Operations Lead

Job Title: Operations Lead

Contract Type: Full-time

Location: Remote

Salary: £40k

Experience Level: Manager

Reporting to: CEO

Start date: October 2023

 

Who We Are

Kalinko is a British homeware brand selling beautiful things made in Burma. We sell directly from the makers – no middlemen. This means that every penny from the cost of purchase goes straight to the people who make each piece, helping to build sustainable economic futures for them.

We only make products we want in our own homes. From rattan accessories to teak furniture and hand-blown glassware, our products combine time-honoured craft with contemporary design. We help our customers find sustainably sourced, chain-free, beautiful homeware, in a time where this is more valued than ever.

This isn’t easy! Burma has had a bumpy ride, and as a result it’s a tricky place to do business. Solving the daily challenges involved in working there takes resilience, patience, and a lot of hard work. But the purpose behind what we’re doing, and the knowledge of the impact that we can have as a team drives us on. We’re a small company making big strides and need passionate self-starters to join us for the ride.

Role Summary

We’re looking for an Operations Lead to join Kalinko. You’ll be Sophie (the CEO)’s right-hand person, and will work closely with her, with the fulfilment and customer services team, and with the team in Yangon (over Slack!). You will manage the day-to-day customer, logistics and business operations. This means... 

You’ll be

  • Responsible for creating, developing and implementing the operational strategy as the business grows, overseeing customer service, logistics and company processes
  • Overseeing all stock movements in the business, controlling inventory and managing stock levels, including forecasting future stock requirements and placing purchase orders
  • Controlling the movement of stock from Yangon to the UK or final destination, liaising with shipping agents, and managing systems for processing stock on arrival
  • Overseeing the warehouse have everything they need to give our customers the best possible experience (systems, packaging, friendly and efficient couriers, biscuits)
  • Managing relationships and rates with couriers and freight partners
  • Responsible for making sure our website is looking slick and functioning as it should be
  • The link between customer service and the warehouse
  • Managing the bookkeeping, including day-to-day reconciliation of our accounts and cash forecasting
  • Running payroll and paying pension contributions and PAYE each month
  • Approving and managing staff holidays
  • Our B Champion – we’re preparing for B-Corp certification – you’ll take over this process
  • Ready to take on new tasks as the company grows
  • Willing and able to travel to our warehouse in rural Wales 3-4 times per year
  • Helping Sophie ensure that the resources and skills of the team are ready for big growth in the next couple of years

This will need

  • 4+ years of experience working in a relevant operational role
  • Experience managing a team
  • Experience with Xero or similar accounting systems
  • Experience with inventory management systems
  • Somebody process driven with an eye for efficiency, streamlining and improving systems
  • A logical, numerical mind, which can see the bigger picture
  • The confidence to run with a project once briefed, to troubleshoot a situation and to come up with a solution without guidance
  • Patience and a sense of humour to take on whichever curveball is on its way each day
  • A driving licence, or reasonable means to get to the warehouse (Knighton, Powys)

Why join Kalinko?

  • We’re the first and currently, only homeware company from Burma and are in a position to make tangible, dramatic improvements to the social and economic wellbeing of thousands of artisans
  • We’re a small team (currently 6, + some amazing freelancers), but we’re growing – you would be a key part of that growth
  • We’re offering extremely flexible working hours – work when and where suits you; we don’t mind how you work, as long as the results are in line with our objectives
  • You’ll have experience working across all aspects of the business, within which we want you to develop and grow; our company is all about people, and we work hard to make sure our team feel happy and fulfilled in their role 

Benefits

  • 25 days holiday + bank holidays
  • Flexible working
  • First dibs of our really beautiful homeware with a hefty staff-discount

Interested? Please email your application to sophie.garnier@kalinko.com with “Operations Lead” as the subject line.

Equal opportunity employer

Our goal is to have a measurable positive economic and social impact on as many families of craftspeople as possible across Myanmar. We will do this by building a commercially sustainable global furniture and accessories business that has a measurable socio-economic impact on the livelihoods of the crafters and their families. To do this, we need a strong, diverse team. We are therefore committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, identities, perspectives and skills. We recognise the value in diversity and the unique contributions each team member can bring in terms of their culture, ethnicity, race, sex, age, gender identity, education, opinions, language, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.