Job Description

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

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