Director, Operations

Why Choose Suddath to “Move” your Career to the Next Level?

At Suddath, you can be part of something special and inclusive!  Join a team that has a 100+ year reputation for excellence as an innovative, growing and financially stable company that is dedicated to promoting a culture that thrives on inclusion and diversity. From numerous awards to being recognized as one of the best places to work, Suddath offers a caring, family environment while providing relocation and logistics services to people and companies all around the world.

What We Offer!

• A competitive wage with a comprehensive benefits package, including a 401(k) plan with company matching
• Weekly pay for hourly-paid employees.  Biweekly pay for salaried employees.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid company holidays
• A tuition reimbursement plan where employees are encouraged to continue their education and development
• For more information on our benefit offerings, please visit https://suddath.com/about/careers/ and scroll down to view our employee benefits. 

General position summary:

The Director, Operations is responsible for Customer Satisfaction and Operational Excellence by translating the Home Delivery operating strategy into consistent field execution across an assigned region, portfolio of markets, and customer operations. This leader owns operational performance, financial results, service quality, safety, contractor capacity, continuous improvement initiatives and leadership effectiveness within the assigned scope. The Director leads, coaches and mentors geographically dispersed site  leaders, establishes operating discipline through performance reviews and field engagement, and partners with Business Operations and other functional teams to resolve systemic issues, improve profitability, and support scalable growth. The Director is a field-oriented, data-driven operator who develops leaders, applies sound financial judgment, and builds a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and excellence.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead day-to-day execution across assigned Home Delivery markets, including warehouse, transportation, routing, dispatch, delivery, installation, returns, and customer-resolution activities.
• Own assigned operational and financial results, including service improvement plans, continuous improvement initiatives, revenue, direct labor and contractor expense, contribution margin, controllable costs, budget performance, and profit improvement plans.
• Establish clear performance expectations through strong Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are visible and review operating results using client scorecards, on-time delivery, completion, customer satisfaction, damages, claims, revisits, productivity, capacity, safety, and profitability measures.
• Lead structured daily, weekly, and monthly operating reviews; identify root causes, assign accountable actions, and verify sustained resolution of performance gaps.
• Maintain a strong field presence through market visits, site observations, leader coaching, customer engagement, and direct validation of operating standards.
• Ensure sufficient qualified delivery capacity for forecasted demand, seasonal peaks, new business, and contingency requirements in partnership with Business Operations and local leaders.
• Execute approved contractor settlement, compensation, incentive, compliance, and performance programs while preserving the independent contractor operating model and escalating control gaps.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, customer requirements, contractual commitments, safety standards, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including OSHA and DOT requirements where applicable.
• Partner with the Vice President of Business Operations and support functions on carrier capacity, compliance, quality, claims, settlement governance, safety, and risk-mitigation initiatives; provide timely field feedback and execute approved programs.
• Serve as the operational leader and escalation point for assigned customer relationships; communicate performance transparently, lead corrective actions, and support business reviews.
• Support customer retention, contract renewals, implementations, market launches, operational expansions, and integration of new service offerings in partnership with Account Management, Client Success, Sales, Finance, Technology, and Implementation teams.
• Develop annual operating plans, forecasts, staffing and capacity plans, and capital or equipment requirements for the assigned scope; adjust resources as demand and business conditions change.
• Drive standard work, process documentation, technology adoption, data integrity, and consistent use of transportation, warehouse, labor, customer-service, and reporting systems.
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable continuous improvement methods to reduce waste, improve productivity, prevent claims and service failures, and scale effective operating practices.
• Build and develop a high-performing leadership team through selection, onboarding, coaching, performance management, succession planning, recognition, and leadership development.
• Create an inclusive, accountable operating culture in which leaders actively seek, evaluate, and apply relevant feedback from employees, contractors, customers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Provide the Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Home Delivery, as practical,  with timely visibility to material financial, customer, safety, compliance, capacity, talent, and operational risks, together with recommended actions.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 Supervisory Responsibilities:

Directly and indirectly leads regional, market, and site operations leaders and their teams within the assigned scope. Responsibilities include workforce and capacity planning, selection, goal setting, coaching, performance management, development, succession planning, and ensuring leaders have the resources and support required to deliver results.

Other Duties & Responsibilities:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant operational leadership experience.
• Eight or more years of progressively responsible experience in transportation, logistics, supply chain, final mile, home delivery, or a related operating environment, including at least three years leading multiple sites, markets, or geographically dispersed teams.
• Demonstrated responsibility for an operating budget or P&L and the ability to translate financial and operating data into corrective actions and business decisions.
• Experience leading operations supported by independent contractor delivery networks required.
• Direct final mile or home delivery experience required; experience with big-and-bulky products, appliance delivery and installation, or national retailer programs strongly preferred.
• Experience with customer implementations, market launches, operational turnarounds, contract renewals, or expansion programs preferred.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable continuous improvement training or certification preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong operational leadership and change-management capability in complex, decentralized, and fast-paced environments.
• Financial acumen and working knowledge of Home Delivery unit economics, contractor expense, labor productivity, forecasting, budgeting, and profitability drivers.
• Ability to use KPIs, scorecards, trend analysis, and root-cause problem solving to improve service, safety, quality, capacity, and financial results.
• Working knowledge of warehouse, routing, dispatch, delivery, installation, claims, contractor compliance, and customer-experience processes.
• Ability to develop leaders, set clear expectations, hold teams accountable, and build succession depth across multiple locations.
• Strong customer relationship, negotiation, presentation, written communication, and executive escalation skills.
• Ability to influence across Operations, Business Operations, Account Management, Finance, Technology, Human Resources, Sales, and Client Success without relying solely on direct authority.
• Commitment to safety, compliance, service, quality, profitability, continuous improvement, and the Company’s 4 Pillars of Excellence.

Travel:

• Willing and able to travel frequently within the United States, including regular field visits and occasional overnight, weekend, or extended travel based on customer, launch, peak-season, and operational needs.

Language Skills:

• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write routine reports.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Mathematical Skills:

• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
• Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

Reasoning Ability:

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Computer Operations:

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and operational reporting tools; working knowledge of transportation management, routing and dispatch, warehouse management, customer-service, labor/timekeeping, contractor-management, financial, and business-intelligence applications. Ability to learn and drive consistent adoption of new technology.

Planning/Organization:

• Ability to prioritize and re-prioritize as situations and needs change throughout the workday
• Ability to multi-task and organize workflow to manage daily responsibilities, meet deadlines and prioritize work.

Certificates/Licenses/Registrations:

• None required.

Working Conditions:

• Work is performed in climate-controlled office settings and in warehouse, cross-dock, delivery, and customer operating environments that may not be climate controlled.
• Regular field visits may involve exposure to varying temperatures, moderate warehouse and vehicle noise, material-handling equipment, loading areas, and active delivery operations.
• The role requires compliance with all posted safety rules and the use of required personal protective equipment while in operational environments.
• Work schedules may occasionally include early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, or emergency response based on business and customer needs.

Physical/Environmental Demands:

Activity:

• Stand - Under 1/3 Time
• Walk -  Under 1/3 Time
• Sit – Over 2/3 Time
• Use hands to finger, handle, or feel - Over 2/3 Time
• Reach with hands and arms –  1/3 to 2/3 Time
• Climb or balance – None
• Stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl – Under 1/3 Time
• Talk or hear – over 1/3 to 2/3 time
• Taste or smell – None
• Other - None

Physical Activity Level:

• While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel, see clearly and talk or hear.
• Must be able to occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Occasionally required to reach with hands and arms.

Manual Dexterity:

• Manual dexterity sufficient to reach/handle items, works with the fingers, and perceives attributes of objects and materials.

Special Vision Requirements:

• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

The Suddath Companies is a multifaceted group of companies that specialize in worldwide corporate employee relocations, household moving, warehouse and logistics management and specialized transportation services.

The Suddath Companies provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.