Strategy & Operations Associate - Middle Mile Transport

In the future, almost everything we consume will simply materialise on our doorsteps – what we call “e-commerce” today will simply be “commerce” tomorrow. But if we continue on today’s trajectory, the growth of e-commerce risks damaging the environment, alienating our communities, and straining the bottom-line for small businesses. Relay is an e-commerce-native logistics network. We are built from the ground up for environmental, social, and economic sustainability. By building from the ground up we are able to entirely rethink both the middle and last mile enabling us to reduce the number of miles driven to deliver each parcel, lower carbon emissions, and lower costs, all while channeling funds to community members. At the same time, we’re fixing the last broken aspect of e-commerce for consumers: delivery. As shoppers, we should have complete control over when and how we receive our purchases, and we should be able to return unwanted items as easily as we ordered them. That’s why whenever you buy from a merchant powered by Relay, you’ll be able to reschedule your delivery at any time. And if you don’t like what you ordered, at the tap of a button we’ll send someone to pick it up. To orchestrate this complex ballet, Relay relies on a wide range of technologies, from advanced routing and planning to sophisticated user experiences that guide our team members on the ground. We are looking for a Strategy & Operations Associate - Middle Mile Transport, who will work on the day to day planning and execution of our transport routes between our hybrid sortation warehouse(s) (HSCs) and hyper-local pitstops, within Relay’s ambitious on-time delivery as well as cost targets. As the Strategy & Operations Associate - Middle Mile Transport you can expect to…
Own the day to day planning and route planning of vehicles for Relay’s HSCs to Pitstop routes, escalating and intervening in the case of any delays or obstacles to cost efficiency. Communicate transport schedules and changes with a hybrid fleet of Relay’s own couriers as well as transport suppliers. Calculate and proactively communicate Middle Mile courier resource needs to manager and Courier Growth team, and following up on courier supply progress to meet capacity as well as cost targets Proactively communicate with Pitstop stakeholders to ensure smooth and timely collection, drop offs as well as cost efficiency. Proactively communicate with internal Sortation warehouse stakeholders, to enable smooth and secure inflow and outflow of bags and also return parcels
into Relay’s sortation facility. Proactively communicate and train internal Pitstop Network stakeholders to enable smooth and secure inflow and outflow of bags and collection of loose parcels from Relay’s network of pitstops. Collaborate with the Engineering team to articulate current and upcoming challenges, to enable immediately impactful builds to improve efficiency and security Collaborate with the Data team to produce, regularly update and create reports to improve visibility of performance and opportunities within the operations team Review supplier and driver performance, and regularly tighten and improve processes to prevent re-occurrences, collaborating with Courier Growth to update training materials as needed. Regularly seek out opportunities to improve processes to improve cost efficiency as well as quality of service, then lead projects to capture these opportunities to improve Middle Mile capacity, quality of service, and transportation cost per parcel
Create and manage operational policies; guidance; and instructions to ensure consistency and contingencies are covered. Assist Head of Operations with agency negotiations and performance management. Provide input into the operational budget and transport forecasting. This role will require regular visits to Relay HSC sites and pitstops to drive continuous improvements.
You will be required on occasions to start early in the day to observe how the MM Operation functions live to drive continuous improvement in the operations and tech. You might be a great fit for this role if…
There is truly no job in delivery operations you would not be excited to take on. From completing shifts in Transport, LiveOps and Sortation, visiting pitstops, as well as doing research interviews with Transport suppliers as well as pitstop operatives, in order to understand your impact on operations, you want to do it all. We don’t expect you to have done all of these jobs before, but we do hope you’ll be curious to learn how to do them.
You have high agency and take pride of ownership in your work. You naturally take initiative, seeking out the value-adding opportunities for impact after making the effort to deeply understand the challenge.
You have deep empathy for the humans for whom you work with, including, Transport couriers, as well as warehousing and pitstop operatives. You seek out the chance to hear directly from them and go out of your way to incorporate their feedback into your work.
You are eager to rapidly implement change, see results and iterate quickly within new problem domains.
You are excited to take on a wide range of challenges, learn new skills, and master new areas of business and technology You are equally at home sweating the details of an operational process or data analysis as you are presenting your conclusions to executives You value and practice clear communication, active listening, and intentional collaboration.
You’re a problem solver and thrive when given a complex challenge. You are not afraid to get your hands dirty and feel comfortable working in a fast paced environment. We are looking for candidates who…
Have 1.5+ years in a high performing organisation, ideally with some exposure to Transport Planning (although this is not essential) Are able to manage cross functional projects and navigate relationships between different internal and external stakeholders You will have experience maintaining operational excellence through hyper-growth, constantly pushing for the sweet spot performance as well as cost efficiency.
25 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays) Generous equity Free membership of the gym in our co-working space Contributory pension scheme Hybrid working (3 days/week in the office); we're based in London near Old Street tube station A culture of learning and growth, where you're encouraged to take ownership from day one Plenty of team socials and events - from pottery painting to life-size Monopoly and escape rooms!
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