Director of Intermodal

About the role

The Director of Intermodal Operations, under minimum supervision, provides the day-to-day “hands-on” strategic direction, oversight, and implementation of the Intermodal business unit at NFI. The Director must be able to demonstrate a high degree of planning, organizational, analytical, and financial skills and will be required to partner and communicate with all levels of an organization, both internally and externally. The Director will be expected to provide the necessary leadership skills, business acumen, and technical skills to ensure that the intermodal division grows to become a major NFI business unit. Build and grow a world-class intermodal organization within a well-established and well-financed transportation, logistics, and warehousing company. This position reports to the Vice President of Intermodal.

Responsibilities

• Assume responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Intermodal business unit.
• Lead the initiative to develop, manage, and execute the Company’s intermodal strategy among the three operating entities: NFI, NDC, and NFIL.
• Work to increase synergy between Intermodal operations and the other NFI organizations.
• Develop and implement new strategies, services, and tactical business plans, and ensure the necessary resources are in place to fulfill customers’ needs and contract obligations.
• Candidate must have an entrepreneurial mindset and possess the ability to effectively align with business groups to enable positive and stable business growth.
• Establish a close working relationship with the Intermodal Sales and Business Development functions.
• Provide strong leadership to all functions of the business and build a “service/customer-oriented” culture.
• Reinforce throughout the entire organization the desire and commitment to the highest levels of customer service and achieve a high level of cost efficiency. Communicate and demonstrate this commitment to all customers.
• Evaluate current procedures and processes. Establish new procedures and implement improvements where required. Make sure all new procedures are implemented and adhered to throughout the organization.
• Review and analyze the client’s current Intermodal transportation programs and take appropriate measures to correct current or future potential problem areas.
• Ensure the highest level of customer service to all clients regardless of the account size. Make sure all Service Level Agreements and Performance Metrics are met or exceeded.
• Act as the strategic bridge between NFI’s internal operational/rail capabilities and the customer’s supply chain requirements.
• Manage the selection, development, motivation, and retention of the staff required to grow and develop the Intermodal business.
• Ensure Company Policies and procedures are supported throughout the corporate and field operations.
• Thrive in a high-growth, ambiguous 'gray space' environment, proactively designing and implementing processes to scale a premier customer operations team.
• Assist with both short and long-term forecasting of Intermodal resource requirements.
• Conduct an evaluation of the current team and provide mentoring to his/her team.
• Remain current on industry trends and provide strategic recommendations to management that keep NFI Intermodal on the “cutting edge.”

Qualifications

• College Degree Required, Master's Preferred
• 10+ years of experience in customer-facing 3PL transportation management (Brokerage, Truckload, or Fleet). Direct Intermodal experience is a strong plus.
• Familiar with a variety of transportation concepts, practices, and procedures
• Experience with overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the department
• Possesses strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate organizational visions and values
• Serve as the senior escalation point for critical customer service issues.
• Proficient computer skills
• Conceptual, strategic thinker with demonstrated ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions
• Prior profit and loss responsibility preferred
• Independent, must be able to work with little direction or structure
• Able to work effectively with all verticals within NFI and the sales team
• Strong work ethic and roll-up-your-sleeves type leader
• Hands-on, customer-driven focus