Head of Operations (Maternity Cover)
REFY Beauty · Manchester · onsite
REFY ships to customers and retailers across four regions out of three third party logistics sites. This is a 12 month maternity cover for the Head of Operations, holding that network to standard and moving it forward.
The role runs the day to day operations team: DTC and B2B dispatch on time and in full, third party logistics performance at every site, inbound flow, retailer compliance, and the cost of all of it inside the operations budget.
Operations is as brand led as every other team at REFY. The delivery experience is part of the brand and our logistics partners are an extension of it. The strategy and the standards are already set, so this is a role for someone who lands them, keeps the team developing rather than holding steady, and hands back a function in better shape than they found it.
This is a 12-month Fixed-Term contract.Operations & Service Levels- Own daily DTC and B2B order flow across all sites.
- Ensure DTC dispatch is on time, accurate and within mispick tolerance.
- Ensure B2B is delivered on time and in full against contracted and internal standards.
- Provide daily site forecasts and resolve live issues quickly.
- Lead peak readiness and execution for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and NPD launches.
3PL, Courier & Cost Performance- Manage 3PL relationships and performance across the UK, USA and EU, alongside key courier partners.
- Hold each site to SLA through weekly scorecards and monthly KPI reviews.
Audit logistics invoices against contracted rates and challenge discrepancies.
- Own the operations budget, reduce cost per order and cut warehouse transfers year on year.
- Keep the network costed for future market launches.
Inbound, Supplier & Freight Flow- Own inbound delivery performance, supplier readiness, ex-factory timelines, freight forwarder relationships, routing and rates.
- Improve inbound on-time receipt, damage rate and SLA adherence.
- Keep air freight to exceptions.
- Fix paperwork and transfer issues so receipts land clean first time.
- Ensure customs, duty and import compliance across every lane, including duty drawback where relevant.
Retailer Compliance, B2B & Customer Experience- Own retailer vendor requirements across all 3PLs, including full paper trail, bill of lading and packing list compliance, and EDI adoption where possible.
- Reduce chargebacks and shortages year on year, and challenge incorrect claims.
- Maintain order fill rate with no cuts.
- Own returns and RTV processing across DTC and B2B.
- Protect the customer delivery promise through on-time delivery, delivery CSAT and Trustpilot performance.
Brand, Partner & Sustainability Standards- Treat fulfilment as part of the brand experience, from packaging and presentation to the checkout promise.
- Hold logistics partners to REFY standards in product handling, packing, working practices and communication.
- Bring site teams closer to the brand through training, visits and transparency.
- Keep sustainability and cost visible across packaging, last mile and freight decisions.
Team, Systems & Reporting- Lead a team of four through two managers across supply planning, inbound logistics and fulfilment.
- Continue team development throughout the cover period, ensuring the team is further forward after twelve months.
- Support clean handovers at both ends of the cover period.
- Own NetSuite, EDI and AI connectors, keeping the function working from one set of tools and data.
- Report weekly to the Commercial & Operations Director on risk, cost and decisions needed.
- Work closely with Commercial Planning on dispatch execution: they own the plan, this role runs the suppliers and sites that deliver it.
Essential:- 9+ years in operations, fulfilment or logistics in a multi-channel consumer business, with DTC and B2B both in scope.
- Track record of holding third party logistics partners to a service level, and fixing it when they miss.
- Experience running dispatch across more than one region and more than one site.
- Strong retailer compliance experience: EDI, retailer portals, bills of lading and packing lists, chargebacks and shortage disputes.
- Inbound and freight experience: forwarders, rates, routing, customs and duty.
- Comfortable owning an operations budget and challenging an invoice line by line.
- Holds a partner to standard without the relationship turning adversarial, and treats their team as an extension of ours.
- A proven people leader who develops a team rather than holding it steady.
- Experienced with NetSuite or a comparable ERP and with Shopify, and comfortable using AI tools day to day.
Desirable:- Beauty, prestige or premium consumer experience, and knowledge of Sephora, Space NK or Boots operational standards.
- Experience running a third party logistics tender, or onboarding a new site.
- Available at short notice and comfortable in a fixed term role.
- 25+ Days Holiday: Start with 25 days and earn an extra day for every year of service, up to 5 additional days.
- Extra Holidays: Option to buy up to 5 additional days.
- Sabbatical Leave: Take up to 3 months off after 4 years of service.
- Community First Day: A day to support a cause you love.
- Bonus Scheme: Rewards for your hard work and success.
- Family Leave: Enhanced support for new parents.
- Salary Sacrifice Pension: Plan for your future with a 5% employer contribution through our salary sacrifice pension scheme.
- EV Scheme: Drive electric with salary sacrifice options.
- Financial Coaching: Guidance to boost your money mindset.
- Flexible Religious Holidays: Flexibility to honour days that matter to you.
- Flexible Working: Flexible start and finish times, with the option to work one day per week from home.
- REFY Product Perks: An annual allowance, exclusive discounts and the chance to try new REFY products before they launch.
- Regular Social Events: Team-building days and seasonal parties.
- Career Growth: Tailored training and development opportunities.
- Vitality Health Insurance: Health coverage with added benefits.