<p>Description</p> <p>Position Summary</p> <p>The Operations Manager - PFPF Team is responsible for leading and managing the day-to-day execution of the PFPF team, with a primary focus on refrigerated freight and West Coast operations. This role ensures the team delivers consistent, high-quality service to customers while maintaining strong execution, proactive communication, accountability, and operational excellence.</p> <p>This leader is responsible for managing team performance, coaching employees, improving consistency in process execution, and ensuring loads are handled with urgency, accuracy, and care. The Operations Manager will work closely with internal teams, customers, and carrier partners to protect service levels, support account success, and drive a high-performance culture across the team.</p> <p>Key Responsibilities</p> <p>Team Leadership & People Management</p> <ul> <li>Lead, manage, and develop all employees assigned to the PFPF team. </li><li>Set clear expectations for service, communication, execution, accountability, and professionalism. </li><li>Provide daily coaching, direction, and support to ensure team members are equipped to perform at a high level. </li><li>Conduct regular one-on-ones, performance conversations, and team meetings. </li><li>Identify performance gaps and create coaching or corrective action plans as needed. </li><li>Support onboarding and training of new employees to ensure consistency in process, customer service, and execution. </li></ul> <p>Operational Execution</p> <ul> <li>Oversee the day-to-day execution of all PFPF freight, with emphasis on refrigerated and West Coast freight. </li><li>Ensure loads are covered, tracked, updated, and delivered in alignment with customer requirements and Patterson service standards. </li><li>Monitor team activity to ensure timely check calls, accurate shipment updates, problem resolution, and proactive communication. </li><li>Drive consistency in load handling, appointment management, transit monitoring, temperature-sensitive freight execution, and issue escalation. </li><li>Ensure the team is prioritizing service, urgency, and accuracy in every stage of load execution. </li></ul> <p>Service Excellence & Account Support</p> <ul> <li>Ensure a high level of customer satisfaction through dependable service, esponsiveness, and proactive issue management. </li><li>Partner with account-facing teams to support account retention, customer confidence, and long-term growth. </li><li>Serve as an escalation point for service issues, delays, exceptions, and customer concerns. </li><li>Help create a culture where service failures are addressed quickly, professionally, and with a solution-oriented mindset. </li><li>Maintain strong awareness of the unique service requirements tied to fresh and refrigerated freight. </li></ul> <p>Process Consistency & Quality Control</p> <ul> <li>Reinforce standard operating procedures and best practices across the team. </li><li>Create structure and accountability around execution quality, communication expectations, documentation, and follow-through. </li><li>Monitor operational workflows to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and service risks. </li><li>Implement improvements that increase efficiency, reduce errors, and create a more disciplined operating rhythm. </li><li>Ensure load notes, tracking milestones, customer updates, and internal communication are completed accurately and consistently. </li></ul> <p>Cross-Functional Collaboration</p> <ul> <li>Work closely with sales, carrier sales, customer service, after-hours support, and leadership to ensure alignment across the business. </li><li>Communicate team needs, account risks, service trends, and resource concerns to leadership. </li><li>Support collaboration across departments to improve handoffs, account execution, and overall customer experience. </li><li>Assist in developing scalable processes and team structures to support future growth. </li></ul> <p>Performance Management & KPI Ownership</p> <ul> <li> <p>Track and manage key operational performance indicators for the team.</p> </li><li> <p>Use performance data to coach team members, improve accountability, and drive stronger results.</p> </li><li> <p>Monitor service-related metrics such as:</p> </li><li> <p>On-time pickup and delivery performance</p> </li><li> <p>Check call and tracking compliance</p> </li><li> <p>Customer communication timeliness</p> </li><li> <p>Service failures and exception management</p> </li><li> <p>Claims, errors, and preventable issues</p> </li><li> <p>Team productivity and load execution quality</p> </li><li> <p>Hold the team accountable to individual and team-level expectations.</p> </li></ul> <p>Required Qualifications</p> <ul> <li>5+ years of transportation or logistics experience, preferably in refrigerated freight, produce, or time-sensitive freight operations. </li><li>2+ years of experience leading or supervising operations employees in a fast-paced logistics environment. </li><li>Strong understanding of brokerage operations, customer service, and shipment execution. </li><li>Experience managing high-service freight with multiple moving parts and strict service expectations. </li><li>Strong problem-solving, decision-making, and escalation management skills. </li><li>Excellent communication skills with the ability to coach, lead, and hold others accountable. </li><li>Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities with urgency and professionalism. </li><li>Proficiency with transportation management systems, load tracking, and operational reporting. </li></ul> <p>Preferred Qualifications</p> <ul> <li>Experience with refrigerated, fresh produce, or food and beverage freight. </li><li>Experience managing West Coast freight operations and time zone-sensitive execution. </li><li>Familiarity with temperature-controlled service expectations, appointment-sensitive freight, and issue recovery. </li><li>Experience building team consistency through SOPs, coaching, and performance management. </li><li>Experience with McLeod, DAT, and Highway a plus. </li></ul> <p>Core Competencies</p> <ul> <li>Leadership and accountability </li><li>Coaching and employee development </li><li>Customer service excellence </li><li>Operational discipline </li><li>Proactive communication </li><li>Problem-solving under pressure </li><li>Process consistency and follow-through </li><li>Cross-functional collaboration </li><li>Sense of urgency </li><li>Quality execution </li></ul> <p>What Success Looks Like in This Role</p> <ul> <li>The PFPF team operates with consistency, urgency, and strong communication. </li><li>Customers receive dependable service and proactive updates. </li><li>Employees are coached regularly and held accountable to clear expectations. </li><li>Operational issues are escalated early and resolved effectively. </li><li>Service quality improves, preventable failures decrease, and team confidence increases. </li><li>The team becomes more disciplined, more responsive, and better aligned with Patterson's service standards. </li></ul>