E-commerce Operations Manager – Same Day & Express Fulfilment at Core Group

About the Role

• We are seeking a highly driven E-commerce Operations Manager to lead same-day, express, and on-demand fulfilment operations within a high-volume, time-critical e-commerce environment. This role is responsible for ensuring fast, accurate, and seamless order fulfilment from order entry through to final delivery, while delivering a premium customer experience.
• The successful candidate will combine strong operational discipline with innovation, systems expertise, and a relentless focus on customer satisfaction.

Work Environment

• Office and Distribution Centre–based
• Travel within South Africa and Southern Africa as required
• Extremely fast-paced, high-volume e-commerce operation
• Same-day, express, and on-demand deliveries
• High-value mobile electronics
• Real-time order management and customer visibility
• Strong dependency on systems, automation, and courier performance

Key Responsibilities

End-to-End Fulfilment Operations

• Own the full e-commerce fulfilment lifecycle: order entry → picking → packing → dispatch → delivery.
• Manage and optimize fulfilment workflows for speed, accuracy, and cost efficiency.
• Enforce order cut-offs, wave planning, and dispatch timelines.
• Maintain high inventory accuracy and full stock traceability.
• Lead and manage E-commerce Fulfilment Supervisors.

Customer Experience & Service Excellence

• Deliver a consistently high-quality customer experience across the fulfilment journey.
• Proactively communicate delivery updates and status changes to customers.
• Manage exceptions, failed deliveries, and escalations swiftly and effectively.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders on e-commerce platform and systems changes, including integration and website functionality.

Process, Systems & Optimization

• Design, implement, and continuously improve picking, packing, and dispatch processes.
• Leverage automation and technology to increase throughput and reduce manual errors.
• Drive innovation in fulfilment methods to improve speed, accuracy, and cost efficiency.
• Manage production consumables (e.g. boxes, gum tape, manilla), ensuring availability and identifying cost-effective alternatives.

Courier & Express Partner Management

• Manage same-day and express delivery partners.
• Monitor courier performance against speed, accuracy, and SLAs.
• Ensure correct application of delivery service types per order.
• Participate in performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives with partners.

Performance & Capacity Management

• Forecast volumes and plan operational capacity for peak periods and promotions.
• Monitor KPIs, delivery SLAs, and service quality in real time.
• Take immediate corrective action where performance or service levels fall short.

Qualifications & Experience

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations, Business, or a related field
• E-commerce, fulfilment, or operations certifications (advantageous)

Experience:

• Minimum 5+ years’ experience managing e-commerce fulfilment or express/last-mile delivery operations
• Proven experience in same-day and express fulfilment environments
• Strong understanding of customer experience (CX) and service recovery in e-commerce
• Hands-on experience with OMS, WMS, TMS, and real-time delivery tracking systems
• Demonstrated success in process optimization, operational innovation, and execution under pressure

Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills:

• End-to-end e-commerce fulfilment operations (picking, packing, dispatch)
• Same-day and express delivery management
• OMS, WMS, TMS, BI, and reporting platforms
• Process mapping, workflow optimization, and automation
• Real-time order tracking and dashboard reporting
• Exception and escalation management

Soft Skills:

• Thrives in high-pressure, time-critical environments
• Strong customer-centric mindset
• Decisive, action-oriented leadership
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management
• Highly adaptable, solutions-driven, and resilient

Key Competencies:

• Customer experience excellence
• Operational agility and speed
• Process discipline with an innovation mindset
• Data-driven decision making
• Continuous improvement
• Accountability and resilience