Grain Operative

Job Title: Grain Operative (Shift Operative)

Location: Port of Tilbury

Hours: 07:00 -14:00 / 14:00 – 21:00 + overtime available

Compensation: £33,605

At Forth Ports, we keep trade, logistics, and infrastructure moving. Every day, our teams support the flow of goods, materials, and services that businesses and communities rely on, helping to power economic growth across the UK and beyond. Our people are at the core of everything we do, and their expertise, commitment, and innovation drive our success.

With our commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2032 and Net Zero by 2042, we're investing heavily in sustainable and digital technologies, including major growth in offshore wind and greener port operations. For you, this means joining a business that's evolving, ambitious, and making a real difference.

About The Role

The Port of Tilbury Grain Terminal is the UK’s largest grain handling facility for both imports and exports. The state-of-the-art terminal operates to food-grade standards, offering a fully automated and highly flexible solution for grain import and export operations. 

As a Grade 2 operative within our Grain Terminal Operations team, you will play a vital role in servicing all customer requirements including loading and unloading lorries and vessels, operating in storage areas, operating scales and automated systems to facilitate our service to our customer base. Your prompt and safe response to a dynamic working environment while ensuring compliance with all company and statutory requirements will be key to supporting the Grain Terminal in achieving its operational objectives.

Key responsibilities:

• Handle cargo and plant with due care and attention at all times.
• Co-operate with the direction of the Supervisory and Control teams to ensure customer requirements are met in a safe, efficient and timely manner.
• Always conduct yourself in a safe working manner and promote to others a positive safety-first culture.
• Conformity to all company policies, procedures, risk assessments and method statements at all times.
• To report any incident, accident or unsafe observation through the approved channels and methodology (training will be provided)
• Develop and maintain good working relationships with all members of the Grain Terminal team.
• Promote the good nature of the company and always conduct oneself in a professional manner; this is a customer facing role with regular interaction with customer employees.
• Maintain a high standard of house keeping of the site and working areas.
• Use and maintain all supplied PPE correctly and maintain accurate records thereof. 

What we're looking for:

We are looking for a safety-conscious, reliable and hardworking individual who thrives in a fast-paced operational environment and takes pride in delivering excellent service to customers. The successful candidate will be a strong team player with a positive attitude, able to work collaboratively with colleagues and supervisors while remaining flexible to changing operational demands. They will demonstrate a proactive approach to health and safety, maintain high standards of housekeeping and professionalism, and be committed to following procedures and working practices. Experience within industrial, logistics, manufacturing, agricultural, port or bulk handling environments would be advantageous, but equally important is a willingness to learn, operate equipment and automated systems, and contribute to the efficient and safe movement of cargo across the terminal.

Skills & Qualifications:

This is a training and development role, vocational training will be provided, experience in the following is preferred but not essential.

· Forklift Truck and Front-End Loading Shovel driving.

· Working in dusty areas, or environments that may contain explosive atmospheres.

· Working within a port environment

· Working at Height

· Working within confined spaces

· Understanding of stock management principles and procedures

· Knowledge of food safety systems in a bulk industrial storage setting

What Forth Ports can offer you

At Forth Ports, our people are our priority, and we are committed to creating a flexible, open, and supportive working culture. As part of our team, you will enjoy

• A competitive salary
• Discretionary bonus
• Paid overtime
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Defined contribution pension scheme with up to 16.5% joint contribution plus life assurance at 4x salary
• In‑house Occupational Health — Provides professional workplace health advice, support, and guidance for employees across all sites
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) — Delivered through Health Assured , offering 24/7, 365‑day confidential wellbeing support via the Wisdom app or telephone access, covering mental health, financial advice, legal guidance, and emotional wellbeing
• Physiotherapy Support — Access to physiotherapy sessions through three external providers in Scotland, plus an onsite physiotherapist once per week in Tilbury
• An annual Christmas thank you gift of a complimentary turkey or meat-free alternative for all employees
• GymFlex health club memberships offering discounted access to gyms including Nuffield Health, PureGym, Anytime Fitness, The Gym Group, and selected local gyms
• Cycle to Work scheme to support affordable, sustainable commuting
• On-site free parking available for all employees
• Attractive family-friendly policies, including enhanced maternity cover
• Employee discount platform providing savings on UK-wide restaurants, retail, car rentals, days out, and holidays  

We value diversity and inclusivity, and we are an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability status.

As a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, we are committed to ensuring that members of the Armed Forces community are treated fairly and are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service.

We welcome applications from veterans, reservists, cadet force adult volunteers, and military spouses/partners, and we actively support flexible and inclusive recruitment practices.

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV and a cover letter when submitting your application via the ‘Apply Now’ link.

Required Criteria

• • Forklift Truck and Front-End Loading Shovel driving.
• • Full Driving Licence, valid in the UK
• • Full UK Working Rights

Skills Needed

About The Company

Over our 50 years of experience we have witnessed our ports grow to become important assets to support and deliver growth both for the UK and local economies.

The growth impact has been achieved due to the continued investments in our infrastructure, making sure that our ports are able to continually develop their services and support the growth of many industries.

Our people have played a significant role. They have delivered the highest quality of service through their expertise, loyalty and flexibility and, without them, we could not have built the strong reputation and the long term agreements with many customers that we have today.

Company Culture

Welcome to Forth Ports Careers. As a leading port operator, we employ over 1,100 people across our ports in Scotland and the Port of Tilbury in London.

A career in a port business is very rewarding. There is real variety within each role and significant opportunities for promotion and career development. Don’t just take our word for it; view the “Some of our People” section and the video below to gain insight into the kinds of jobs our employees do, how they’ve grown with us, and what motivates them each day.

The port business can be seen as a barometer for the economy and this drives us to be adaptable and fast paced as we identify new business opportunities.

Company Benefits

We are committed to creating a positive working culture for all employees, as well as a good work-life balance.

Here are just some of the benefits of working for Forth Ports.

Vacation, Paid time off, Paid sick days, Retirement plan and/or pension, Employee discounts, Gym membership or wellness programs, Cycle to work, Competitive salary, Employee Assistance Scheme

Salary

£33,605.00 per year