General Manager- Operations

Job Title General Manager

Reports To Chief Executive Officer

Department Executive / Operations

Direct Reports Operations Managers, Safety Coordinator, Maintenance, Payroll, Accounting & AP, Office Staff

FLSA Status Exempt

Location MNS1 Express Inc. headquarters

Pay Range: 100k-120k

Summary

The General Manager leads the day-to-day operation of the company and is accountable for its operating results. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the General Manager directs dispatch and load planning, safety and regulatory compliance, the driver lifecycle from recruiting through onboarding, retention and separation, maintenance coordination, and the office and administrative staff. Every department head reports to the General Manager.

The General Manager sets the operating rhythm of the company, makes the daily decisions that keep freight moving safely and profitably, develops the management team, and keeps the Chief Executive Officer informed of results, risks and decisions that exceed delegated authority. The Chief Executive Officer retains responsibility for strategy, capital, major customer and vendor relationships, finance and banking, and the technology program.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Operations

• Direct daily dispatch, load planning and tracking through the Operations Managers; own service levels, truck utilization, seated-truck count and on-time performance.
• Chair the daily operations stand-up and the weekly operations review; resolve cross-department conflicts and driver assignment disputes.
• Approve restricted order reviews, credit holds and releases, and customer service commitments within delegated authority.
• Coordinate shop priorities and out-of-service decisions with Maintenance; escalate equipment purchases and leases to the Chief Executive Officer.

Safety and Compliance

• Hold overall accountability for the FMCSA safety management process and its results, including CSA scores, inspection close rates, accident handling and driver qualification standards.
• Direct the Safety Coordinator in daily compliance work: driver qualification files, roadside inspections, citations, corrective actions, Clearinghouse queries, hours-of-service review and driver coaching.
• Serve as the decision-maker on accident preventability and ensure accountability for preventable accidents.
• Review the weekly fuel-versus-hours-of-service report and other safety indicators; act on repeat findings.

Driver Lifecycle

• Own the orientation and onboarding process in Atlas Controls, including the hire gate, escalations and readiness for dispatch.
• Lead driver retention: review retention risk, home-time and pay concerns, and direct corrective action through the Operations Managers.
• Approve driver extra pay, time off and bonus-program gate overrides within delegated authority; recommend pay-plan and bonus-rule changes to the Chief Executive Officer.
• Approve driver hires through the qualification process and driver separations within delegated authority.

People and Leadership

• Lead, coach and evaluate the management team; set expectations, hold people accountable and build succession for each department.
• Hire, schedule, review and manage office, dispatch and shop staff within approved headcount and compensation bands.
• Maintain a culture of safety, accountability and service across the office and the driver workforce.

Financial and Business Management

• Monitor operating ratio, revenue per mile, cost per mile, deadhead and other key operating metrics; drive corrective action when results fall short of plan.
• Approve operating spend, recurring commitments and vendor changes within delegated authority; prepare recommendations for decisions reserved to the Chief Executive Officer.
• Participate in the monthly financial review and the monthly driver bonus run, including run lock and approvals within delegated authority.

Systems and Reporting

• Use Atlas, McLeod, Platform Science and related systems as the operating record; represent the needs of the office in prioritizing platform improvements.
• Report weekly to the Chief Executive Officer on results, decisions made under delegated authority, people matters and blockers.

Delegated Authority

The General Manager acts within a written decision-rights schedule set and maintained by the Chief Executive Officer. The schedule defines, for spend, recurring commitments, hiring and separation, driver pay adjustments, customer commitments and vendor changes, what the General Manager decides alone, what the General Manager decides and reports, and what requires the Chief Executive Officer’s approval. Capital purchases, financing, related-party vendor relationships, pay-plan changes and Atlas role administration are reserved to the Chief Executive Officer. The schedule is reviewed ninety days after appointment and annually thereafter.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position directs all departments of the company and is responsible to:

• Set expectations and ensure accountability for department heads and their teams, as groups and as individuals.
• Identify performance issues, address them directly with employees and department heads, and develop and implement performance improvement plans when needed.
• Analyze current personnel and technology resources, identify needs in both, and work with the Chief Executive Officer to develop additional capabilities.
• Train and develop managers from both a skill-set and experience-based perspective; work with employees to create short- and long-term career development plans.
• Administer personnel functions including recruiting, hiring, review and approval of job descriptions, selection and placement of personnel, performance reviews and evaluations, and compensation recommendations within approved bands.

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 ability required.

Education and Experience — Required

• Bachelor’s degree in logistics, transportation, supply chain, business or a related field, or equivalent experience in trucking operations management.
• Minimum seven years of transportation experience, including at least three years managing people in operations, safety or fleet management.
• Working knowledge of FMCSA regulations, driver qualification, hours of service, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and the CSA program.
• Demonstrated ability to run an operating rhythm: daily stand-ups, weekly reviews, metric-driven follow-through.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Teams) and a transportation management system; experience with McLeod and Platform Science preferred.
• Excellent leadership, conflict-resolution and communication skills; the ability to work well with team members and navigate stressful situations.
• A motivated self-starter with a demonstrated ability to maintain a positive, can-do attitude.

Preferred

• Certified Director of Safety (NATMI) or equivalent FMCSA certification.
• Experience with carrier profitability analysis, driver pay programs and dispatch specialization models.

Competencies

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Leadership — Exhibits confidence in self and others; inspires and motivates others to perform well; effectively influences actions and opinions of others; accepts feedback; gives appropriate recognition.
• Judgement — Displays willingness to make decisions; exhibits sound and accurate judgment; supports and explains reasoning for decisions; includes appropriate people in the decision-making process; makes timely decisions.
• Business Acumen — Understands business implications of decisions; displays orientation to profitability; demonstrates knowledge of market and competition; aligns work with strategic goals.
• Analytical — Synthesizes complex or diverse information; distinguishes the pieces with the largest impact; uses intuition and experience to complement data; designs workflows and procedures.
• Problem Solving — Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully; develops alternative solutions; uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.
• Cost Consciousness — Works within approved budget; develops and implements cost-saving measures; contributes to profits and revenue; conserves organizational resources.
• Managing People — Includes staff in planning and decision-making; takes responsibility for subordinates’ activities; makes self available to staff; develops subordinates’ skills; fosters quality focus in others.
• Verbal and Written Communication — Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and gets clarification; writes clearly and informatively; presents numerical data effectively.
• Planning and Organizing — Prioritizes and plans work activities; uses time efficiently; sets goals and objectives; organizes or schedules other people and their tasks; develops realistic action plans.
• Professionalism — Approaches others in a tactful manner; reacts well under pressure; treats others with respect regardless of their status or position; accepts responsibility for own actions; follows through on commitments.
• Adaptability — Adapts to changes in the work environment; manages competing demands; changes approach or method to best fit the situation; deals with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.
• Dependability — Takes responsibility for own actions; keeps commitments; commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals; completes tasks on time or notifies the appropriate person with an alternate plan.

Language Skills

Ability to read, analyze and interpret regulations, contracts, financial reports and procedure manuals. Ability to write reports, correspondence and procedures. Ability to speak effectively and present information to drivers, employees, customers, vendors and regulators, one-on-one and before groups.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to compute rate, ratio and percent and to interpret financial statements, operating metrics and graphs. Ability to work with concepts such as operating ratio, cost per mile and revenue per truck.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Ability to deal with several abstract and concrete variables at once and to make decisions with incomplete information.

Computer Skills

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have intermediate to advanced PC skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), a transportation management system, and the company’s operating dashboard. Must have the ability to operate general office equipment.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel, and talk or hear. This position requires hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, telephone and other office equipment. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The position is based in the office with regular presence in the yard and shop; Personal Protective Equipment may be required when working in designated areas. The noise level in the work environment is quiet to moderate. Occasional travel to customer sites, orientation events and industry meetings may be required.

Benefits offered:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Company sponsored Life Insurance, STD, and LTD
• Supplemental Insurances
• 401k
• Employee Assistance Programs
• PTO