VP of Direct Operations

Description

Title: VP of Direct Operations 

Department: Operations 

Position Status: Full Time 

Exempt Status: Exempt Salary 

About the Opportunity  

We are looking to add an enthusiastic, highly driven VP of Direct Operations to our team. We are seeking candidates with experience in logistics operations management: final mile preferred, warehouse management and contractor management who have strong business acumen. 

VP of Direct Operations  

In this role your primary focus will be the organization’s direct operational activities and initiatives to meet strategic business goals. This position will act as the key link between organizational strategy and direct operations teams to ensure continuity of company culture and best practices while participating in growing customer relationships through operational excellence. This role is critical in ensuring efficient, effective, and scalable logistics and warehousing solutions that align with the company's strategic goals and customer satisfaction metrics. 

A successful applicant will be able to: 

• Align operational initiatives with organizational strategic priorities and goals 

• Manage and develop personnel to drive personal and team performance in coordination with all internal and external customers’ needs relevant to strategic priorities 

• Possess superior leadership, communication, and prioritization skills 

Responsibilities/Duties/Functions/Task 

Strategic Leadership: 

• Identify and lead new direct market expansion opportunities that align with our growth strategy 

• Align operational goals with the company’s strategic objectives and customer expectations to drive growth and profitability. 

• Lead the expansion of lean systems and behaviors across the direct operations to ensure operational excellence for direct operations teams, aligning talent team structure and development activities to facilitate successful execution against operational goals and objectives. 

Safety Management:  

• Build and champion a company-wide safety culture with measurable improvements year over year. 

• Collaborate with HR to develop and enforce safety policies and procedures, supported by an employee-led safety committee, to build a best-in-class safety culture. 

• Ensure regular safety and security audits and inspections are conducted to identify and address potential hazards. 

• Build a culture of safety through organization-wide awareness and accountability. 

• Ensure all operational team members receive training and resources to understand and follow safety protocols. 

Compliance and Risk Management: 

• Ensure compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards, with a critical focus on DOT. 

• Ensure compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and other relevant safety standards. 

• Develop and implement risk management strategies to mitigate operational risks. 

• Oversee safety and security protocols across direct operations to ensure a safe working environment. 

Team Leadership and Development: 

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing operations team, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement with a goal of establishing a strong bench of emerging leaders through programs that focus on coaching and frontline development. 

• Develop inclusive, standardized leadership processes to assess current and projected business volume, ensuring proper staffing, equipment, and floor space for facility operations. 

Financial Management: 

• Collaborate with Finance department in the development of operations budget and implement management processes ensuring cost control and financial accountability. 

• Identify opportunities for efficiency and effectiveness improvements across the operations. 

• Prepare and present financial and operational reports to the executive team and stakeholders. 

• Align and implement best-in-class fleet management practices that reduce equipment repair costs. 

Customer Focus: 

• Utilize data-driven decision-making to enhance operational practices and achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. 

• Implement advanced analytics and business intelligence tools to monitor customer needs and preferences. 

• Centralize dispatch and customer service across all direct operations to drive consistency and efficiency 

• Develop and execute strategies that align operational excellence with superior customer experiences and outcomes, with a focus on seamless account onboarding for all direct operations. 

Cross Functional Collaboration: 

• Foster a culture of collaboration by working closely with other executives and business leaders to align operational strategies with business goals. 

• Facilitate cross-functional communication and collaboration throughout all levels of operations teams to quickly identify and address operational challenges, share insights, and develop a culture of continuous improvement. 

• Partner with departments such as Sales, Marketing, Finance, and IT to advance ensure seamless integration and execution against customer expectations. 

• Collaborate with IT department to identify automation, efficiency and effectiveness opportunities as well as participating in driving the development of organizational service offerings to  

• Collaborate with HR to implement programs that improve engagement, retention, and performance, and provide ongoing training and development for team members. 

• Collaborate with IT to ensure effective facility security and access control systems. 

Qualifications

Qualifications 

• Minimum BS/MA in Business Administration or equivalent in work experience (7- 10 years). 

• Proven work experience in logistics operations leadership (5 years), with preferred experience providing leadership over final mile or delivery operations.  

• Minimum 2 years of experience managing multi-million-dollar P&L responsibility 

• Proven track record of talent pipeline development to support business continuity activities 

• Business development and strategy implementation experience. 

• Ability to manage and drive operational growth. 

• Strong leadership and decision making skills. 

• Entrepreneurial mindset and clear thinker. 

• Excellent communication skills; verbal, written and listening. 

• Strong organizational skills to handle multiple priorities and streams of information. 

• Analytical, resourceful and creative hands-on problem solver. 

• Excellent customer relationship management skills. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Proven business or operations leadership experience within the logistics final mile industry 

• Lean Management experience 

Work Environment 

• Office facilities 

• Warehouse facilities 

• Loading Docks 

• Field/Customer Sites 

• Travel: 50-75%