Operations Director - Wigan

Are you an experienced senior operations leader with a background in large-scale delivery, logistics, or warehousing? Do you have a proven track record of senior operations leadership within a delivery, logistics, or warehousing environment? Are you confident leading multi-site teams, driving operational performance, and delivering transformation across a complex delivery network? ArrowXL is looking for an Operations Director to join our team, based at our Wigan office. You’ll be empowered to make a real impact within a collaborative environment.

The Operations Director is a key strategic leader responsible for driving operational excellence, network performance, and service quality across all sites. They lead, inspire, and develop ArrowXL’s General Managers, Central Planning, Fleet, and Service Partner functions, ensuring our 2-person delivery, warehousing, transport, and end-to-end logistics operations run effectively, safely, and in line with commercial and client expectations. Reporting directly to the CEO, the postholder provides operational governance, sets clear performance standards, and drives continuous improvement across the business.

If you're ready to lead at scale and drive transformation across a national logistics network, we’d love to speak with you.

What will the role involve?

• Provide long-term strategic leadership and governance across our major hubs and associated outbases, ensuring each General Manager delivers safe, efficient, legally compliant, and service-focused operations.
• Lead, support, and develop General Managers (site and other operational functions) to effectively run large multi-functional teams (warehouse, transport, planning and support functions), ensuring strong people leadership, engagement, and performance management across headcounts of several hundred colleagues.
• Ensure site leadership teams foster a positive, values-driven working environment that supports high engagement and strong colleague development.
• Drive a strong culture of safety across the network by ensuring all sites maintain safe working environments, comply with H&S legislation, and embed proactive safety behaviours.
• Lead the Fleet function to ensure high vehicle availability, compliance, and cost efficiency across the 2-person delivery fleet.
• Ensure Fleet Compliance has the resources, budget, policy framework, and cross-departmental alignment needed to keep the fleet fully compliant, cost-efficient, and operationally reliable.
• Provide strategic oversight and support to the trunking operation, ensuring transport is reliable, cost-effective, and aligned with network capacity, delivery schedules, and service commitments.
• Provide strategic oversight to the Central Planning function, ensuring robust capacity planning, routing strategy, labour modelling, and daily network optimisation.
• Hold the Planning team accountable for accurate forecasting and efficient flow of goods across the network, enabling execution rather than performing the technical planning work.
• Directly manage and develop the Service Partner Delivery Manager, providing clear leadership, coaching, and governance frameworks while maintaining senior visibility with key clients to support relationship management, issue resolution, and confidence in partner delivery.
• Develop and deliver the multi-year operations strategy aligned with business goals, working closely with Commercial teams to ensure operational capability, service design, and ensure the network is appropriately aligned to service requirements to enable sustainable growth.
• Work with Group companies to exchange best practice and consider potential international opportunities that align with operational capability and broader business strategy.
• Lead the strategic planning for peak trading, disruption scenarios, and business continuity.

What are we looking for?

• Proven track record of senior operations leadership (Head of Ops / Operations Director level), with substantial experience operating at this level within a delivery, logistics, or warehousing environment – ideally 2-person home delivery or similar high-touch service.
• Strong understanding of warehouse operations, last-mile delivery, transport compliance, and fleet management.
• Demonstrable experience managing multi-site operations and senior leaders (e.g., General Managers, Head of Planning, Fleet Managers).
• Excellent command of operational KPIs, productivity levers, and financial drivers of a delivery network.
• Strong analytical ability with experience using data, dashboards, and operational systems (WMS, TMS, route optimisation platforms).
• Clear leadership presence: capable of influencing at all levels, driving change, and creating accountability.
• Experience with Service Partner / Delivery Partner networks.
• Experience in large-scale customer-facing logistics (white goods, retail, furniture, 3PL).

What’s in it for you? What are the benefits?

• Annual Leave: 34 days entitlement (including statutory bank holidays) which increases with service.
• Holiday Buy Scheme – buy up to 5 additional days.
• Pension Plan options – plus company contributions.
• Private Medical Insurance via Bupa.
• Life Insurance – company-funded 2x basic salary life cover from day one.
• Medicash – health insurance package that provides cashback towards everyday healthcare bills.
• Employee Assistance Programme – free 24/7 confidential wellbeing support.
• Progression and Development Opportunities – department-specific technical training and internal management development academies.
• Staff Discount – 25% off designer branded clothing, footwear and home accessories, with 15% off furniture, leisure and electrical items via very.co.uk.
• Discounted Gym Membership – up to 25% discount across 3700 nationally located gyms, health clubs, leisure centres, boot camps and fitness studios.
• Cycle to Work scheme – partnership with Halfords.
• Long Service Awards – recognition of commitment.
• Employee of the Month – winners receive £25 voucher, certificate and Hall of Fame recognition.
• CEO Award of the Month – winners receive £100 voucher, certificate and Hall of Fame recognition.
• Departmental Incentives – year‑round departmental competitions, seasonal incentives and gifts.
• Retail Discounts – huge savings in supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s), fashion (Adidas, Asos, H&M, Boohoo, JD, Matalan) and technology (Apple, Argos, Currys/PC World, John Lewis), plus many more.

How To Apply

It’s quick and easy to apply online – just have your up-to-date CV ready and follow the step‑by‑step application process. At ArrowXL, we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive, regardless of background. If you’re invited to interview and need any adjustments during the process, please let us know – we’ll do everything we can to make your experience smooth and positive. Ready to make an impact? Apply now and take the next step in your career with ArrowXL.