Intermodal Operations Manager

Job Summary: The Intermodal Operations Lead is a new role at M2. It owns M2’s intermodal, drayage, and international service offerings, including their growth, service performance, and profitability. Reporting to the VP of Sales, this is a hybrid leadership role: to start, it will be hands-on, running shipments and serving as the point of contact for key customers, while laying the groundwork for the long-term strategy, service model, and team. As the offering grows, the role shifts toward leading and developing a team of Intermodal Specialists and driving growth. Own M2’s intermodal, drayage, and international service offerings, including growth, service performance, and profitability. Lay the groundwork for the service offering: execute the strategy, build out the supporting service model, pricing approach, partner network, processes, and team structure needed to scale. Be hands-on at the start, owning day-to-day execution of intermodal, drayage, and international shipments, from quoting and booking through tracking, delivery, and billing. Coordinate international moves with ocean carriers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers, including port drayage and import and export documentation. Serve as the primary customer contact for intermodal, drayage, and international customers. Understand their requirements, lanes, timelines, and service expectations, and align M2 solutions to meet them. Build and maintain relationships with rail partners, drayage carriers, and international partners to secure capacity, equipment, and competitive pricing. Proactively manage service performance and communicate proactively with customers quickly and honestly. Manage accessorial risk across the shipment lifecycle by working with carriers on equipment availability and street turns, catching free-time deadlines early, and making sure every charge is validated and billed correctly. Own growth of the service offering in partnership with the VP of Sales. Identify truckload-to-intermodal conversion and cross-sell opportunities within existing M2 accounts, support pricing and proposals for new business, and grow volume and profitability. Report volume, margin, service KPIs, and team performance for the service offering to the VP of Sales, and build action plans for any metric that falls below expectations. Prepare for and participate in customer quarterly business reviews, including intermodal KPIs such as on-time performance, transit variance, cost per load, and accessorial spend. As the team grows, lead, coach, and develop a team of Intermodal Specialists. Set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, conduct performance reviews, support each teammate’s growth plan, and hire new Specialists against documented role criteria. Serve as M2’s subject matter expert on intermodal, drayage, and international, and train Specialists and internal teams on processes, systems, and customer expectations. Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, business rules, and TMS configuration for the service offering to improve consistency and efficiency. Lead root-cause analysis of recurring service issues and drive improvement initiatives that reduce cost and improve service. Skills and Competencies: Strong working knowledge of intermodal and drayage operations (rail networks, ramps, ports, equipment, accessorial rules) and international freight Builder mindset; comfortable creating structure from the ground up and working hands-on while shaping strategy Customer-focused communicator who stays ahead of issues and gives clear, honest updates by phone and email Collaborates well within defined roles, trusts teammates’ ownership, and raises disagreements constructively Receives and acts on feedback and coaching for continuous professional development Ability to organize thoughts and give updates on progress, challenges, and timelines to all levels of the organization Strong ability to negotiate with and influence customers, carr…

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