Launch your career at DS Smith
Category: Recruitment
Publish date: 02/08/2021
DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable packaging solutions, paper products and recycling services worldwide. Over the past 80 years our organisation has grown dramatically, as have our services and areas of expertise.
Diversity is key to our success and that’s why we’re keen to speak to people from different backgrounds and experiences to help build and deliver on our plans. We’re looking for people who can make a difference, support innovation and be part of our continued growth. Within our global manufacturing sites, we recruit a range of different roles from drivers to engineers, and encourage applications from a broad range of experience levels - whether you’re taking the first step in a new career or looking for the next move in your management journey.
In our offices, we have opportunities from administrators to directors across multiple functions including Finance, HR, Business Development, Marketing and IT. Whatever your background, we’re looking for people who are caring, unafraid to challenge, and who are trustworthy, responsive and tenacious; all traits you would expect from someone who has served in the Armed Forces.
So why should a Service leaver join DS Smith?
We’re a growing organisation and we want our people to grow together. We offer development programmes, place our focus on ‘people over process’, involve our teams in decision-making and encourage collaboration so we can continue to lead in the market. We have an Employee Assistant Partner who will provide legal, financial and counselling support to our employees, confidentially and at no cost to the colleague. We also offer a pension, life assurance and 25 days’ holiday.
We’re in the process of signing the Armed Forces Covenant and are working to ensure our policies support Service leavers when they join us. We’re at the beginning of our journey, but we’re eager to succeed in being a number one employer for Service leavers.
Colin Taylor is a Category Specialist at DS Smith and was previously an Armoured Infantry Company Commander in Paderborn.
He shared with us some of his experiences in making the transition to DS Smith:
“I commissioned in August 1992 and served as an Infantry Officer until June 2009. My last postings included being an Armoured Infantry Company Commander in Paderborn with 5 RIFLES and an SO2 in the Land Warfare Development Group in Warminster. Since leaving the Army, I’ve been a Training SME for the Emirati Armed Forces and a Programme Manager for Cubic, both in Abu Dhabi, as well as a Senior Project Manager for Capita in Upavon delivering Army recruitment. I’ve been with DS Smith since October 2018, initially as a Senior Project Manager in Procurement; supporting Category Managers to deliver projects within their categories, and more recently as a Category Specialist managing a number of non-production categories: Travel, Stationery, Furniture, Corporate Payment Services, etc.
“In truth, I’d never heard of DS Smith before my interview, but the company matched the characteristics I was looking for from work; a challenge beyond the Military environment I was comfortable in, the possibility for further career opportunities and the chance to travel in the UK and across Europe. On joining DS Smith, my new Line Manager mentioned that she had previously recruited two former Dutch Air Force Officers who brought a number of beneficial skills to the organisation, including being good at autonomous working, and integrating into teams quickly. DS Smith has 29,000 employees spread across several divisions and multiple countries. I myself am just shy of three years at DS Smith and my time here has both matched and surpassed my expectations. There are always areas of my daily work which are completely new and challenging and I have transitioned from delivering projects to managing complex categories and strategic accounts. I’m part of a small team, spread across Europe, but all working to the same operational goal of delivering world-class service for our business.”
If you’d like to become part of our ambitious culture and own your career development, we’re love to hear from you. We’re working closing with Career Transition Partnership to provide Service leavers with access to our opportunities. So if working with us interests you, head over to the CTP’s online job portal RightJob for more information on our latest vacancies.
For opportunities based in other locations outside of the UK, please click here and search.