Logistics Manager

Hawkstone is a fast-growing British drinks brand, sold through grocery, wholesale, hospitality and direct-to-consumer channels, with its own venues and new international markets opening up. Its supply chain is lean and highly outsourced: production, warehousing and national transport are all run through external partners, so this role is about keeping those moving parts connected, often through people and businesses that sit outside the organisation.

As Logistics Manager, you'll own the day-to-day running of the logistics operation. The majority of volume flows through a national 3PL, with additional stock held across production partners, regional logistics providers and Hawkstone's own facilities supporting direct and local fulfilment. The Head of Logistics owns the budgets, contracts and strategic commercial relationships with partners; you own the day. If production disruption means several partners and deliveries need replanning at short notice, that's your morning. If a key customer delivery misses its slot, you'll be driving the resolution.

On paper, the operation is relatively straightforward. In practice, the outsourced model creates real complexity: each partner owns their part of the chain, but this role is responsible for making sure the whole thing works together. It calls for someone who can stay ahead of issues, coordinate multiple stakeholders and keep products moving when plans inevitably change.

About the Team

You'll be based at Hawkstone's College Farm site in Bourton-on-the-Water, working within a sensible commute of Cheltenham, Gloucester and the wider Cotswolds, and reporting into the Head of Logistics. You'll work closely with the supply chain team on production planning, coordinate daily with 3PL warehouses, hauliers and production partners, and act through your inventory coordinators to keep stock accurate across every site.

What You'll Do

• Own the daily inbound, outbound and stock transfer plan
• Manage day-to-day relationships with 3PL warehouses, hauliers and production partners
• Coordinate finished goods movements from production sites into the warehouse network
• Plan pallet network, groupage, FTL and dedicated transport requirements
• Monitor deliveries and manage delays, failures and re-deliveries before the customer feels them
• Investigate operational failures, establish root cause and fix the process behind them
• Maintain inventory control and stock accuracy across internal and third-party locations, through your inventory coordinators
• Manage stock discrepancies, cycle counts, quarantine and traceability
• Manage CHEP, Kegstar and other returnable asset reconciliations
• Oversee the brewery warehouse, local deliveries, drivers and vehicles
• Keep logistics transactions and master data accurate in NetSuite and connected systems
• Track OTIF, stock accuracy and carrier performance, and act on what they tell you
• Support the Head of Logistics on improvement projects, new customers and system changes

What You'll Bring

• A logistics manager who has run a live operation day to day, in transport, warehousing or both
• Experience working through 3PLs, not negotiating with them, working with them
• Someone who has seen both a scale-up and a larger, more structured business, and knows what to take from each
• Calm when the plan falls apart, and quick at rebuilding it
• Someone who brings the fix, not just the problem
• Organised, and comfortable working without much structure around them
• Strong Excel, with ERP experience useful and NetSuite particularly welcome
• A valid forklift licence is always welcome, but not required

A background in FMCG, food or drinks will help you settle quickly, though drinks experience is not required; Hawkstone cares more about whether you can get product from A to B reliably. Duty-suspended and bonded movements, EMCS, EDI, and returnable asset management are all useful and learnable.

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