
- Reward & Recognition – We recognise that employees have gone the extra mile via Employee of the month and year, special recognition and long service awards.
- Everyday discounts - via our benefit platform you will have access to over 50 retailer discounts for everyday savings!
If you meet the requirements for the above role and are looking for your next career opportunity please apply now and become a part of our #WinningTeam!
Skills Required
- Track record in logistics solutions design with commercial accountability
- Commercial awareness of the UK third party logistics sector gained through operations background
- Experience leading and managing a team (up to 5-7 people)
- Experience leading tender processes and producing high-quality tender responses
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (macros, pivot tables, data links, lookups)
- Current, in-depth understanding of commercial warehouse and transport rates and profit & loss
- Ability to communicate confidently with senior management and board-level stakeholders
- Ability to work under pressure to meet critical deadlines
- Experience preparing profit and loss budgets and detailed financial models
- Membership of or engagement with professional industry bodies (e.g., CILT) and ongoing industry development
- Ability to use industry-recognised simulation and modelling tools (e.g., CLASS, CAST, Paragon)
What We Do
Culina Group is a market leading provider of high quality logistics services for food and drink companies in the UK and Ireland. We serve a sizeable portfolio of customers - ranging from niche operators to major multinational companies - across our vast depot network, comprised of over 100 strategically located sites. We work with over 22,000 fantastic people at peak and specialise in the development and implementation of total supply chain solutions for ambient and chilled brand manufacturers and distributors. We are totally customer focused and always seek to add real value to our clients, providing a holistic solution to meet the challenges faced by manufacturers and the changing demands of the retail sector.
