Operations Management Graduate Scheme 2021

At Gist, we pride ourselves in transforming supply chains, with a proven track record spanning 50 years. Our vision is to be our customers’ first choice for logistics, innovation, excellence and partnership. Our customers include Starbucks, EAT, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Morrisons and 2 Food Group. 
We are always focused on developing our people to enable them to reach their full potential and our Graduate schemes are designed to create our future business leaders. If you have the drive, aspiration and flexibility required, we can offer excellent development opportunities to ensure you build a successful and rewarding career with Gist, just like our CEO, Martin Gwynn, who began on our Logistics Management Graduate Scheme. He was promoted to CEO at the age of 33 and continues to set the direction of the business today.

What’s it like to be a Graduate at Gist?

A two year programme, our Operations Management Graduate scheme provides first-hand experience of leading people, in addition to essential knowledge of our business operation.

• Consisting of at least two placements across the two year programme, based at one of our 18 UK-wide operational depots. 
• Our graduates join us as a Team Manager, taking responsibility for managing a shift and a team of up to 30 people in our Warehouses and Transport teams.
• The environment is fast-paced and not your normal 9-5 and you will experience a full 24 hour operational cycle. You will be required to work shifts, nights and weekends in order to ensure that our operation continues to deliver for our customer. You could be in our fridges at 2am on a Saturday night ensuring that our customers are getting their product or liaising with our drivers to make sure the lorries are meeting deadlines and have agreed routes around the UK that will reach our customers, in good time.
• Your development will continue throughout your placements, where you will take on additional senior site management responsibilities and also have the opportunity to hone your people management skills, as well as to further develop your commercial and operational acumen.
• During the course of the scheme, you will have the opportunity to move into business solutions, network planning centre and global freight or to remain within the operation and progress your management skillset.
• The placements are designed to give you exposure to the key operational areas within our business – all with the overall aim of developing your management capabilities.
• Due to the nature of our scheme you must be flexible with your location of employment for the duration of the scheme, as you could be based in any one of our numerous UK sites for each of your placements.

How will you become one of our future business leaders?

Throughout your time with Gist you will receive training and development in order to set you up for success. The programmes are designed to equip you with the knowledge, best practice, skills and techniques to develop your capabilities. This will be delivered in conjunction with your regular progress meetings to ensure you are working towards a career plan that meets your needs and aspirations.

• You will gain real management responsibility from day one, rapid progression, industry leading training and coaching.
• All of our graduates receive structured on-site and central training in people management and best operational practice, as well as regular performance reviews to ensure you are receiving the right support and opportunities.
• You will be allocated a buddy a few months ahead of you joining, to help you get settled into life at Gist and your site. You will also be allocated a mentor who will be a senior manager in our business and will be there to offer support and guidance on your career within Gist.
• With over one fifth of our senior management team coming from our graduate scheme, our schemes have been setting graduates up for success for a number of years.

“Throughout my career at Gist I have worked in a huge variety of different roles, from a night-shift warehouse team manager to a project manager working in France. More recently, I have had the overall responsibility for the transport function at our Barnsley site, and looked after a team of 142. I am now working in our head office function managing major business projects for our Human Resources team” Jen, Human Resources Project Manager at Head Office. Rolled off the Operations Management Scheme in 2015.

What will you need to succeed?

• We are looking for driven and engaging Graduates to join us. 
• You aim to be a senior leader in our business and constantly look to develop yourself on that journey.
• You will thrive in a fast paced and challenging business which will see you succeed when pushed out of your comfort zone.
• You are a credible, engaging and a driven natural leader who is able to take a team on a journey with a shared goal.
• You proactively look to transform, adapt and improve things around you. You want to exceed expectations
• Change isn’t a scary word for you. You thrive on new challenges, new people and pick things up quickly and effectively.
• People are your focus and you roll your sleeves up when a team needs to come together.

Benefits

• As you progress through the scheme, we ensure you are rewarded – by managing larger teams and taking on greater challenges.
• You will receive a starting salary of £26,500 (increasing to £30,000 in year 2)
• We know that moving could be worrying and stressful– we give you time to find the right place and will support you with this move.
• Whether it’s personal or professional, the Employee Assistance Helpline offers counselling, financial and legal advice as well as an online health portal
• The opportunity to take up to four weeks out of the operation to complete a charity placement
• 25 days holiday
• Discretionary performance-related bonus scheme
• Pension scheme
• Healthcare
• MyBenefits — offering great discounts across retail and leisure outlets