Job Objectives
As the Head of Warehouse Operations, you are the owner of one of the largest warehouses in our Satair network, responsible for its strategic direction, financial performance, and operational execution. This is not just a role managing day-to-day operations; it is about architecting a world-class fulfillment engine that serves as a key pillar in our global supply chain network. You will lead a sizable team of leaders and associates, own the site's full P&L, and cultivate a culture of improvement and leadership development. The ideal candidate is a data-obsessed operator, a strategic thinker, and an inspirational leader who can dive deep into details while simultaneously thinking big to define the future of warehousing and building a talent pipeline.
Job Responsibilities
Warehouse Operations
- Operational Excellence: Lead the warehouse to achieve best-in-class performance across all key metrics: Safety (LTI), Quality (RFT), Delivery (OTD), and Cost. Champion a culture where every operator is an owner of these metrics.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Champion a deep dive culture where data, not anecdotes, drives decisions. Leverage advanced analytics, skywise, and AI insights to identify trends, root-cause defects, and unlock new levels of performance.
- Innovation & Automation: Sponsor and direct high-impact technology projects, from piloting new robotics and automation systems to implementing predictive analytics for labor planning and inventory flow.
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Serve as the primary operational leader and strategic partner to executive leadership across Supply Chain, Finance, HR, and Technology, ensuring the hub's strategy is tightly aligned with broader company objectives.
- Resilience & Business Continuity: Own contingency planning for labour shortages, supply disruption, system outages and other unforeseen events.
- Capacity and Scalability Planning: Own long term warehouse capacity and scalability strategy to support growth, peak resilience and evolving customer requirements
Team and Leadership
- Leadership of Leaders: Directly lead, mentor, and develop a team of functional leaders (Heads of Inbound, Outbound, Inventory, etc.). Build a world-class leadership bench with a clear succession plan for all critical roles.
- Talent Strategy Ownership: Own the end-to-end talent strategy for a team of associates. Set a high bar for hiring, develop rigorous performance management systems, and create clear career paths that foster retention and growth.
- Culture Cultivation: Intentionally design and cultivate a facility-wide culture rooted in high performance, psychological safety, and continuous learning. Be the primary champion for employee engagement, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.
- Team Communication: Develop and execute a clear and consistent communication strategy that keeps all levels of the organization informed, engaged, and connected to the company's mission and goals.
Strategic stakeholder management responsibilities
- Act as the single point of accountability for balancing cost, service, speed and risk across other functional stakeholders. Lead cross-functional trade-off decisions in times of conflict in priorities between Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance and Operations
- Make explicit, data-backed recommendations on what business should stop, change, or defer to safeguard company interests.
Compliances, Risk Management and Safety
- Ensure operational stability and contingency through structured risk management and strict adherence to Health, Safety & Environment (HS&E) policies and highest safety standards.
- Set clear objectives aligned with company ethics, regulatory, legal, and aviation-specific compliance standards.
- Promote and support internal/external audits and operational reviews to maintain process compliance and adherence to global policies and standards.
Secondary Responsibilities
- Communicate job expectations and coach employees
- Determine staffing levels and assign workload
- Support business case analysis by applying workload driver model
- Interface with internal stakeholders to answer questions or solve problems
- Document necessary information and utilize reports to project warehouse status
- Identify areas of improvement and establish innovative or adjust existing work procedures and practices
- Manage relation and coordination with all internal and external stakeholders to boost and smooth the operation
- Check updating and analyzing customer and vendor claims to identify issues and optimize the process
- Hold regular safety training meetings to ensure safety measures are met and team members have a safe work environment
- Adapt to growth and changes to our business as needed
- Prepare to lead projects designed to evolve our business model
- To work in backup capacity mode with other team leads within warehouse functions and deputize HO ASOMx in meetings where necessary
- Participate in all internal and external audits
- To ensure the personal and professional development of team members through relevant training in cooperation with HR
- Ensure team members are aware and perform in accordance to procedures in Company Management System
- Lead critical, cross-functional strategic initiatives, such as new business line integration, network optimization studies, or the launch of new sustainability programs.
- Serve as the voice of Operations in senior leadership forums, providing critical insights that shape overall company strategy.
- Other duties as assigned
Job Requirements
- Degree in logistics / supply chain management or equivalent courses
- Minimum 5 years at a leadership and people management role
- Minimum of 8-10 years of progressive experience in a large scale distribution, manufacturing and/or order fulfillment environment
- Strong knowledge in material management, warehouse and transportation operations
- Preferably knowledge about the aerospace aftermarket, customer services and after sales operations in the aviation industry
- In depth knowledge about IT systems, preferably SAP R/3, materials management, warehouse and transportation management systems, process governance and quality management, ideally in the aviation context
- Working knowledge of English, both orally and in writing
- Strong stakeholder and relationship management
- Ability to execute and drive change
- Customer focused, with strong communication, negotiation and relationship building skills
- Proven team player who has the ability to align diverse stakeholders and succeed in a matrixed, multi-cultural and a hybrid work environment
- Strong analytical and critical thinking skills; able to see the bigger picture and implement mid- to long-term solutions.
- Proactive and resilient, with a drive for change, the backbone to support and stand for ideas, and the ability to disagree and commit
- Excellent problem-solving abilities, working independently and efficiently under pressure in dynamic settings.
- Highly organized with exceptional time management and the flexibility to adapt in fast-changing environments.
