Group Logistics Manager at Highland… · Blackford

At Highland Spring Group, we’re proud of where we come from, what we produce and the people who make it happen.

From our home in the Ochil Hills, we produce some of the UK’s best-known natural source water brands. As our business continues to grow, having a resilient, efficient and high-performing logistics network is critical to getting our products where they need to be, when they need to be there.

We’re now looking for an experienced Logistics Manager to join our Supply Chain team and lead the operational performance and continued development of our logistics network.

The opportunity

Reporting to our Group Supply Chain Manager, you’ll take ownership of the day-to-day execution and performance of our logistics operation.

This is a broad leadership role with responsibility for our third-party logistics partnerships, logistics costs, warehouse capacity, stock accuracy and service performance. You’ll turn our wider logistics strategy into practical delivery, ensuring our network performs today while remaining ready to support the future growth of Highland Spring Group.

Alongside managing our existing network, you’ll play a key role in the commissioning, start-up and transition of warehouse operations, ensuring changes are implemented safely, effectively and with minimal disruption to customers.

You’ll work closely with colleagues across Supply Chain, Operations, Customer Service, Planning, IT and Finance, while building strong and commercially effective relationships with our external logistics partners.

What you’ll be doing

A major part of the role will be leading our relationships with our 3PL warehouse partners. You’ll establish clear expectations, track performance against meaningful KPIs and make sure actions are followed through when things aren’t where they need to be.

You’ll have a strong commercial focus too, managing logistics costs, challenging storage, handling, fuel and additional charges, and identifying opportunities to improve utilisation and productivity.

You’ll also:

• Lead the commissioning and operational start-up of new or changing warehouse operations, ensuring effective mobilisation and readiness.
• Lead warehouse transitions and transfers across inbound and outbound operations, coordinating activity across internal teams, customers and logistics partners.
• Plan and manage customer migration, stock transfers and systems cutover, ensuring clear ownership, sequencing and operational control throughout.
• Identify and manage service risks during warehouse transitions, putting appropriate contingency and mitigation plans in place to protect customer service.
• Own stock accuracy performance across our external logistics network, ensuring discrepancies are properly understood and resolved.
• Translate production and demand plans into clear warehouse and transport capacity requirements.
• Identify capacity constraints and operational risks early and put effective plans in place.
• Ensure our logistics network supports customer service and OTIF performance.
• Lead the resolution of recurring logistics and service issues.
• Support contract renewals, tenders and commercial negotiations with logistics partners.
• Lead agreed warehouse, logistics, rail and multimodal improvements.
• Provide clear reporting across service, cost, stock, capacity, risks and actions.
• Lead, support and develop the Logistics team, creating clear accountability and helping people perform at their best.
• Continuously look for better ways of working across the logistics network.

About you

You’ll bring strong experience within logistics, warehousing or 3PL management, ideally gained within FMCG, manufacturing or another high-volume environment.

Crucially, you’ll have experience of warehouse commissioning, start-up or significant operational transition. You’ll understand what it takes to move from planning into live operation while maintaining control of stock, systems, service and customer requirements.

You’ll be comfortable operating at both an operational and commercial level — able to get into the detail when required while keeping sight of wider business priorities.

We’d particularly like to hear from you if you have:

• Strong experience managing external logistics or warehousing partners.
• Experience commissioning or starting up warehouse operations.
• Experience leading warehouse transitions or transfers, covering inbound and outbound operations.
• Practical experience of customer migration, stock transfers and systems cutover.
• Experience identifying and managing service risk during major logistics or warehouse change.
• A good commercial understanding of warehousing and transport operations.
• Experience managing inventory controls and stock accuracy.
• Strong supplier-management and negotiation capability.
• Confidence using data to understand performance and constructively challenge where required.
• Strong organisational skills and a reputation for following things through.
• Experience leading and developing others.
• The ability to take a strategy or plan and translate it into clear actions and measurable delivery.

Just as importantly, we’re looking for someone who leads in the right way.

Someone who takes ownership, sets clear expectations and creates accountability. Someone who builds open and effective relationships, listens to different perspectives and is prepared to challenge constructively. And someone who believes things can always be better and actively looks for opportunities to improve how we work.

How we work

Our values are at the heart of Highland Spring Group:

We’re a Team. We’re Proud. We Care.

For this role, that means working collaboratively across functions and with our logistics partners rather than operating in isolation. It means taking pride in the performance of the network and treating company investment and resources as if they were your own. And it means caring about our people, our customers and the long-term success of the business.

You’ll be expected to lead with integrity, create clarity for your team, develop others and build relationships based on openness, respect and shared purpose.

Every drop of Highland Spring begins in the Ochil Hills, drawn from land we have protected and cared for for generations.

If you’d like to bring your logistics expertise to a growing Scottish business where you can make a tangible impact on performance, service and the future shape of our logistics network, we’d love to hear from you.