Delivery Driver Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a delivery driver. Feel free to use our delivery driver job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a delivery driver.
Who is a Delivery Driver?
A delivery driver is someone responsible for conveying goods and other packages from the main facility to a personal or business address. The duties of a delivery driver are; loading goods, using navigation tools to arrive at the right address, and delivering parcels to different addresses or contact addresses. Delivery drivers are employed in corporations, food service companies, and delivery service companies or warehouses. They mainly drive cars or delivery trucks to make sure that customers or recipients receive their packages and goods based on how they order them and also at the appropriate time frame. Their responsibility is to drive safely, deliver goods and collect the payment if need be. They sometimes communicate with recipients to sign to authenticate if it is their package.
The daily work schedule of a delivery driver involves arriving at his designated packaging facility early in the morning. They park their delivery truck at the loading dock and load parcels assigned to their particular route. All through the day, they drive around the local area using their GPS navigation to discover addresses and deliver packages. They may also return to the packing facility to pick up various packages for delivery when the other packages have been delivered.
Delivery drivers in the foodservice spend most of their day collecting food from a restaurant and delivering it to businesses, households, and offices at a particular time frame. In a food service industry, a delivery driver reports directly to the Restaurant owner or Restaurant Manager to respond to phone or web orders.
Most delivery driver jobs do not require experience which makes it very easy for people to apply; some delivery drivers work part-time because of the flexible nature of the job. Candidates who have three to five years’ experience are more considered for the role of a senior delivery role or a delivery manager or perhaps an executive. The education and training of a delivery driver vary based on what they transport. For instance, if delivering food or chemicals, drivers need to follow the safety laws and best practices for transporting these materials.
Delivery Driver Job Description
Below are the delivery driver job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a delivery driver job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a delivery driver include the following:
- Deliver various goods or items to different places
- Follow the appropriate route that is convenient for delivery
- Stick to the appropriate time of delivery and deliver goods at the scheduled time
- Load and unload vehicles as to the needs demands
- Maintain, inspect and operate the vehicle and also ensure that the vehicle is clean
- Receive payment whenever necessary
- Ensure the package is received by the customer
- Maintain a log of all deliveries and related information for reference and confirmation
- Follow all the road safety regulations and rules
- Follow any stipulated customer specification regarding delivery
- Navigate routes and relevant road map
- Determine the appropriate route to follow by taking into consideration; congestion, traffic, construction, and other factors
- Obtain delivery information from customers such as signature
- Communicate traffic delays and congestion to customers to avoid any wrong perception
- Handle customer’s questions and concerns about the delivery
- Maximize the use of technology to effectively manage the delivery process including handling technology
- Check the list of orders after delivery to ensure that all orders have been appropriately attended to
- Maintain a driving and delivery log according to established policies and procedures
- Prepare reports and documentation as required
Qualifications
- A High school graduate
- Valid professional driver’s license for the required vehicle type
- Knowledge on how to handle the safety of perishable items like food or chemicals
- Time management to ensure goods are delivered at the appropriate time
- Good ability to drive with no violation
- Proven experience as a delivery driver
- Familiarity with the use of navigation system
- Excellent vision and ability to coordinate both the hands and eyes when driving
- Physical ability to load and unload any cargo
- Ability to understand and operate GPS technology and other apps
- Physical abilities such as the ability to move, push, bend, kneel, and able to lift
Essential Skills
There are some requisite skills that a delivery driver needs to have and they are;
- Manual Handling: A delivery driver must be someone very good with his hands because of the duties he performs such as driving, loading goods in the car, and unloading them. A delivery driver must be highly flexible with his hands to perform all his duties as expected.
- Punctuality: a delivery driver must be timely in delivering goods to customers at the appropriate time without any delay. A delivery driver must be someone who is time-conscious and will do his very best not to disappoint customers. Although there are factors such as; road congestion, traffic, and other factors which can slow down a delivery driver. In such a scenario, a delivery driver must communicate to dispatch or customers as appropriate.
- Customer Service: a delivery driver must be customer-oriented. He or she must keep a customer’s interest at heart. Customers sometimes may need clarity about an issue; a delivery driver usually answers questions asked by customers. He or she ensures customers receive goods at the appropriate time.
Drivers sometimes may have to deal with a situation like customers being unhappy with their delivery or angry at it being late. A good driver has the communication and customer skill to handle these situations professionally if they spring up.
- Organizational Skills: a delivery driver must possess organizational skills for him to carry out his responsibility with a good planning order. He or she must follow the list of orders by customers and deliver the goods as appropriate. He must also do all his activities for the day in order not to make any mistake
- Good Communication Skills: a delivery driver must know how to communicate effectively with senior colleagues, teammates, and recipients. Good communication will help him perform his responsibility as expected and also be able to reach out to customers
- Ability to work under pressure: A delivery driver must be someone who can work under severe pressure because the job demands uploading and offloading items. He or she must be someone who can pass through pressure and still be able to carry out his responsibilities as expected.
- Highly responsible and reliable: A delivery driver must be someone who is trustworthy and can deliver goods to various places without any issue. A delivery driver must be someone that both customers and organizations can rely upon to deliver a specific amount of goods at a particular time
- Problem-solving skills; a delivery driver must be someone who is proactive and is not overwhelmed at a situation but has an immediate solution to a particular problem. For instance, when delivering goods to customers; he may encounter traffic conditions vehicle failure. In such a situation; he is not supposed to be dismayed but looks for an immediate solution.
- Attention to detail: Most little things can make a huge difference for delivery drivers. If you are to get from point A to B on time, you will need to plan the tour route carefully and take into consideration any disruptions that may occur on the road. A big part of the issue is paying attention to your vehicle too. A breakdown is the worst nightmare for a delivery driver and keeping an eye on your car, van, or lorry. You will get the chance of avoiding small issues before they turn to bigger ones.
How to Become A Delivery Driver
Although no formal education is required, a delivery driver must have the following:
- You must have a high school diploma or equivalent
To become a delivery driver; you must have a high school certificate or equivalent. This is very necessary because employers want someone that possesses communication and writing skills. A high school diploma sharpens the intellectual capacity of a delivery driver and makes him competent for the job.
- Possess Valid driver’s license
A delivery driver must be someone that is above 18 years and possess a driver’s license from his state or local authorities. A delivery driver must be someone that has a personal license and has been driving for years. Most employers don’t want to hire a novice as a driver.
- Must possess a clean driving Record
A delivery driver must be someone that does not have a history of vehicle accidents. He must be someone that has a clean driving record and moving violations. He or she must be someone that is disciplined and has never driven anytime he or she is drunk. Most companies will undergo a background check before employing a delivery driver; the record will be about the individual driving record or public record.
- Volunteer as a Driver
He can volunteer in companies or corporations to acquire the requisite skills. A delivery driver can enroll for this voluntary driving for about a year or two to become an experienced driver.
- Draft your resume
After you have acquired the requisite skills; you can draft your resume and start applying for jobs at various companies, corporations, and businesses. In your resume state the educational qualification you possess, skills, and the requisite experience you have gained. Make sure you write a winning resume that will attract employers.
Where Can a Delivery Driver Work?
Delivery driving service is highly lucrative as the world is becoming digital. A delivery driver can work in:
- Online Shopping Store: a delivery driver can work in an online hopping store to deliver goods to customers. Most people order goods or items online in an online retail store and a delivery driver delivers these items to the recipient at the appropriate place and time. A delivery driver is must seek out these organizations and they serve as a link between the organization and customers. Customers can lay their complaints to the delivery driver and the delivery driver channels them to the organization.
- Restaurants: Some restaurants or food vendors also allow customers to order food online while the food is being delivered to customers in their offices, home, or any place of their interest. A delivery driver conveys these food items to customers at their most preferred location at a particular time or place. For instance, a delivery driver who works for a pizza restaurant and or delivers pizza to customers nationwide
- Logistics Company: a delivery driver can work in a company that is large and produces large goods for delivery in various branches across the state. This kind of delivery driver is called truck delivery. These companies specialize in the large-scale production of products and these products are distributed nationwide by delivery drivers. Delivery drivers can also deliver these goods to a large warehouse where goods are stored.
- Farm Delivery Driver: delivery drivers can work in an agricultural farm where plants and animals are produced and deliver them to various locations based on the directive from the farm organization. A delivery driver can also convey raw materials to companies for production.
Delivery Driver Salary Scale
The salary scale of delivery drivers varies based on the level of experience, location, and skills of the delivery driver. The following are the salary of a delivery driver in some countries;
- In the United States of America; the salary of delivery drivers is $14.30 per hour ted States and $50.00 per day. Delivery driver salary ranges from $11.30 (25thpercentile) to $16.59 (7th percentile) across the United States. The average pay of a delivery driver varies greatly as much as $5.29 which suggests there might be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on the level of skills, location, and experience as a delivery driver.
- In Nigeria, the salary of a delivery driver is 98,000NGN per month. Salaries range from 52,000NGN to 149,000NGN. The median salary is 92,200NGN which means half of the people working as delivery drivers earn less than 92,200NGN while others are earning more than 92,000NGN. The average salary includes housing, transport, and other allowances.