Team Lead, LTL Carrier Development

Bison Transport Inc; Winnipeg; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Coaching & training

Work-life balance

Wellness program

Job summary

Bison Transport Inc is seeking a Team Lead for LTL Carrier Development to provide day-to-day leadership over a pod of Carrier Coordinators and Carrier Analysts. You will span external and internal carrier development activities, including sourcing new partners, negotiating rates and contracts, and managing the end-to-end financial cycle from tender to invoice.

The role emphasizes people development, carrier relationships, strategic sourcing, and cross-functional collaboration with Sales,

Qualifications

• 1–2 years related experience in transportation or a similar role.
• Post-secondary education in Business, Commerce, Supply Chain Management, Transportation, or related field is asset.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with ability to lead departmental activities with minimal supervision.
• Experience managing vendor, supplier, or partner relationships.
• Demonstrated financial and analytical acumen in LTL freight markets, pricing, and cost analysis.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills with root-cause analysis and practical solutions.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills to influence stakeholders internally and externally.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel; Power BI is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership, guidance, and support to the Carrier Coordinator and Carrier Analyst teams.
• Coordinate workload distribution and coverage planning for vacations and absences.
• Develop and maintain carrier training materials and onboard new team members.
• Maintain departmental KPIs and regular reporting.
• Serve as primary point of contact for partner carrier relationships and onboarding.
• Manage carrier agreements, terms and contract management, and escalate complex issues.
• Lead carrier RFP processes and negotiations, analyze freight spend for cost efficiencies.
• Collaborate with Sales, Pricing, Operations, and Accounts Payable on cross-functional initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Analytical thinking

Time management

Vendor management

Negotiation

Education

Post-secondary education in Business/Commerce/Supply Chain/Transportation

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Job description

The Team Lead for LTL Carrier Development is to provide day-to-day leadership and oversight over a pod of LTL Carrier Coordinator(s) and LTL Carrier Analyst(s). This individual will be engaged across both external-and-internal-facing carrier development activities including the sourcing and selection of new partner carriers, negotiation of rates and contracts with our partners, and the end-to-end financial cycle of our carrier processes from tender through invoice.

Specific Responsibilities include:

People Development and Support:

• Provide day-to-day leadership, guidance, and support to the LTL Carrier Coordinator and LTL Carrier Analyst teams.
• Coordinate workload distribution, prioritize departmental activities, and support effective coverage planning for vacations, holidays, and other absences.
• Approve time off and holiday coverage.
• Develop and maintain Partner Carrier training materials, onboard new team members, and ensure adherence to established processes and best practices.
• Maintain departmental KPIs - daily, weekly, monthly tracking and reporting.

Carrier Relationship Management:

• Serve as the primary point of contact and subject matter expert for partner carrier relationships, building and maintaining strong partnerships with external carriers.
• Lead partner carrier onboarding activities, ensuring all requirements are met.
• Manage partner carrier agreements, terms and conditions, and contract management.
• Act as an escalation point for complex carrier issues.

Strategic Sourcing & Cost Management:

• Lead carrier RFP processes and negotiations.
• Analyze freight spend and identify opportunities for cost efficiencies to senior leadership.
• Review and approve carrier purchase orders and audit transactions for accuracy.
• Monitor and oversee the carrier accounts payable status.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Act as the departmental liaison and subject matter expert for internal stakeholders, including Sales, Pricing, Operations, and Accounts Payable.
• Participate in initiatives and special projects that enhance network performance, carrier partnerships, and overall service.
• Other duties as assigned.

Our Ideal Candidate will possess:

• 1-2 years related experience in transportation or a similar role.
• Post-secondary education in Business, Commerce, Supply Chain Management, Transportation, or a related field is considered to be an asset.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to lead departmental activities with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated experience managing vendor, supplier, or partner relationships.
• Demonstrated financial and analytical acumen, including experience with LTL freight markets, pricing, and cost analysis.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to identify root causes, develop practical solutions, and drive issues through to resolution.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate and influence stakeholders at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Experience coaching, training, or providing guidance to team members is considered an asset.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, is required.
• Proficiency with Power BI is considered a strong asset.

Why Bison:

• Thrive in a supportive team that provides coaching and training to help develop your skills and progress your career
• Dispersed work environments that promote a healthy work-life balance
• Meaningful and impactful work and projects with an essential service provider
• Join our engaging Wellness Program & extracurricular sports teams

About Bison:

• Celebrating over 50 years in Business
• Active in giving back through Corporate Social Responsibility and Charitable Giving
• Committed to environmental sustainability

Bison Transport is committed to Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Background and suitability for a career in Transportation is wide ranging. Some of our brightest people have joined us with no previous “trucking” experience. We always say we work in the “people business”. So, whether you have a background in the airline, automotive, retail or hospitality industries, to name a few, your experience is valuable and we are bound to find many transferrable skills. We are ready to welcome exceptional, high potential contributors who aspire to lead people and processes in the pursuit of service excellence in a highly dynamic and collaborative environment. We seek team players who are eager to learn our business from the ground up, are able to demonstrate a track record of strong performance and possess a sincere interest in growing their careers in the transportation arena. We seek top notch communicators who adopt a driver of change mindset of “how can we be better, do better and get better results”.