Manager-Transportation

Job Purpose:

Manage transportation operations in the UAE, ensuring safe, compliant, cost-effective, and reliable fleet and subcontracted transport services supporting gateway, freight forwarding, warehousing, and customer requirements.

Key Activities

• Plan, manage, and oversee daily road transportation operations across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ensuring efficient capacity planning, route optimization, dispatching, driver allocation, and timely delivery execution.
• Develop and implement transportation plans and operational strategies to optimize fleet utilization, service reliability, cost efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Manage owned fleet operations and subcontracted transportation providers, ensuring compliance with agreed service levels, contractual obligations, transportation permits, documentation requirements, and performance standards.
• Coordinate with UAE Gateway operations, customers, warehouses, and internal stakeholders to ensure effective transportation scheduling, capacity allocation, and seamless delivery execution.
• Oversee cross-border transportation activities between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, coordinating with KSA operations, customs brokers, and regional logistics partners to ensure smooth shipment movements and regulatory compliance.
• Monitor and optimize transportation routes, vehicle utilization, driver productivity, idle time, and empty kilometers to improve operational efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs.
• Manage transportation operating expenses, including fuel consumption, toll charges, vehicle maintenance, cost per trip, cost per kilometer, subcontractor charges, claims, and fines.
• Monitor transportation revenue, operating margins, cost performance, and overall profitability to ensure achievement of approved financial and operational targets.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with UAE transportation authorities, fleet service providers, workshops, subcontractors, and other relevant business partners.
• Ensure compliance with UAE federal and emirate-level transportation regulations, operating permits, vehicle standards, driver licensing requirements, road safety rules, and applicable security procedures.
• Implement and enforce transportation safety policies, operational procedures, and risk management practices to ensure safe and compliant fleet operations.
• Manage transportation incidents, delivery disruptions, customer complaints, and service failures through root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and effective service recovery measures.
• Monitor on-time delivery performance, service quality, fleet availability, and subcontractor performance to ensure customer expectations and contractual service commitments are consistently achieved.
• Collaborate with relevant internal departments and external service providers to resolve operational challenges, improve service delivery, and maintain transportation continuity.
• Utilize transportation management systems (TMS), telematics, fleet tracking solutions, and route optimization technologies to improve operational visibility, efficiency, and decision-making.
• Analyze driver performance, fleet utilization, fuel efficiency, and transportation data to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and productivity enhancement.
• Lead, supervise, and develop transportation supervisors, dispatchers, drivers, and operational teams through effective performance management, coaching, training, and workforce planning.
• Prepare and present operational performance reports covering transportation costs, fleet utilization, delivery performance, regulatory compliance, safety incidents, and operational risks.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance transportation efficiency, reduce operating costs, strengthen safety performance, and support sustainable business growth.

Job-Related Skills

• Bachelors degree in Logistics, Transportation, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in road transportation or fleet operations, including at least 3 years in a management role, with relevant experience in the UAE transportation market.
• Advanced knowledge of road transportation operations, fleet management, route planning, dispatching, and delivery execution within the UAE.
• Strong understanding of UAE federal and emirate-level transportation regulations, operating permits, vehicle compliance requirements, driver licensing, and road safety standards.
• Proven experience in managing owned fleets, subcontracted transportation providers, and third-party logistics service providers.
• Strong knowledge of cross-border transportation operations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including customs coordination, transportation documentation, and regulatory requirements.
• Advanced operational planning and execution capabilities, including transportation capacity management, resource allocation, and service optimization.
• Strong fleet utilization and productivity management skills, including fuel efficiency, maintenance planning, idle time reduction, and route optimization.
• Strong financial and commercial awareness, with expertise in transportation costing, operating budgets, margin management, and cost control.
• Experience in managing transportation contracts, negotiating subcontractor rates, and monitoring vendor performance against agreed service levels.
• Advanced knowledge of transportation safety management, incident investigation, risk assessment, and corrective action implementation.
• Proficiency in transportation management systems (TMS), fleet tracking technologies, telematics, and operational reporting tools.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate transportation performance data and implement operational improvements.
• Proven leadership and team management capabilities, including supervising dispatchers, drivers, and transportation operations teams.
• Excellent communication, coordination, and stakeholder management skills to collaborate with customers, suppliers, regulatory authorities, and regional business partners.
• Strong customer service orientation, with the ability to manage delivery expectations, resolve service issues, and maintain high operational standards.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced transportation environment while managing multiple operational priorities and maintaining service continuity.
• Strong organizational, decision-making, and time management skills, with a focus on operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Professional certifications in Fleet Management, Transport Safety, Defensive Driving, or Supply Chain Management are preferred.