Head of Fulfilment Operations (Internal Only)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Head of Fulfilment Operations (Internal Only - 6 Months Fixed Term)

Responsible to:                    
Managing Director

About the Role

The Head of Fulfilment Operations provides strategic leadership and overall accountability for the safe, effective, compliant, sustainable, and commercially responsible delivery of warehouse, packing, dispatch, stock control, and fulfilment operations.

Accountable to the Managing Director, the post holder ensures fulfilment operations are aligned with organisational strategy, customer requirements, contractual obligations, regulatory and quality expectations, and future business growth. The role leads the fulfilment management team, sets operational direction, and ensures the department has the workforce, infrastructure, systems, supplier arrangements, stock controls, and performance measures required to deliver a resilient and high-performing service.

The post holder is responsible for developing and leading the fulfilment transformation strategy, ensuring warehouse operations, packing processes, dispatch workflows, automation, technology, stock management, workforce capability, and operational processes evolve in line with business strategy, growth ambitions, customer requirements, and future demand.

The Head of Fulfilment Operations acts as the senior operational decision-maker and escalation point for significant fulfilment risks, service disruptions, KPI or turnaround time failures, stock or supply risks, supplier or courier issues, equipment or system failures, workforce and capacity risks, high-level employee relations matters, and transformation initiatives.

The role works closely with the Customer Operations Leads, Head of Laboratory Operations, Clinical Operations, Quality, HR, Finance, Technology, and other senior stakeholders to ensure fulfilment services support end-to-end service delivery, customer experience, laboratory requirements, clinical pathways, and organisational performance.

The role contributes to governance, board, management review, quality, and operational performance meetings, providing clear reporting, insight, escalation, and recommendations in relation to fulfilment performance, risk, quality, compliance, workforce, capacity, financial management, transformation, and strategic service development.

Responsibilities

Operational and Transformation Leadership

• Provide strategic, operational, and organisational leadership for warehouse, packing, dispatch, stock control, and fulfilment operations.
• Direct fulfilment operations to ensure safe, effective, sustainable, resilient, compliant, and customer-focused service delivery.
• Lead the fulfilment management team, setting clear priorities, objectives, performance expectations, and accountability.
• Maintain oversight of fulfilment performance across inbound stock management, warehouse operations, packing, outbound dispatch, courier collections, returns, and related operational workflows.
• Ensure effective systems are in place to monitor KPIs, turnaround times, order volumes, stock availability, staffing utilisation, service demand, operational risk, and service capacity.
• Act as the senior escalation lead for significant fulfilment incidents, quality events, stock or supply risks, dispatch failures, supplier or courier issues, complaints, staffing risks, and service disruptions, ensuring these are investigated, escalated, and resolved effectively.
• Lead service development, transformation programmes, process redesign, operational improvement initiatives, and change management activities across fulfilment operations.
• Develop and deliver a strategic fulfilment transformation plan that supports organisational growth, business strategy, service scalability, automation, operational resilience, and future fulfilment capability.
• Identify and deliver opportunities for automation, digital improvement, workflow optimisation, technology adoption, stock management improvement, and process redesign to improve quality, efficiency, turnaround times, capacity, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness.
• Ensure transformation activity is supported by robust change management, stakeholder engagement, validation or testing where required, risk assessment, resource planning, and clear measures of success.
• Make strategic operational decisions relating to fulfilment service delivery, warehouse capability, infrastructure, technology, equipment, systems, and organisational growth.
• Contribute to business continuity, contingency, and resilience planning, ensuring arrangements for fulfilment operations are tested, maintained, and fit for purpose.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Customer Operations, Laboratory Operations, Clinical Operations, Quality, Finance, Procurement, Technology, suppliers, and courier partners to ensure fulfilment services meet customer, clinical, regulatory, contractual, and organisational requirements.
• Provide fulfilment leadership input into organisational governance, board reporting, business planning, management review, and corporate decision-making.

Financial and Commercial Leadership

• Lead operational planning, workforce establishment planning, budget management, and financial oversight for fulfilment operations.
• Ensure fulfilment resources are planned, allocated, and managed effectively to support current activity, future demand, and organisational growth.
• Oversee stock control, stock rotation, inventory accuracy, stock availability, and consumables management to ensure continuity of packing and dispatch operations.
• Work with Finance, Procurement, Customer Operations, Laboratory Operations, and Clinical Operations to optimise inventory levels, demand planning, stock availability, service continuity, and cost control.
• Oversee supplier performance, courier performance, procurement requirements, service contracts, postage and labelling systems, and major equipment or infrastructure investments.
• Ensure financial decisions relating to staffing, equipment, consumables, warehouse infrastructure, automation, courier arrangements, and service development are aligned to operational need, quality requirements, customer expectations, and organisational strategy.
• Monitor operational performance, cost drivers, order volumes, stock usage, service demand, and capacity risks to support sustainable and commercially responsible fulfilment delivery.
• Contribute to business cases, investment proposals, service expansion plans, and strategic decisions relating to fulfilment growth, automation, warehouse capability, and service scalability.

Technical, Quality and Compliance Leadership

• Ensure fulfilment processes are established, implemented, monitored, maintained, and continually improved in line with applicable quality management system requirements, operational procedures, customer requirements, and organisational policies.
• Ensure warehouse, packing, dispatch, stock control, and fulfilment processes are documented, controlled, and supported by effective records, training, monitoring, and systematic review.
• Direct the management of fulfilment-related risk assessments, non-conformances, corrective and preventive actions, quality improvement activities, complaints, and service failure investigations.
• Ensure fulfilment operations comply with applicable quality, regulatory, contractual, health and safety, information governance, infection prevention, and organisational requirements.
• Ensure Good Distribution, Good Documentation, Good Stock Control, and safe working practices are embedded across all fulfilment functions.
• Maintain oversight of operational systems used in fulfilment, including stock management, postage, courier, labelling, warehouse, dispatch, reporting, and productivity systems.
• Ensure systems and equipment required for fulfilment operations are maintained, available, fit for purpose, and escalated promptly where failures may affect service continuity.
• Ensure ongoing management of departmental records, including stock records, dispatch records, training records, operational checks, quality records, and performance reporting.
• Maintain relationships with key internal stakeholders, suppliers, courier partners, subcontractors, service providers, and other external stakeholders affecting fulfilment continuity and performance.
• Contribute to management reviews, governance meetings, quality meetings, and operational performance reviews.
• Promote organisational best practice and compliance with applicable regulatory and certification frameworks, including relevant quality, health and safety, environmental, information security, and data protection requirements.
• Ensure fulfilment risks are identified, assessed, escalated, and managed effectively.
• Ensure fulfilment capability, technology, equipment, infrastructure, supplier arrangements, and operational processes remain suitable for current and future service requirements.

People Leadership

• Lead, develop, and support the fulfilment management team, ensuring clear accountability, effective communication, and strong leadership across warehouse, packing, dispatch, and stock control operations.
• Lead workforce management strategies including recruitment planning, organisational structure, competency frameworks, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Ensure staffing models, rotas, skill mix, and leadership structures support safe, effective, resilient, and scalable fulfilment service delivery.
• Ensure effective systems are in place for staff induction, training, competency assessment, appraisal, and continuing professional development.
• Provide managerial oversight and final decision-making authority for complex employee relations matters, investigations, disciplinary processes, grievance management, and workforce wellbeing strategies.
• Ensure managers are equipped to lead teams effectively, manage performance, address conduct or capability concerns, and support staff wellbeing.
• Build and maintain a positive, accountable, quality-focused, safety-conscious, and improvement-led fulfilment culture.
• Promote collaboration, professional standards, continuous improvement, and shared ownership of fulfilment performance.
• Support the development of future leaders and ensure succession planning is in place for key fulfilment roles.
• Ensure workforce risks are identified, escalated, and managed in line with organisational policies, regulatory expectations, and service requirements.
• Ensure the fulfilment team works effectively alongside Customer Operations, Laboratory Operations, Clinical Operations, Quality, Finance, Technology, and other departments to support end-to-end service delivery.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Preventx

At Preventx, we believe diversity drives innovation and inclusion strengthens our impact. We’re committed to creating a workplace that values individual differences and fosters a culture of respect, belonging, and growth.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences—including those from underrepresented communities. If you need any support with your application or adjustments during the recruitment process, we’re here to help.