Supply Chain & Operations Manager

Hello! You’re reading our Job Advert! Hurray! 

We’re on the search for a Supply Chain & Operations Manager at TopspinPro - the vital person that ensures our products make it safely into the hands of our customers. Maybe it’s you!

We’re looking for someone with significant e-commerce expertise, who thrives in a remote role and who understands the challenges and opportunities of owning supply chain and operations in a growing DTC business. If you’re excited about overseeing product flow, streamlining operations, and optimising our supply chain to make a real impact, this role is for you. Whether you're a seasoned senior pro in supply chain/logistics and operations management or ready to step up into a senior position, our aim is to provide the support and resources you need to excel and grow.

Our mission is to transform Tennis, Pickleball (and hopefully Padel!), and this role is absolutely vital to making that happen.

A bit about TopspinPro

Our Business: At TopspinPro, we're not just about creating cutting-edge training aids; we're about revolutionising how tennis and pickleball are learned and enjoyed worldwide. Since our launch in 2015, we've empowered over a million players across 124 countries to master the art of topspin, transforming their game and making the sport infinitely more enjoyable. Our innovative approach has not only garnered a global customer base but has also set the stage for us to become a beacon of innovation in sports training.

Our Team: The TopspinPro team is 10 people. We work flexibly, fully remotely and across different time zones. We are ex-tennis coaches and pickleball fanatics (with the odd racket newbie that snuck in there, but we love them anyway!) We care a lot about our work and about each other - we support each other, challenge each other and laugh a lot. 

Why now: We are at a hugely exciting moment for TopspinPro as, after 9 years, we transform from a one-product to a multi-product business with a full offering of physical and digital products. The Supply Chain & Operations Manager will be at the core of this transformation - with the opportunity to fully own the supply chain, logistics and production functions and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of tennis and pickleball and the future of our company.

What Makes Us…Us?

There are certain values that for us are a given. We expect everyone we work with to act with integrity, to communicate well, to be trustworthy. We expect people to be compassionate and kind, to work hard, to be empathetic and to approach their work with a positive mindset.

But there are also certain values beyond that we feel are particularly important to the core of who we are at TopspinPro.

Human First: 

• Teamwork is vital to us and for any remote team there can be challenges to build those relationships, to create the team dynamic and friendships that make a workplace a supportive and enjoyable experience. At TopspinPro we are a close team - we support each other, we help each other, we take time to talk about our days and our lives. We approach each other as humans - with goods and bad days, productive days and tired days.
• We also recognise that there are moments when the work stops - that we have families at home that are our priority and as a staff team we encourage each other to prioritise our wellbeing and work/life balance and step away from the screen at the end of the day (even when that can be hard in a remote role and the computer is right there!)
• That ‘Human First’ approach also applies to our customers, our partners, our affiliates and all of our stakeholders. We try really hard to treat everyone that comes into contact with our company with empathy, respect, and fairness, recognising their intrinsic value beyond their roles, the money they pay us or contributions to our business.

A love for learning:

• The reason this company exists is to help people learn. And with that learning to go forth and use, enjoy and share that knowledge. That approach is fundamental to TopspinPro. Our team is made up of enthusiastic, passionate people who enjoy learning for learning’s sake - we are curious, we are interested in the world.
• At TopspinPro we share interesting articles we’ve read, listen to podcasts in sports psychology, have book club sessions to discuss books that taught us interesting things and challenged our beliefs.
• We want to learn, to grow - in our roles, in our personal lives, in our team. We learn from each other. We know we can be wrong and sometimes learning takes us and our company out of its comfort zone - valuing and empowering that passion for learning is core to our approach.

Playful.

• Tennis is a game - it’s meant to be fun. And having fun is fun-damental to TopspinPro (sorry for the pun!). Although we take our work and responsibilities seriously - we try not to take ourselves too seriously.
• As a team our default is positivity. We assume good intent. We laugh. We enjoy our work and each other.
• The TopspinPro was invented up a mountain and first cobbled together with a hula hoop, a coat hanger and a tennis ball. We try to approach our product development with the same mentality - to be playful with our ideas, to be innovative and out of the box. 
• Warmth is vital to TopspinPro - our team members are kind, they’re fun, they’re chatty, they take the time to reach out to a struggling teammate, to send a thoughtful gift on a birthday, to post a photo of their dog in sunglasses to the company slack.
• Not everyone is positive all the time and that’s ok (we want people to take breaks, practice self-care and take care of their mental health), but enjoying the social side of work and getting to know your teammates beyond the project plan or KPI is vital to us. We want to come to work and laugh (even if Phil’s dad jokes don’t deserve it!)

What you’ll be doing

• Supply Chain and Warehouse Management: Managing global supply chain, warehouse operations, supply chain efficiency, inventory control, and compliance to optimise cost-effective, timely product delivery worldwide.

• Production and Manufacturing Oversight: Managing multi-SKU production planning, scheduling, and manufacturing oversight to ensure global stock availability, resolve issues, maintain quality, and report production status to leadership.

• Vendor and Supplier Relationship Management: Building and managing supplier relationships, ensuring reliable, high-quality supply through performance reviews, negotiations, and onboarding new partners as needed.

• Cost Control and Budget Management: Managing supply chain and production budgets, analyse expenses, and implement cost-saving strategies to optimise cash flow and forecasts.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborating across teams to align supply with demand, support marketing initiatives, and provide operational insights to product development.

• Data Analysis and Reporting: Generating data-driven reports on sales, inventory, and logistics to optimise demand forecasting, production scheduling, and inform senior management on performance and budget adherence.

The Process/How to Apply

Our interview process is made of the following stages:

• Application: A quick application form just to get you into our system.
• HR Intro: A 30 min intro call with Abi (our HR advisor) to talk through the fundamentals of the role and see if we are potentially a good fit for each other.
• Technical Interview: A 60 minute interview (with Doug - our Co-Managing Director and the line manager for this role) digging deeper into your skills and experience.
• Cultural Fit Interview: A 30 minute Interview with Doug and Phil, our Co-Managing Directors to get to know you better and to see if our values align.
• A Challenge: We will ask candidates to complete a Challenge Task that will take around 2 working days to complete and present their work to us in person, in London. This is a paid challenge with time and travel compensated.

If this sounds doable for you please apply!

Can’t wait to hear from you!

Let’s Talk About You

If you find yourself nodding your head at the list below - we want to meet you!

• Strong Track Record in Supply Chain/Logistics/Operations/Production: You’ve spent at least 5 years in an e-commerce supply chain/logistics/operations management role. You have a strong understanding of international supply chain/logistics and feel very confident overseeing third-party manufacturing relationships.

• Process-driven: You’re an efficiency enthusiast - you enjoy the challenge of streamlining and upgrading the way we do things. Where a process does not exist or needs tweaking you have the confidence to research, recommend and roll out solutions proactively.

• Comfortable navigating Systems & Tools: You have considerable experience with Inventory Management Software (e.g. DEAR/CIN7), Financial Tools (Xero) and you’re a dab hand with a spreadsheet. You’re a natural with a new system - quick to pick up new tools and happy to share useful tools with the team.

• Strong Analytical Skills: You are data driven, proactive at problem solving and ready to report back. You are exceptionally organized and are resilient to changing business needs in a fast-pace growing and changing company.

• Thrives with independence: You want to collaborate with your teammates; to strategise and learn from each other but you don’t need to be guided at every step. You’re extremely self-driven. You are confident to set out the plan and get stuck in to implement it.

• Curious - the unfamiliar isn’t daunting: You possess a natural curiosity and embrace unfamiliar situations as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles.

• Exceptional communicator: You feel in your element sharing your ideas with the team and with external stakeholders. You are a skilled negotiator - communicating forcefully but diplomatically to ensure our processes are efficient and our relationships positive. You enjoy a team environment - discussing, debating, reflecting together and you approach stressful moments with good humour and a relaxed, pragmatic approach.

• Based in the UK: You live in the UK and would enjoy meeting up with your teammates once a month or every couple of months for a strategy/planning session (and for lunch and a natter!)

Excels in a remote setting: Remote work isn’t for everyone but you thrive in a remote role - you love the freedom and flexibility that comes with the fully remote life. A lot of our team have kids and work remotely around their busy family schedules! You manage your hours effectively.

Didn’t talk you out of it yet? That’s great news because there are some fantastic perks to joining forces with team TopspinPro:

• Competitive salary: £50-70k, highly contingent on past experience and track record. We’re open to both growing someone with potential as well as investing in someone with a track record in the space. 
• Fully remote team: set up anywhere in the UK.
• Pension (UK): 5% employer contribution.
• Wellbeing budget: all of our staff have £100 a month to spend on their wellbeing. Yoga/Gym/Meditation/Counselling/Skincare etc etc. If it benefits your wellbeing (and it’s legal!) it’s a-ok.
• Learning & Development budget: Every staff member has access to a L&D budget on a case by case basis. In the last year we’ve funded undergraduate degree courses, online short courses, audio books and conferences.
• Remote Working Budget: Every staff member gets a budget of £2500 for remote work set up. Get a new desktop computer or new furniture - and it’s yours to keep!
• Flexible working hours: We are a fully remote company and we do everything we can to support staff to work flexibly - to empower them to prioritise their families, their own health and their passions outside work.
• Annual Offsite: Once a year we all meet for a retreat - we co-work, we play tennis, we eat yummy food and connect together. We fly staff from around the world to meet and connect.
• Virtual team events/socials: We work to make our remote work experience sociable and enjoyable (even if you’re sitting on the sofa with your laptop!) We do online gaming events, book clubs, wellbeing challenges and coffee catch ups. Last year we sent all our staff VR headsets so we could compete at Tennis even if we’re in our kitchen!