Ocean Freight Manager Benelux

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company; Rotterdam; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

DP World is seeking an Ocean Freight Manager Benelux to lead the dry ocean freight product across the Benelux region. This role delivers operational excellence, strengthens customer relationships, and builds high-performing teams while shaping procurement and carrier strategies.

The regional leader will work with operations, sales, procurement and regional stakeholders to ensure service quality, growth and strong commercial performance across all locations.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in ocean freight forwarding.
• Experience leading operational teams across multiple locations.
• Strong knowledge of ocean freight procurement, negotiations and carrier relationships.
• Established professional network within the Benelux ocean freight market.
• Experience driving customer service excellence and embedding a customer-centric mindset.
• Strong stakeholder management across local, regional and global teams.
• Fluency in English; Dutch and/or French are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the Dry Ocean Freight strategy across the Benelux region, leading operational excellence and sustainable growth.
• Build and develop a customer-focused culture across operational teams and ensure service quality.
• Develop and implement a Benelux ocean freight procurement strategy including carrier selection and contracts.
• Establish and maintain relationships with shipping lines, terminals and logistics partners for growth and reliability.
• Lead, coach and develop Ocean Freight teams across the Benelux regions.
• Support growth by attracting talent and strengthening regional capability.
• Collaborate with regional and global Ocean Freight, Procurement and Operations Excellence teams to balance satisfaction, excellence and performance.
• Monitor KPIs and drive continuous improvement across stakeholders.

Skills

Ocean freight ops

Carrier management

Team leadership

Procurement strategy

Stakeholder management

English fluency

Dutch language

French language (adv)

Job description

About the role

DP World is looking for an Ocean Freight Manager Benelux to lead the dry ocean freight product across Benelux region. This role is responsible for delivering operational excellence, strengthening customer relationships, developing procurement and carrier strategies, and building high-performing teams across the region.

As the regional leader for Ocean Freight, they will work closely with operations, sales, customer service, procurement, and regional stakeholders to ensure consistent service quality, sustainable growth, and strong commercial performance. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on engagement and requires an active presence within the business and across key market locations.

How you will contribute

• Define and execute the Dry Ocean Freight strategy across the Benelux region, leading operational excellence, productivity, and service consistency while driving sustainable growth across all locations.
• Build and develop a customer-focused culture across operational teams, ensuring customer experience and service delivery remain at the center of daily decision-making.
• Develop and implement a Benelux ocean freight procurement strategy, including carrier selection, contract negotiations, supplier management, and capacity planning.
• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with shipping lines, terminals, inland transport providers, and other logistics partners to support profitable growth and service reliability.
• Lead, coach, and develop Ocean Freight teams across the Benelux regions, creating a collaborative and accountable working environment.
• Support the growth of the Ocean Freight organization by attracting talent, building local networks, and strengthening organizational capability across the region.
• Work closely with Collaboration with regional and global Ocean Freight, Procurement and Operations Excellence teams to deliver solutions that balance customer satisfaction, operational excellence, and commercial performance.
• Monitor commercial and operational performance through KPIs, continuous improvement initiatives, and effective stakeholder collaboration.

What you will bring

• Significant experience in ocean freight forwarding, including ocean operations, carrier management, and freight forwarding economics.
• Proven experience leading and developing operational teams across multiple locations.
• Strong knowledge of ocean freight procurement, commercial negotiations, and carrier relationship management.
• An established professional network within the Benelux ocean freight, shipping, or logistics market. Based on the hiring manager's requirements.
• Experience driving customer service excellence and embedding a customer-centric mindset within operational teams.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across local, regional, and global teams.
• Fluency in English. Dutch and/or French language skills are an advantage.

Compensation

DP World offers exciting and challenging roles within a growing international organization. We strive to hire and develop the right people, locally and globally, stimulating personal growth and self-development within an informal atmosphere. We offer a market competitive compensation package.

About DP World

Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy, creating opportunities and improving the quality of life for people around the world. DP World exists to make the world's trade flow better, changing what's possible for the customers and communities we serve globally.

With a dedicated, diverse and professional team of more than 120,000 employees spanning 75 countries on six continents, DP World is pushing trade further and faster towards a seamless supply chain that’s fit for the future.

We're rapidly transforming and integrating our businesses -- Ports and Terminals, Marine Services, Logistics and Technology - and uniting our global infrastructure with local expertise to create stronger, more efficient end-to-end supply chain solutions that can change the way the world trades.

What's more, we're reshaping the future by investing in innovation. From intelligent delivery systems to automated warehouse stacking, we're at the cutting edge of disruptive technology, pushing the sector towards better ways to trade, minimizing disruptions from the factory floor to the customer's door.

WE MAKE TRADE FLOW
To Change What's Possible For Everyone

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