RECRUITMENT\\\


Recession – it’s all in the mind


Is there really a recession in the freight industry? We certainly haven’t seen any sign of it these past few months. We’ve got plenty of jobs on offer and have clients looking for the right people, with vacancies across all levels of the industry. In fact, we’ve never been busier. Yes, there is a lot of doom and


gloom in the media, but do we sometimes talk ourselves into a recession? Even as I write this, we at Headford have companies contacting us offering all sorts of jobs and business seems buoyant across the board. To me, a recession is as much about your mental attitude as the state of the economy. Personally, I think that while the


economy may have, technically, slowed down in recent months, we are out of the woods now. All my consultants here at Headford are looking to find jobs for a minimum of ten people, which is way above pre-recession levels. Another indication that the good


times have returned is the fact that salaries are up, pretty much across the board and by as much as 15- 20% in certain areas. Employers are realistic enough to realise that they have to pay the right money if


they are to recruit the right people. And we’ve also found that, very oſten, the right candidates can find quality jobs within a week of us taking them on. Increasingly, though, we are


finding that we need a tailor-made approach. People increasingly come to us with more specific requirements – which is no bad thing, because it helps us match up the right candidate with precisely the right position. Much of the demand for jobs


is in the south-east corner of the country which takes in Heathrow airport and the major ports of Felixstowe and Southampton, along with Essex. That said, we are opening new offices on Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol - in response to demands from our customers. One trend that we have noticed


is that, thanks to the internet, companies are increasingly centralising their operational functions, so any new positions in the regions tend to be for the commercial rather than the operational side of the business. (We have also heard of one company that has outsourced some of its operational functions,


Craig Headford, Managing Director of Headford Consulting


Hot Jobs39 Issue 1 2012


4 x Route Development Sales Managers National and International - 1154


• Top 3 Freight Forwarder • Deep knowledge of Freight Forwarding needed (Air and Ocean)


• Trade Lanes: S/E Asia, Middle East, China, or USA • Salary: Circa £35 - 50K Dependent on exp + Bonus (10% of


basic salary) + benefits


European Trailer Freight Sales Executive Midlands - 1147


• Working for a large European Trailer Freight Operator with their own services


• Experience with Overland services through most E.U Countries (Import or Export)


• You will be selling the services of the business including groupage, Full Load, and Part Loads


• Salary: £30K - £40K + commission + car + benefits


Air & Ocean Key Account Manager Midlands – 1201


• Top 3 Recruiter with a great package • Strong External Sales experience of Ocean and Air • Strong Account Management experience • Excellent opportunities to progress


• Salary: £35K + bonuses + benefits


including customs entry to India.) People with a commercial


bent are becoming increasingly important to freight businesses. You need operational people too, of course, but a good commercial person can make all the difference between profit and loss. And ultimately, we are all in business, not to move freight, but to make a profit. However, people with


a genuine sales bent are surprisingly hard to find and we tend to charge most of our fees for finding them. I believe that


most people do have some level of natural commercial ability and we can train people with the right attitude – but first of all they must have the right attitude.


If you


enjoy pleasing clients, you’re 80% of the way there. The opportunities are certainly


there for people who want to take the step into sales – or for people who are already on that side of the business and want to step up to become, say, a branch manager. If you want to help your company grow, we certainly want to hear from you.


Business Opportunities 66778 Scotland Based Branch Manager


• Very stable background • Markets: FMCG, Oil & Gas, Global Freight, Liner •


Disciplines: Air Freight and Sea Freight (LCL and FCL)


• Costing, and commercial responsibility 66446 Midlands Based Trade Lane Sales Manager


• Strong Ocean Import experience • Markets: All sectors • Trade Routes: Middle East (Ocean and Air) • Over 5 years with his current employer (Top 3 Forwarder)


• • •


• •


66450 Midlands European Road BDM Senior Sales professional – New Business predominantly


Disciplines: Groupage, full load, part loads, e-commerce


Major overachiever of sales targets, and tender experience


Strong Sales Management experience if appropriate Dealing with Scandinavia and Central Europe


66193 North West Commercial & Operations Manager


• Dynamic, Commercially aware Sales & Operations Manager


• Markets: USA, and Asia •


Disciplines: Air and Ocean – Strong Route Development


• Experience of managing up to 20 Sales People Our Vertical Market Consultants are: headford Shipping & Forwarding


Craig Headford Alex McMillan Simon Neale Sophie Hayward Chris Tissier


• • • • •


Senior Freight Appointments Freight Sales Executives Air / Ocean Freight Operations Road Freight Operations UK / International Courier


Recruitment Solutions for the Freight Industry


Air & Sea - Business Development Manager North West – 1205


• Medium Sized Freight Forwarder, looking for someone to head up their Air and Sea Freight Sales in the UK


• Based on merit, there will be excellent opportunities to build a team around you


• New Business and Existing Business (mostly from existing database and leads)


• Salary: £35K - £40K + 10 of salary in bonus + 10% of GP after target achieved


Branch Manager (Glasgow) Multi Modal - 1123


• Our client is a leading Air and Sea Freight Forwarder with 7 offices in the UK and a Global Network of overseas agents


• They are looking for a commercially minded Branch Manager for their Glasgow facility


• The office needs development and an individual that can ideally bring across business to assist growing the Branch


• Salary: £40 - £60K + Car + Annual Profit Related Bonus


Branch Manager (Manchester) Multi Modal - 1113


• Our client is a leading Global Freight Forwarder and they are looking to open an office in the Manchester area


• They are looking for a commercially minded Freight Forwarding Professional with an excellent knowledge of the ocean freight and air freight clients in the North West area


• The ideal candidate will be from a strong freight forwarding background and have a thorough knowledge of the major clients in the area


• Salary: £40 - £60K + Car + Annual Profit Related Bonus


Branch Manager (Bristol) European Trailer Freight – 3050


• Leading European Road Freight Forwarder with 8 offices in the UK


• Looking to strengthen their European Road Operation by opening a new office in Bristol


• Ideal applicant will have a strong commercial background and would be possibly able to bring a small team with him/her • Salary: £35 - £50K + Car + Annual Profit Related Bonus


Phone: +44 (0)845 00 00 007 Email: craig@headfordshipping.com Web: www.headfordshipping.com


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