F. Smales & Son (Fish Merchants) Ltd is a leading name in the seafood and frozen food distribution industry. Operating from our National Distribution Centre in Hull, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional quality, service, and reliability to our customers nationwide. Due to retirement, we are now seeking a highly skilled, motivated, and experienced Cold Store Manager to lead our cold storage operations.
As the Cold Store Manager, you will take full operational ownership of our temperature-controlled facility. Your mission will be to lead and manage all Cold Store operations to deliver exceptional customer service and operational efficiency. You will ensure full compliance with food safety, health & safety, environmental, and legal standards, while fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and high employee engagement.
Key Responsibilities
- Operational Leadership: Oversee daily warehouse operations (intake, storage, picking, loading, and dispatch). Monitor and improve key KPIs including stock accuracy, temperature compliance, labour efficiency, and cost per pallet.
- Budgetary Control: Develop, agree, and manage the annual departmental budget, driving cost-control initiatives and operational efficiencies.
- Temperature & Product Integrity: Ensure continuous monitoring of temperature-controlled zones. Oversee the calibration of probes/sensors and manage immediate corrective actions for any deviations. Maintain strict allergen control, product segregation, and food safety standards.
- Compliance & Audits: Act as the departmental lead for HACCP and Quality Management Systems. Coordinate and lead audits with external regulators and certification bodies (HSE, Environmental Health, insurers), ensuring we maintain our BRCGS Storage & Distribution AA Grade status.
- Health, Safety & Risk Management: Foster a zero-harm culture through thorough risk assessments, robust safe systems of work, contractor management, and incident investigations. Maintain emergency response plans (refrigeration failure, fire, ammonia leaks).
- People Development: Recruit, train, and performance-manage the cold store team. Maintain up-to-date training matrices (FLT licences, manual handling, food safety) and build a strong pipeline for succession planning.
- Asset & Site Standards: Manage planned preventative maintenance (PPM) for all refrigeration systems, racking, and forklifts to minimise operational downtime. Ensure the site meets pristine hygiene and housekeeping standards.
- Sustainability: Monitor energy consumption across refrigeration and lighting, ensuring full compliance with environmental legislation, including F-Gas regulations.
What We Are Looking For
Essential Criteria:
- Proven leadership experience within a cold storage, temperature-controlled warehousing, logistics, or food manufacturing environment.
- Strong technical understanding of HACCP and food safety regulations.
- Exceptional people management skills with a proven track record of developing teams and driving accountability.
- Good communication skills
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and budgetary management abilities.
- A demonstrable commitment to Health & Safety and risk management.
Desirable Criteria:
- An IOSH or NEBOSH qualification.
- Direct knowledge and experience maintaining BRCGS Storage & Distribution accreditation standards.
- Direct experience working with ammonia refrigeration systems.
- Experience managing customer Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and commercial relationships.
- Experience leading continuous improvement (CI) or digital change initiatives.
What We Offer
- Competitive Salary: £52,500 per annum.
- Company Car: Vehicle included as part of your package.
- Pension Scheme: 5% Employer Pension Contribution.
- Health & Wellbeing: Full Health Insurance and Life Insurance (following successful completion of your probation period).
- Working Hours: Monday to Friday, flexibly between our two set shift times (6am-2pm and 2pm-10pm) as required.
- Leadership Impact: A senior role with direct reporting to the Joint Managing Directors and the freedom to spearhead digital and sustainability initiatives.
Pay: £52,500.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company car
- Company pension
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
Application question(s):
- How many years of management experience do you have within a temperature-controlled (Cold Store) or food manufacturing environment?
- Do you have direct experience managing or preparing a facility for BRCGS (specifically Storage & Distribution) audits?
- What is your highest level of qualification or formal training in HACCP?
- Do you hold an IOSH or NEBOSH health and safety qualification?
Work Location: In person
