General Manager

General Manager At Heathrow

As General Manager at Heathrow, you will lead one of DHL Supply Chain's most complex and high-profile aviation operations. You will be responsible for directing day-to-day site performance, ensuring safety, compliance and operational excellence across a large and diverse workforce. This role requires strong leadership, decisive operational judgement and the ability to navigate a highly regulated, unionised environment while driving continuous improvement and long-term, sustainable performance. It is a flagship leadership opportunity within DHL Supply Chain, offering both challenge and significant influence.

At DHL Supply Chain, you'll join a business where people, safety and operational excellence sit at the heart of everything we do. Working at Heathrow means leading teams in one of our most dynamic and fast-moving operational settings, with opportunities to innovate, improve processes and create a positive working culture. We value collaboration, continuous improvement and leadership that brings people together. You'll be empowered to make a real impact across a major aviation operation and to develop the teams and future leaders around you.

A typical day may involve:

• Leading a large aviation workforce in a highly unionised, fast-moving airside environment, ensuring safe, secure and compliant operations in line with CAA and HAL requirements.
• Managing the end-to-end operation with full accountability for safety, punctuality, SLA delivery and operational resilience.
• Coordinating daily operations with key airport authorities and internal stakeholders to maintain high performance standards and resolve operational challenges.
• Driving continuous improvement, innovation and change initiatives to enhance service quality, efficiency and colleague engagement.
• Monitoring and managing performance metrics, operational risks, resource levels and compliance across a complex, 24/7 operation.
• Providing visible leadership across large and diverse teams, ensuring strong communication, coaching, talent development and a positive working environment.

This role would suit people who:

• Bring significant aviation operations experience, and excel in highly complex, high-pressure airport environments where safety, performance and compliance are non-negotiables.
• Have a proven track record leading large operational teams within a unionised environment, building constructive relationships, fostering trust and delivering results through people.
• Are decisive and calm under pressure, able to analyse situations quickly and make confident operational decisions in fast-moving, time-critical scenarios.
• Are passionate about continuous improvement, with the ability to identify opportunities, challenge established ways of working and drive more efficient, consistent and future-ready operations.
• Communicate with authority and credibility, effectively influencing at all levels and engaging a wide range of internal stakeholders in a highly regulated aviation setting.
• Lead with resilience, empathy and clarity, creating stability and direction during periods of change, operational disruption or heightened demand.

Security process to work within aviation and travel at DHL:

• Be able to provide five years' address history
• Be able to provide five years' reference history (employment/education/benefit claim/character)
• Pass a pre-employment Drug and Alcohol test

Why join us?

• Access to the company car scheme, or car allowance
• Join our generous pension scheme and benefit from an 8% employer contribution, alongside a 4% employee contribution
• Free confidential 24/7 GP consultations
• Hundreds of retail and lifestyle discounts
• Affordable loans, savings schemes and free mortgage advice
• Visit careers.dhl.com/global/en/working-at-dhl-supply-chain to learn more

Who we are

We're the global leaders in supply chain management with 188,000 people in over 50 countries. Our expert teams work together to deliver for our customers across a range of industries including retail, automotive, healthcare and more.

Building an inclusive workplace

At DHL, we're all about creating a workplace where everyone's skills and experiences matter, and where you can be your true self every day.

As proud supporters of the Armed Forces Covenant, we value the skills and experience of ex-service personnel and are dedicated to helping our veterans find jobs.

Please be aware that interviews are provisionally scheduled to take place during the week commencing 27th April. Applications received after this date may not be considered but will be added to our talent pool for future opportunities, subject to your consent. Please also be aware that we review applications continuously and where we have a large number of applications the application period may close ahead of the provisional interview date. To ensure your application is considered we recommend submitting it as early as possible.