Recruitment Consultant – Transport Desk
Location: Needwood HQ, Burton upon Trent
Salary: £28,000–£32,000 per annum, dependent on experience
Package: Uncapped commission and company benefits
Contract: Permanent, full-time
Working pattern: Monday to Friday, with participation in an out-of-hours rota where required
About Kenect Recruitment
Kenect Recruitment is an established national recruitment business providing temporary and permanent staffing solutions across the Transport, Industrial and Commercial sectors.
With an established UK branch network and experienced operational support teams, we work with businesses ranging from independent local operators through to major national organisations.
As part of our continued growth, we are looking for a driven and commercially minded Recruitment Consultant to develop and manage a Transport recruitment desk from our Needwood headquarters.
The opportunity
This is a full 360-degree recruitment position combining candidate recruitment, client management, business development and operational delivery.
You will be responsible for building relationships with transport and logistics businesses, understanding their staffing requirements and supplying reliable, fully compliant professional drivers.
The desk will recruit across roles including:
- HGV Class 1 drivers.
- HGV Class 2 drivers.
- 7.5-tonne drivers.
- Van and multidrop drivers.
- Drivers’ mates.
- Shunter drivers.
- Transport administrators.
- Transport planners and coordinators.
You will have the support of Kenect’s wider branch network, central compliance functions, established systems and experienced management team. However, this is a role for someone who wants to take ownership of their desk, build strong client relationships and directly influence its commercial success.
Key responsibilities
Client development and account management
- Develop and maintain relationships with transport, logistics, distribution and supply-chain businesses.
- Identify and approach prospective customers through telephone activity, email, LinkedIn, networking and face-to-face visits.
- Understand clients’ transport operations, shift patterns, licence requirements and workforce challenges.
- Attend client meetings, site visits and service reviews.
- Produce quotations and negotiate charge rates within agreed commercial guidelines.
- Manage existing client accounts and identify opportunities to increase market share.
- Ensure clients receive a responsive and reliable service.
- Build strong relationships with Transport Managers, Operations Managers, Depot Managers and HR teams.
- Maintain accurate client, contact and opportunity information on the company CRM.
- Monitor account margins, profitability and payment terms.
- Work towards agreed sales, gross-profit and margin targets.
Candidate Recruitment & Driver Management
- Advertise transport and driving vacancies across job boards, social media and candidate databases.
- Proactively source suitable drivers rather than relying solely on advert responses.
- Conduct telephone screenings, interviews and registrations.
- Assess candidates’ experience, availability, licence categories and suitability for each assignment.
- Complete right-to-work checks, employment-history checks and obtain relevant references.
- Check driving licences, endorsements, Driver CPC cards and Digital Tachograph cards.
- Conduct regular DVLA licence checks in accordance with company procedures.
- Maintain accurate and fully compliant candidate records.
- Build a dependable pool of available drivers across different licence categories and shift patterns.
- Develop positive, professional relationships with drivers to improve retention and availability.
- Brief drivers fully before assignments, including start times, site instructions, duties and customer expectations.
- Manage driver performance, attendance, conduct and assignment feedback.
- Address candidate queries and resolve issues fairly and professionally.
Administration, payroll and compliance
- Ensure all candidate and client information is accurately recorded on the company systems.
- Obtain and process timesheets within payroll deadlines.
- Investigate and resolve timesheet, pay and charge queries.
- Ensure assignment details, pay rates and charge rates are correctly documented.
- Maintain awareness of drivers’ hours, Working Time rules and road-transport compliance requirements.
- Follow Agency Workers Regulations, right-to-work and employment-business requirements.
- Work closely with Kenect’s Accounts and Compliance teams.
- Ensure client rate cards, Terms of Business and relevant documentation are uploaded and maintained correctly.
- Protect the business by maintaining high standards of candidate vetting and documentation.
We are looking for someone who is confident, organised and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment. You may already be working within recruitment or transport, or you may have a strong background in sales, account management or customer service:
We'll need you to demonstrate:
- Previous experience within recruitment, sales, account management or business development.
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
- Confidence speaking with clients, candidates and senior decision-makers.
- The ability to manage competing priorities and respond calmly to urgent situations.
- A proactive approach to generating new business.
- Good commercial awareness and an understanding of the importance of rates, margins and profitability.
- Strong attention to detail, particularly when completing compliance and payroll-related work.
- The resilience required to work within temporary recruitment.
- The ability to work independently while contributing to a wider team.
- Confidence using CRM systems, job boards, email and Microsoft Office.
- A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for client visits.
What we offer
- Salary of £28,000 - £32,000, dependant on experience
- Uncapped commission based on desk performance
- A clear and transparant performance structure
- Company laptop & mobile phone
- Business mileage and expenses for client visits
- Clear progression to Business Development or Desk Manager
- Company pension
- Free on-site parking at Needwood HQ
- Birthdays off
internal2026
Pay: Up to £30,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
