Company description
City Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, collecting perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste to help feed the millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. In over 40 years serving New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity, we have rescued more than one billion pounds of fresh, nutritious food and delivered it—free of charge—to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets® across the five boroughs. This year, we will rescue and distribute more than 86 million pounds of nutritious food to our neighbors in need. By redirecting that food to families, we will also prevent the equivalent of more than 25 million kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Named one of America's Top 100 Charities by Forbes, City Harvest also works alongside our community partners to build their capacity, expand nutrition education, and advocate for systems change through effective public policy. Since our founding in 1982, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time.
Job description
Transportation Manager
Position Summary
The Transportation Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for City Harvest’s Transportation Department. This role is responsible for managing a unionized Driver workforce and a large fleet operation while driving continuous improvement across safety, service, cost, and performance.
This position is highly focused on data-driven decision making, departmental systems optimization, and operational excellence, with accountability for safety, regulatory compliance, labor relations, budget controls, and service delivery.
This role reports to the Director of Transportation and is fully on-site in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Core Competencies
1. Leadership & People Management
Lead, coach, and develop a team of 25–35 union Drivers and Transportation Coordinators
Drive a high-performance culture centered on accountability, safety, and service
Conduct performance evaluations, coaching sessions, and development planning
Serve as frontline labor relations representative with Local 804
Enforce collective bargaining agreements, policies, and procedures
Build strong cross-functional relationships with internal stakeholders
2. Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Lead day-to-day transportation operations supporting food rescue and delivery
Develop, implement, and continuously improve departmental SOPs
Evaluate and optimize routing, scheduling, and resource allocation
Identify inefficiencies and implement corrective action plans
Improve service reliability, productivity, and sustainability
Lead operational improvement initiatives aligned with organizational strategy
3. Safety, Compliance & Risk Management
Lead departmental safety programs and accident reduction initiatives
Ensure compliance with DOT regulations and internal safety standards
Conduct route observations, ride-alongs, and road inspections
Investigate accidents and incidents and implement corrective actions
Manage emergency response and on-call operations
Promote a culture of proactive safety and accountability
4. Fleet & Asset Management
Manage a large fleet of vehicles and material handling equipment
Oversee fleet maintenance, inspections, utilization, and replacement planning
Manage vendor partnerships (fuel, rentals, repairs, equipment)
Reduce downtime, damage, and maintenance costs through preventive programs
Leverage Samsara Transportation Management System to monitor performance
5. Data, Analytics & Performance Optimization
Analyze transportation KPIs including:
On-time performance
Route efficiency
Cost per mile
Fuel utilization
Safety metrics
Maintenance trends
Develop dashboards and performance reporting for leadership
Use analytics to drive productivity, service quality, and cost efficiency
Lead data-driven continuous improvement initiatives
6. Financial & Resource Management
Support departmental budget planning and forecasting
Monitor and control operating expenses (fuel, maintenance, rentals, repairs)
Identify cost-saving and efficiency opportunities
Manage staffing models, schedules, and capacity planning
Qualifications
Required Experience
5+ years of transportation or operations management experience
Supervisory experience leading frontline teams
Proficiency with Microsoft Office
Proven experience using KPIs and analytics to improve performance
Excellent leadership, communication, and coaching skills
Excellent time management skills with the ability to prioritize and make time-bound decisions
The ideal candidate will be determined, outgoing, positive, articulate and diplomatic
Preferred Skills & Knowledge
Strong transportation or logistics management background
Working knowledge of DOT regulations
Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability
Experience with transportation management systems (Samsara preferred)
Commercial driving experience is a plus
Experience working with unionized environments
Work Environment & Schedule
Flexible schedule including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and on-call rotations
Ability to respond to emergency situations
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs as needed
Regular vehicle and route inspections
Why Join City Harvest?
Mission-driven organization making a direct impact in NYC communities
Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits
403(b) retirement plan with employer matching
Professional development and leadership growth opportunities
Collaborative, values-driven culture
Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and technical skills required of personnel so classified.
Compensation
this position is: salaried, $75,000 - $100,000
Application instructions
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Deadline
no deadline