Senior Manager, Dangerous Goods Strategy & Business Enablement

David Aplin Recruiting; Canada; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A premier recruiting agency is seeking a Senior Manager for Dangerous Goods Strategy and Business Enablement in Canada. This high-impact leadership role requires overseeing a national team and enhancing the company's DG program across North America. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership, interpersonal skills, and experience in risk management. The opportunity entails ensuring compliance and driving business growth within a critical operational area. Competitive salary and benefits offered.

Benefits

Vacation: 3–4 weeks, negotiable

Comprehensive health and wellness benefits

Defined pension plan

Exceptional long-term stability and career growth

Qualifications

• 7–10 years of progressive experience, including at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Background in DG, safety, regulatory, supply chain, operations, or risk leadership roles.
• Experience leading multi-site teams or geographically dispersed functions.

Responsibilities

• Lead a national DG organization ensuring alignment with corporate strategy.
• Oversee national DG processes ensuring consistent standards across all locations.
• Maintain a holistic view of DG risk across the enterprise.

Skills

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Critical thinking

Problem solving

Job description

Aplin is proud to partner with a leading North American transportation and logistics organization to recruit a Senior Manager, Dangerous Goods Strategy & Business Enablement. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for shaping, advancing, and modernizing the company’s dangerous goods (DG) program across Canada and the United States.

This position goes far beyond regulatory compliance. Our client is seeking a dynamic leader who can elevate the DG function, strengthen organizational risk management, and act as a strategic business enabler—supporting growth in a market where the company currently holds a modest share, but has significant potential.

About the Role
Reporting to the Senior Director, Asset Protection, the Senior Manager, Dangerous Goods will oversee a national team of 12 DG professionals, including two long-tenured Senior Managers located in Western Canada and Eastern Ontario. This individual will serve as the central leader for DG strategy, operations, organizational education, and business alignment across 180 sites in North America.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a well-established DG program with strong foundational guardrails—and lead it into its next stage of evolution. The successful candidate will bring forward-thinking leadership, strong communication skills, and the ability to influence, engage, and collaborate across multiple business units.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Leadership Focus

• Lead a national DG organization, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy, operational excellence, and people aspirations.
• Serve as the primary internal champion of the DG program, elevating visibility, engagement, and organizational understanding.
• Build strong relationships with senior operations leaders to position DG processes as enablers of business growth, customer service, and competitive advantage.
• Support expansion of the DG offering across Canada and the U.S., identifying opportunities for service growth and improved market penetration.

Operational Oversight & Program Ownership

• Oversee national DG processes and governance, ensuring consistent standards across all locations and networks.
• Lead organizational change management as new technologies, processes, and analytics are introduced.
• Provide direction, coaching, and development to the DG team, fostering a positive, high-performance culture.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external vendors to support program enhancement, training, and service quality.

Risk Management & Organizational Safety

• Maintain a holistic view of DG risk across the enterprise, ensuring safe handling, training, and practices for all transport modes.
• Oversee investigations, root-cause assessments, and corrective actions.
• Liaise with regulators as needed and steward internal education around DG responsibilities and expectations.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Leadership & Business Enablement

• A seasoned leader with a track record of guiding teams through change, growth, and operational complexity.
• Someone who sees DG not only as a compliance requirement, but as a business lever—capable of driving improvements in service offering, customer experience, and market reach.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence at all levels, from frontline teams to executive stakeholders.
• A collaborative, solution-oriented mindset grounded in sound judgment and risk awareness.

Experience

• 7–10 years of progressive experience, including at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Background in DG, safety, regulatory, supply chain, operations, or risk leadership roles (DG technical depth is an asset but not the primary selection lens).
• Experience leading multi-site teams or geographically dispersed functions.
• Comfort navigating large, matrixed environments with multiple internal systems and stakeholders.

Attributes

• Strong leadership presence and people-development capability.
• Critical thinker and problem solver with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Able to balance safety, compliance, customer expectations, and business growth.
• High degree of integrity, accountability, and situational judgment.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $150,000–$170,000 (client-provided band is $116,000–$170,000, but market reality points to candidates at $150K+)
• Vacation: 3–4 weeks, negotiable
• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits
• Defined pension plan
• Exceptional long-term stability and career growth within a respected national organization

Why This Role Matters
This position leads one of the organization’s most critical risk areas—ensuring safe, compliant, and reliable transport of dangerous goods across a broad operational footprint. It is also a unique opportunity to directly influence business growth by strengthening DG capabilities, enabling greater customer engagement, and positioning the DG function as a strategic driver of service expansion.

At Aplin — together with our brands CompuStaff and Impact Recruitment — we connect great people with great organizations across North America. We believe diverse teams build stronger companies, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We use AI tools to assist in a fair and efficient matching process, helping our recruiters connect the right people with the right opportunities. To be considered, applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada, including holding any required permits. Our recruitment services are always free for job seekers.