Air Export Operations Lead — Freight Forwarding Excellence

Kuehne+Nagel; Bensenville (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401k plan

Tuition reimbursement

Incentive compensation

Job summary

Kuehne+Nagel is seeking a Freight Logistics and Operations leader to supervise the Export Operational Care center and drive optimization across shipment processes. You will liaise on pricing, coordinate with airfreight teams, and push for KPI-driven improvements.

Ideal candidates bring multi‑year experience in air import/export, strong carrier relationships, and proven leadership. The role emphasizes collaboration with Sales and Customer Service in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years leadership/supervisory experience within Freight Forwarding.

Responsibilities

• Supervise the Export Operational Care center team.
• Ensure operational excellence through high‑quality shipment/process management.
• Support the development of pricing strategies (liaise on pricing / RFQ preparation).
• Ensure close cooperation with National Airfreight Managers of the Customer Care teams and Systems & Processes teams for optimized operations.
• Actively manage interfaces and information / knowledge exchange between Kuehne+Nagel teams.
• Contribute as process owner to continuous improvements of processes and controls for lean and cost‑efficient processes.
• Optimize proceedings to ensure development of Airfreight operational KPIs and highest productivity within the organization.
• Support Airfreight procurement and carrier relationship management.
• Ensure a high level of quality of export/import services.
• Collaborate closely with Sales on strategic accounts as needed.
• Collaborate closely with Customer Service to gain specialized customer‑specific knowledge and to receive first‑hand feedback about operational execution.
• Support the development of new or existing customer targets.

Skills

Leadership

Air Logistics

Air Export Ops

Air Import

Freight Forwarding

Project Management

Carrier Relationships

MS Office

Kuehne+Nagel systems

Communication Skills

Detail Oriented

Strategic Collaboration

Tools

MS Office

Kuehne+Nagel systems

Job description

Kuehne+Nagel is seeking a Freight Logistics and Operations leader to supervise the Export Operational Care center and drive optimization across shipment processes. You will liaise on pricing, coordinate with airfreight teams, and push for KPI-driven improvements.

Ideal candidates bring multi‑year experience in air import/export, strong carrier relationships, and proven leadership. The role emphasizes collaboration with Sales and Customer Service in a dynamic environment.