Director, Last Mile & Delivery Operations

Zapp is on a mission to redefine on-demand retail. We deliver everyday essentials to customers' doors in minutes, combining technology, operational excellence, and an uncompromising focus on customer experience.

We're building a business where speed, reliability, and quality go hand in hand — and our delivery operation is at the heart of making that happen.

Nine Elms, London

Full-time, on-site

We're looking for an exceptional Director, Last Mile & Delivery Operations to own and elevate one of the most critical parts of our business: getting orders into customers' hands as quickly, reliably, and efficiently as possible.

This is a high-impact leadership role with end-to-end ownership of our delivery operations, including delivery partner and rider management, delivery speed, operational performance, and cost efficiency.

You’ll be responsible for ensuring consistently fast end-to-end delivery times, from the moment a customer places an order to the moment it arrives at their door. This means optimising every stage of the delivery journey, building and managing high-performing rider operations and delivery partnerships, and working cross-functionally to remove bottlenecks and continuously improve performance.

We're looking for someone with deep, hands‑on experience specifically in last mile and delivery operations, who combines strategic thinking with a relentless bias for action. Someone who is equally comfortable defining a long-term operating strategy, diving deep into performance data, and getting into the operational details to solve problems.

• Take full accountability for end-to-end delivery times, reliability, and customer delivery experience, from order placement through to successful delivery.
• Drive consistently fast delivery times by identifying and eliminating bottlenecks across order preparation, dispatch, rider assignment, pickup, and delivery.
• Define and own key delivery KPIs, establishing clear performance targets and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Work closely with Store Operations, Product, Engineering, and Data teams to optimise the entire delivery journey.

• Own the performance and management of delivery partners and rider operations, ensuring sufficient capacity, high service standards, and operational reliability.
• Build strong relationships with external delivery partners, setting clear expectations, performance standards, and accountability.
• Optimise rider availability, utilisation, scheduling, and productivity to match customer demand while maintaining fast delivery times.
• Develop scalable processes and performance management frameworks to improve rider and partner performance, engagement, and retention.
• Ensure rider safety, operational compliance, and a high-quality rider experience.

• Own and continuously optimise delivery economics, balancing speed, customer experience, and cost per delivery.
• Identify opportunities to improve rider productivity, delivery capacity utilisation, and operational efficiency.
• Build robust forecasting and capacity-planning capabilities to ensure delivery supply meets demand across locations and peak periods.
• Drive structural improvements to create a more efficient, scalable, and sustainable delivery operation.

• Lead and develop high-performing teams with clear accountability for operational outcomes.
• Establish a rigorous, data-driven operating rhythm to monitor performance, identify issues, and drive rapid improvements.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Finance, and wider Operations teams to develop technology-enabled solutions to…