Warehouse Manager

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Senior Warehouse Manager 

Staff reporting to this post: Warehouse Officer

Budget Responsibilities: None

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

The Warehouse Manager will be responsible for the following areas:

Warehouse Infrastructure, Systems & Readiness

• Lead warehouse construction, rehabilitation, and facility upgrade during project implementation. Implement and maintain approved systems for handling equipment, storage infrastructure, and safety gear.
• Coordinate with external Service Providers to ensure SCI policies are adhered and Commodity Management best-practices are applied. 
• Conduct periodic store inspections, document findings, and ensure corrective actions are completed in a timely manner. 
• Ensure warehouses are structurally sound, clean, secure, and fit for food commodity storage at all times.
• Establish and maintain warehouse layouts, capacity plans, and storage configurations in line with commodity pipelines.

Commodity Reception, Storage and Distribution

• Inspecting the quality of incoming commodity and checking for damaged/infested items – ensure no damaged sets are accepted. They will be returned to the expediting partner/transporter.
• Acknowledge reception of food items in good order and condition.
• Be responsible for all counting and recording commodity quantities on appropriate documentation.
• Cross-check quantities in accordance with delivery forms and planned reception.
• Observe loading and offloading of trucks and provide direction to any volunteers or casual labourers when they are working inside the SC warehouse.
• Conduct proper stacking of commodities using pallets not to exceed maximum stack heights.
• Organize incoming and stored items by donor, type and shipment number.
• Ensure Packing/loading of food commodity according to approved quantities and in proper condition for transportation to school stores or final distribution points.
• Oversee creation of waybills and packing lists to be sent with each consignment
• Enter all data of items leaving the store on stock cards and on weekly reports.
• Conducts field visits to USDA PALAM/A storage locations and advice on best commodity practices as and when required within the area of responsibility.

Stores Management

• Establish Standard Operating Procedures and a reliable management regime for ensuring all warehouses in the supply-chain are clean, orderly, and prepared to receive and dispatch stocks.
• Oversee monitoring of stock levels including conducting physical inspections of stock as well as quantity verification. 
• Monitor all Best-if-Used-By (BUBD) dates and continuously check for quality problems.
• Manage and confirm daily updates of movements of goods in/out of the warehouse are made by subordinate warehouse staff, and that all data are recorded into stack/bin cards as well as ledgers and electronic commodity tracking systems.
• Update warehouse operation data into the Warehouse management software (TIM).
• Review weekly/monthly reception and distribution reports as prepared by Warehouse Assistants.
• Ensure warehouses is clean and that food stocks are secure.
• Store all stocks according to FIFO the principle.
• Ensure pest control is in place and monitored on a daily basis.
• Separate infested stocks from good stock. Work with local health authorities on the approvals and follow up disposal process as per USDA guidelines
• Conduct of cyclic counts and inventories in accordance to project schedule.
• Planning of the needs and requisition of commodity related supplies.

Safety and Security

• Check security measures, e.g. locks, windows, Fire extinguishers, or building maintenance issues such as leaks in roof.
• Implementation of the SCI Warehouse Safety Guideline.
• Report to the line manager / security responsible in case of problems
• Ensure Security Officers are deployed at Warehouse facility 24/7

Record keeping and Filing

• Make correct entries into commodity ledgers and record all stock movements including receipts, discharges, loans and removal of damage goods
• Enter all movements in their respective stack cards
• Assist in maintaining files of all relevant documents including waybills, field notes, visitor logs, etc.
• Compile reports as appropriate under direction of the Senior Warehouse Manager
• Preparation for expedition of outbound supplies

Supervisory functions

• Manage any subordinate positions related to Warehouse Management staff as detailed in the PALAM/A staffing plan to ensure operation deliverables are timely conveyed.
• Cascade all warehouse related orders from the Senior Warehouse Manager to ensure all protocols and procedures are duly respected without any breaches.

Conduct staff quarterly & annual development to perform evaluations and reviews per SC policy and provide both constructive feedback to subordinate staff as well as supportive professional development advice. 

QUALIFICATIONS 

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences, Economics, Business Administration, Logistics Management or related field. Master’s degree preferred.

Essential

• 3 – 7 years of professional experience in managing or operating large warehouses. 
• Valid motorbike riding license is a must. 
• Fluency in English, spoken and written in addition to Sinhala and Tamil. 
• Proven experience in all technical areas of logistics operations including warehousing, 
  transport/distribution, stock management and commodity accounting. 
• Solid understanding of general commodity management best-practices 
• Previous experience with international NGOs and donors (USDA, USAID, WFP, UNICEF, etc.) 
• Previous experience with food aid programs especially USDA Food for Education, USAID Title II, 
  or UN WFP food aid programs with an in-depth knowledge of USG Regulations 
• Experiencing in managing and supervising others in logistics or commodity management. 
• Computer literacy (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint) as well as knowledge of commodity or 
  stock tracking software and accounting systems 
• Ability to work in partnership with government and other NGO staff 
• Good interpersonal skills 
• Ability to work within a team setting 
• Independence, adaptability and flexibility with good workload management, multitasking and 
  ability to meet tight deadlines 
• Excellent communication skills 
• Ability to synthesize and analyses information, and make clear, informed decisions