Director of Fleet Operations

Connecticut Foodshare is the food bank serving all of our neighbors across the state. Working with a strong network of community-based hunger relief programs, we help provide nutritious food as well as long-term, sustainable solutions to food insecurity. By joining Connecticut Foodshare, you will be part of a team that helps drive community awareness, garners support, leverages research, and engages volunteers, to realize our vision of a thriving community free of hunger.

Position Summary:
The Director of Fleet Operations is responsible for overseeing and ensuring safe, professional, and timely pick-ups and deliveries of food across Drivers. This role also maintains positive relationships with food donors, partner agencies, and food recipients. The role is responsible for daily oversight and management of their fleet, ensuring that trucks are neat and sanitary, and following appropriate regulatory requirements and procedures, as well as procedures for food collection and distribution. This position will report to the Sr. Director of Operations.

Essential Duties and Accountabilities:
General Responsibilities:
• Work is mostly independent; the majority of work is completed without supervisor's guidance, direction, and approval.
• May provide supervision to direct reports; provides guidance and direction to others.
• Requires a comprehensive understanding of the technical aspects, principles, theories, and concepts of the job and some knowledge of relevant disciplines, programs, and regulations.
• Requires extensive verbal and written communication skills; conveys information that is highly complex, thoroughly detailed, and/or impactfully subjective; has a great deal of influence over others.
• Makes decisions that are more significant in their impact, influencing overall program or project success, finances, and/or the ability to meet objectives; errors are not readily apparent due to the complexity of work process/product or time between decisions and results; errors typically result in significant expenditure of time, resources, and funds to correct.
• Establishes organizational policies for a division or major segment of the company. Interprets, executes, and recommends modifications to company-wide policies.
• Explores new methods and strategies to promote and enhance achieving organization's mission safely, efficiently, and effectively. Leads the development and implementation of new solutions, programs, and initiatives.
• Occasionally participates in strategic planning within own area affecting immediate operations.
• Utilizes advanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills to solve complex problems; resolves issues satisfactorily within policies and requirements; multiple approaches may be taken/necessary to solve the problem.

Primary Responsibilities:
• Oversees the performance of fleet of drivers, including ensuring all team members are properly trained in all aspects of their position.
• Ensures all regulatory (e.g DOT) requirements are met including maintenance of appropriate documentation.
• Monitors driver progress throughout the shift to ensure on time dispatch and delivery of freight as planned.
• Completes ride alongs with drivers to monitor performance and provide feedback as needed.
• Monitors pre-trip inspections with drivers on a regular basis to ensure that safety procedures are followed and documented.
• Dispatches fleet using appropriate fleet management systems for real time oversight of freight and drivers, including ensuring high level of reporting and tracking accuracy.
• Performs periodic inspections of company equipment to identify unreported maintenance issues and accident damage.
• Follows appropriate procedures for food collection and distribution, including all health and safety regulations for food handling.
• Promotes culture of safety in all daily activities by proactively address safety concerns, communicating safety goals and standards to all drivers, and providing resources for safety concern resolution.
• Confirms routes with drivers, providing driver with any required information to complete assignments, including special load requirements.
• Maintains positive relationships with food donors, partner agencies and food recipients, including addressing issues, concerns, and/or requests.
• Works with warehouse operations and programming to maximize safety, efficiency, and customer service.
• Culture building and looking for ways to improve client and employee satisfaction.
Minimum Education/Experience:
• Associate's degree in a relevant field of study with 5 years of distribution, dispatch, or related experience in defined function in comparable environment OR 7 years of related experience in defined function in comparable environment.
• 2 years of management experience.
• Experience with Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Preferred Education/Experience:
• Bachelor's degree in a related field of study with 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in defined function OR 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in defined function.
• CDL-A with driving experience.
• Bi-lingual in Spanish.

Physical Requirements:
Physical Demands/Abilities: Perform detailed work requiring visual accuracy (e.g., interpret inventory organization system, etc.); use verbal auditory sources of information (e.g., spoken requests from others, loudspeaker announcements); use non-verbal auditory sources of information (e.g., work plans/schedules, computer generated orders); use oral communication to perform work (e.g., receive and perform assigned work); Lifting up to 60 lbs. required for inventory storage, loading and unloading of delivery trucks. Use digital dexterity (e.g., computer keyboard); Perform daily tasks requiring standing, sitting, reaching above shoulder height and below waist, grasping, lifting, and carrying up to 50 lbs., walking, climbing, kneeling, squatting, bending, pushing, and pulling; Operate Warehouse equipment (e.g., hand jack, pallet jack, bar code scanner; forklift if required).

Mental Demands/Abilities: Use written sources of information (e.g., read warehouse locations, inventory types); use non-verbal visual sources of information (e.g., warehouse maps, tables); make minor decisions requiring limited judgment (e.g., task sequencing, inventory stacking, loading); ability to calculate basic math; ability to solve practical problems within a structured environment. Ability to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: Forklift training and certification required to operate Warehouse forklift as required.

Work Environment: Daily work involves identifying, lifting, moving, and managing inventory in a warehouse setting; work may require the use of personal protective equipment (such as safety glasses and hearing protection). Additionally, work in the warehouse may involve exposure to refrigerated areas for extended periods of time.

Travel: Need to travel to other locations, once a month

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter to Human Resources:
https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/Details/1577584/Connecticut-Foodshare-Inc/Director-of-Fleet-Operations
Connecticut Foodshare is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.
Connecticut Foodshare maintains a drug-free workplace.