As an Continuous Improvement & Operations Manager at Picnic, you establish stable, high-performance processes and continuously improve them using data and clear KPIs. You own the day-to-day performance of your area, lead multiple shifts and teams, and translate analysis into concrete actions that improve safety, quality, and productivity. Through hands-on leadership and strong process discipline, you turn insights into consistent execution on the floor.​

Tricks of the trade

• Lead daily operations: Supervise 1 shift on the floor each week, and use insight to drive process improvements and operational excellence​
• Area ownership: Own day-to-day and weekly performance of your area (inbound or outbound), delivering on safety, quality, productivity, and delivery KPIs.​
• Hands-on Leadership: Lead teams across multiple shifts, driving engagement, retention, and strong captain leadership on the floor. ​
• Incident & Planning Management: Handle major incidents, set productivity inputs, and manage planning escalations when needed.​
• Continuous Improvement: Lead improvement initiatives and support Lean activities that remove friction from daily operations. ​
• Performance Management: Drive shift-level results on delivery capacity, UPH, cost, completeness, timeliness, and perfect deliveries.​

What you bring 

• Master’s degree in relevant field​
• 3+ years Supply Chain experience​
• Comfortable managing high-volume, high-SKU workflows​
• Strong analytical skills, with a high level of competence in data analysis tools ​
• Familiarity with Lean and continuous improvement initiatives​
• Fluent in English​, Dutch is a pre
• Hands-on experience in automated/semi-automated/manual fulfilment​
• Lean/continuous improvement experience​ is a pre
• Proven ability to lead teams ​is a pre 

Picnic perks

You'll receive a competitive compensation package, including:

• 25 vacation days per year to recharge your batteries
• The option to lease a car
• You’ll get freshly prepared, healthy breakfast, lunches (and dinner at the FC) as well as delicious snacks and drinks available at all Picnic locations
• A flexible company pension plan called “Doenpensioen” at a.s.r.
• Picnic laptop and smartphone
• An awesome scale-up atmosphere with the freedom to drive your own projects and the opportunity to have an impact!
• The chance to work in an international environment with motivated team members & legendary company events
• Many internal learning and development possibilities as well as professional soft skill & leadership trainings at a specialized external party
• We have Fulfilment Centres across The Netherlands in the following locations: Utrecht, Ridderkerk, Berkel en Rodenrijs, Dordrecht, Eindhoven, Zwolle, Heerenveen, Geldermalsen.

In a nutshell 

Please note our final application deadline is Sunday 24th May.

Are you (almost) graduated and looking to make a significant impact in a dynamic, fast-growing environment? Join us on a journey to shape the future of grocery shopping!

During this Fast Track to Leadership program, you’ll dive into all operational aspects of Picnic. We’ll coach you to become a true leader in one of our Fulfilment Centers and teach you to supervise 100+ people per day. Additionally you will get more and more project responsibility over time, helping to increase the overall efficiency in our FC’s and supply chain. You can take complete ownership over those projects, but don’t worry, it’s OK to make mistakes!

You will develop your soft skills through training sessions and on the job learning, related to topics such as: providing constructive feedback, getting to know your own leadership style, and managing projects from A to Z. Next to that you will improve your hard skills by the use of our tech and analytical tools.

What you’ll do

Traineeship Year 1: Building expertise and leadership skills 

• Onboarding: One-month immersive training with fellow trainees, workshops, real improvement cases, and site visits to expand your network and supply chain knowledge.

• Operational Management: Rotate through leadership roles in Fulfilment, receive mentorship, and take ownership of operations within two months..

• Analytics: Use floor insights to lead improvement projects, boost efficiency, and customize your development with your team lead.

• Leadership: Become a team lead at your FC, receive training on delivering feedback, recruit new employees, and develop your people skills.

Traineeship Year 2: Leading for impact

• International experience: Opportunity to work at an international Fulfilment Centre (e.g., Paris, Berlin, Hamburg), sharing insights and learning from global teams. 

• Taking ownership: Engage in larger projects covering various aspects of our supply chain, such as optimizing purchasing orders or supporting the launch of new automated FCs or DCs. Leverage your insider knowledge and data-driven project management skills to elevate Picnic's supply chain to the next level. 

Future Opportunities: upon completing the Fast Track to Leadership program, you can step into the role of an experienced Operations Manager or explore various supply chain leadership options within Picnic.

About you

• You are a Master's degree graduate with a specific interest in logistics and supply chain

• You have 0-2 years of full-time work experience

• You gained your first leadership experience with for example a board year, committee work, or voluntary projects

• You're fluent in English

• You possess strong analytical skills making you able to quickly grasp numerical data

• You're ready for a hands-on, operationally-focused role

• You do not shy away from early morning supervisor shifts

• You're eager to make an impact and grow in an innovative company

• You have an EU working permit

Picnic Perks  

You'll receive a competitive compensation package, including:

• 25 vacation days per year to recharge your batteries

• The option to lease a car

• Breakfast and lunch (or dinner at the FC) as well as delicious snacks and drinks available at all Picnic locations

• A flexible company pension plan called “Doenpensioen” at a.s.r.

• Picnic laptop and smartphone

• An awesome scale-up atmosphere with the freedom to drive your own projects and the opportunity to have an impact!

• The chance to work in an international environment with motivated team members & legendary company events

• Many internal learning and development possibilities as well as professional soft skill & leadership trainings at a specialized external party

Important dates

• Start Traineeship: September 2026

• Final application deadline: Sunday 24th May

• The Selection Day takes place on Tuesday 9th or Wednesday 10th June 2026

The application process

1. Apply with your resume (CV) and your video pitch

            Instructions video pitch:

                 - Introduce yourself in a short video in English and let us know why you are the best match for this position! Please share a link to the video with us (YouTube, WeTransfer, Drive etc.).

                 - Keep it short and spontaneous, max. 2 minutes

                 - No fancy editing skills required: Grab your phone or webcam and let's do this!

                 - Introduce yourself and tell us why you should be one of the Fast Track participants

                 - Explain to us why you are motivated to work in a warehouse environment!

                 - E-mail us if you have any questions regarding the video

2. Online assessment and video pitch (if you hadn't sent it already)

3. Virtual interview

4. Selection Day

If selected you will receive your offer by the middle of June, then you can enjoy your summer and start fresh with Picnic in September 2026! 🚀

Do you have any remaining questions, or would like a coffee chat with a current Fast Track to Leadership Trainee? Feel free to contact recruiter Kate via email (kate.conboye@teampicnic.com) or LinkedIn.

Want to do some additional research?

We will host a webinar all about our Traineeship on LinkedIn on Tuesday 21st April at 17:00. You can sign up to watch this webinar using the following link: Picnic Webinar.

Check out the Fast Track from the viewpoint of some of our current and past Trainees on YouTube here or read though an interview with one of our current trainees to understand his experience of our traineeship here! You can also check out our YouTube page so you can get a good impression of what it is like to work at Picnic.

For this program, you will receive a full-time job offer based one of our Fulfilment Centres in The Netherlands (Utrecht, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Zwolle, Heerenveen, Geldermalsen).