Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Transportation Program Director

🎯 Role Definition

The Transportation Program Director is a senior operational and strategic leader accountable for the full lifecycle of transportation programs — from planning and capital investment through delivery, performance optimization, and continuous improvement. This role directs cross-functional teams (operations, safety, procurement, finance, engineering), manages multimillion-dollar operating and capital budgets, ensures regulatory and safety compliance, negotiates and manages vendor/contract relationships, and drives KPI-driven improvements in on-time performance, cost-per-mile, utilization, and customer satisfaction. The Director partners with executive leadership to set strategy, owns program roadmaps and risk mitigation plans, and represents the organization with public agencies and major customers.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Transportation Manager / Fleet Manager
Logistics or Operations Manager
Senior Project Manager (Transportation / Infrastructure)
Regional Operations Director

Advancement To:

VP of Transportation / Logistics
Director of Operations (Enterprise)
Chief Supply Chain Officer / Head of Mobility
Senior Director, Capital Programs

Lateral Moves:

Program Director, Supply Chain Optimization
Transit Operations Director
Head of Carrier Partnerships

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of enterprise transportation programs (freight, last-mile, parcel, or public transit), ensuring alignment with corporate strategy, customer SLAs, and regulatory requirements.
Own program P&L and operating budgets; develop annual budget requests, monitor spend vs. plan, and implement cost control initiatives to achieve target cost-per-mile and cost-per-stop reductions.
Develop and execute capital program plans for fleet acquisition, facility upgrades, and technology investments; prioritize projects, manage procurement timelines, and oversee capital delivery to scope, schedule, and budget.
Create and maintain a transportation program roadmap and KPI framework (on-time performance, dwell time, utilization, empty miles, safety incidents) and report program health to senior leadership and board-level stakeholders.
Build and lead high-performing cross-functional teams including operations managers, dispatch, safety, procurement, finance, and engineering; define roles, set goals, coach leaders, and manage performance.
Define and enforce safety, compliance, and risk management policies in accordance with DOT, FMCSA, FTA, OSHA, and local regulations; lead incident investigations and corrective action programs.
Oversee vendor and carrier management: negotiate contracts, SLA/ KPI terms, pricing, rebates, and performance incentives; perform vendor selection, RFPs, and quarterly business reviews.
Implement and govern Transportation Management Systems (TMS), fleet telematics, route optimization, and freight visibility tools; partner with IT to deploy integrations and data pipelines.
Drive network design and route optimization projects to reduce transit times, lower fuel and labor costs, and improve customer delivery windows through modelling and scenario planning.
Lead contingency planning and operational resilience efforts for disruptions (weather, labor actions, supply chain issues), including activation of emergency networks and communication strategies.
Manage stakeholder relationships with customers, public agencies, port/rail authorities, and municipal partners to secure permits, coordinate transit service changes, and resolve escalations.
Implement continuous improvement programs (Lean, Six Sigma) to standardize processes, reduce waste, and accelerate throughput in yards, depots, and terminals.
Set procurement strategy for fuel, spare parts, maintenance contracts, and fleet acquisition; partner with procurement and legal to manage contractual and warranty terms.
Oversee lifecycle fleet management: specifications, acquisition, maintenance strategy, disposal, and transition to alternative fuels/electric fleets, including TCO and charging infrastructure planning.
Monitor and improve fleet maintenance KPIs (mean time between failures, downtime, maintenance cost per mile) through predictive maintenance programs and supplier performance management.
Manage intermodal and multimodal program elements (truck, rail, air, ocean, last-mile) including carrier mix decisions and modal shift initiatives to balance cost, speed, and sustainability.
Own program reporting, analytics, and data governance: define data requirements, ensure data quality, and translate analytics into actionable operational improvements and executive-level dashboards.
Lead sustainability and decarbonization programs for transportation (emissions reporting, EV transition roadmap, fuel efficiency initiatives) in partnership with sustainability teams.
Develop and deliver change management plans for major program transitions (TMS cutovers, route redesigns, fleet modernization) to minimize business disruption and adoption friction.
Serve as primary incident commander for major operational events, coordinating cross-functional response, customer communications, and post-event root cause analysis.
Establish training programs and competency frameworks for operations and safety staff; ensure licensing, certifications, and driver training meet compliance and quality standards.
Ensure customer-focused outcomes by defining SLA-based service levels, designing escalation paths, and leading commercial negotiations for service credits and remediation.
Benchmark program performance against peers and industry standards; lead competitive analysis and identify opportunities to adopt best practices and new technologies.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc cross-functional analytics requests and collaborate with Business Intelligence teams to create self-service reports and dashboards.
Contribute to the organization’s transportation technology roadmap and recommend pilots for TMS, route optimization, telematics, predictive maintenance, and EV charging management systems.
Partner with HR and talent acquisition to define recruiting pipelines for drivers, technicians, and operational management roles and to reduce turnover through career pathways.
Participate in corporate risk, audit, and compliance reviews and provide documentation and evidence for regulatory and insurance audits.
Represent the company at industry associations, conferences, and public forums to influence policy and strengthen partnerships with municipal and transit authorities.
Mentor mid-level managers and contribute to succession planning for critical transportation leadership roles.
Collaborate with procurement and legal teams on RFP design, contract terms, performance bonds, and insurance requirements related to transportation services.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program management for transportation and logistics programs (road freight, last-mile, transit, intermodal) with proven delivery of multimillion-dollar budgets.
Deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks (DOT, FMCSA, FTA, OSHA) and experience ensuring program-level compliance and audit readiness.
Expertise with Transportation Management Systems (TMS), fleet telematics, route optimization software, and ERP integrations (examples: Oracle, SAP, Manhattan, Descartes).
Financial acumen: budgeting, forecasting, P&L management, TCO analysis for fleets, and cost-to-serve modeling.
Contract negotiation and vendor management: RFP development, SLA/KPI structuring, carrier rate negotiation, and performance-based contracting.
Data-driven decision making: proficiency in metrics design, KPI dashboards, and familiarity with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI) and SQL for basic analysis.
Fleet and maintenance management: lifecycle planning, maintenance strategies, spare parts logistics, and predictive maintenance programs.
Project delivery skills including Agile and Waterfall methodologies, schedule management, and risk mitigation.
Knowledge of sustainability and decarbonization strategies for fleets, including EV transition planning and emissions reporting.
Safety management systems and incident investigation methodologies; experience implementing corrective action plans.
Experience with route modeling, network optimization, and load planning to reduce empty miles and improve capacity utilization.
Familiarity with warehouse and terminal operations, yard management systems, and dock scheduling coordination.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people management skills with demonstrated ability to build, coach, and retain cross-functional teams.
Excellent stakeholder engagement and executive communication skills; able to present program status, tradeoffs, and recommendations to C-suite and external partners.
Strategic thinker with the ability to translate corporate objectives into actionable operational plans.
Highly organized and results-oriented with a bias for measurable outcomes and continuous improvement.
Strong negotiation and conflict-resolution capabilities across commercial and operational scenarios.
Customer-centric mindset with a focus on delivering high service quality and resolving escalations.
Change management and influence skills to drive adoption of new processes and technologies.
Analytical mindset with comfortable balancing quantitative analysis and practical operational judgment.
Resilience and calm under pressure; effective incident commander during operational disruptions.
Collaborative approach to working with procurement, finance, HR, safety, and IT to deliver integrated outcomes.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Logistics & Transportation, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MBA, MS in Transportation/Logistics, Engineering) or relevant advanced certification (PMP, Lean Six Sigma, CILT).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Transportation & Logistics
Supply Chain Management
Business Administration / Finance
Industrial or Systems Engineering
Public Policy / Urban Planning (for transit-focused roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

8–15+ years of progressive experience in transportation, logistics, or transit operations with at least 5 years leading large programs or multi-site operations.

Preferred:

10+ years in transportation leadership roles with demonstrated success managing multimillion-dollar operating and capital budgets, deploying TMS/telematics solutions, and delivering measurable cost, service, and sustainability improvements. Experience with public transit, freight carriers, 3PL/4PL, or large-scale corporate fleets is highly desirable.