Global Air Freight Route Strategy Lead

DHL Global Forwarding; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus program

Full benefits

Job summary

DHL Global Forwarding in Mississauga invites an experienced Route Development professional to lead air freight route development, analyzing trade lanes and driving profitable growth. You will coordinate with Sales, Pricing, Carrier Management, and Operations to translate strategy into actionable plans, monitor performance, and mentor junior staff.

The role requires a Bachelor's in related field, 6+ years of experience, and strong communication in English; a bonus program and full benefits are

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain or related field.
• 6+ years of experience in Air Freight, Network Design, Route Development, Trade Lane Management, Pricing, Carrier Management, or related logistics functions.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders across commercial and operational organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Fluent in English; knowledge of other languages is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Route Development Management (RDM) agenda for assigned regions, countries, or trade lanes.
• Define trade lane priorities, route opportunity roadmaps, and route portfolio strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Translate regional and global route development priorities into actionable execution plans with clear ownership, governance, milestones, and performance metrics.
• Conduct advanced trade lane analysis utilizing market intelligence, customer demand trends, route economics, carrier capacity, gateway capabilities, and competitive benchmarks.
• Analyze route performance indicators including conversion rates, gross profit per file, capacity utilization, paid-out quality, consolidation ratios, transit time reliability, service performance, and exception trends.
• Lead route development support for strategic RFQs, tenders, sector opportunities, and major customer pursuits.
• Develop and maintain route development dashboards, databases, scorecards, and performance reporting tools; coordinate closely with Sales, Pricing, Supplier & Carrier Management, Gateway and Station Operations, Product & Services, and Business Intelligence teams.
• Identify recurring lane challenges and elevate structural issues affecting route performance.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to route development specialists and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders while influencing decisions through fact-based analysis and business recommendations.

Skills

Communication skills

Cross-cultural competence

Planning and organizing

Self-starter

Fluent English

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business Administration, Economics, Transportation, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

DHL Global Forwarding in Mississauga invites an experienced Route Development professional to lead air freight route development, analyzing trade lanes and driving profitable growth. You will coordinate with Sales, Pricing, Carrier Management, and Operations to translate strategy into actionable plans, monitor performance, and mentor junior staff.

The role requires a Bachelor's in related field, 6+ years of experience, and strong communication in English; a bonus program and full benefits are