Manager, Account Operations- Full Time- 1st Shift

Forward Air Corporation; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

Forward Air Corporation in Nashville, TN is seeking a Manager, Account Operations to lead the account management team and serve as the customer relationship owner for assigned accounts. You will drive service excellence, retention, and long-term partnership development by coordinating with operations, sales, and finance to meet commitments.

The role emphasizes building executive-level relationships, analyzing performance data, and guiding onboarding and new service implementations to improve

Qualifications

• Five+ years in transportation/logistics or related customer-facing ops.
• Experience leading customer relationships and developing teams.
• Strong knowledge of transportation, warehousing, and contract logistics.
• Ability to analyze operational, financial, and customer data to drive improvements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as senior customer relationship owner for assigned accounts.
• Lead, coach, and develop Operations Account Managers and staff to drive performance and growth.
• Establish and maintain executive-level customer relationships to support retention and partnerships.
• Partner with site and regional leadership to align expectations with execution and objectives.
• Oversee customer service performance, account health, and KPIs.
• Lead resolution efforts for significant customer concerns and escalations.
• Conduct and oversee business reviews, performance meetings, and strategic account planning.
• Ensure account-specific service requirements, KPIs, and contractual commitments are met.
• Analyze service, operational, financial, and customer data to identify improvements.
• Collaborate with Sales, Operations, Finance to support retention and growth.
• Provide strategic guidance on onboarding and new service implementations.
• Monitor labor utilization and account resources for coverage and delivery.
• Champion customer advocacy while balancing capabilities and commitments.
• Ensure compliance with policies and regulatory standards.
• Build relationships with customers, carriers, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Develop corrective action plans and service recovery initiatives.
• Participate in forecasting, budgeting, and business planning.
• Promote accountability and operational excellence.
• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

Skills

Customer relationship management

Leadership

Data analysis

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation

Communication

KPI visualization

Account management

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Logistics, or related field

Tools

McLeod

CargoWise

Salesforce

Job description

Job Description

The Manager, Account Operations serves as the customer relationship owner and account operations leader within an assigned operations location. They are responsible for overseeing customer satisfaction, service performance, account retention, and operational alignment across the Company's transportation and logistics services. They lead a team of account management professionals while partnering with operational leadership, customers, carriers, vendors, and commercial stakeholders to ensure exceptional service delivery and long-term account success. They provide strategic direction for customer engagement, issue resolution, process improvement, and account growth initiatives. They are accountable for fostering strong customer partnerships, optimizing operational performance, and driving a culture of service excellence.

Base Pay: $70,000-79,000

Incentive Eligible

Schedule: Monday- Friday 1st shift/ Mid-day, exact hours tbd, onsite

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior customer relationship owner for assigned accounts and customers within an operations location.
• Lead, coach, and develop Operations Account Managers, Operations Account Coordinators, and other account operations personnel to drive performance, service excellence, and professional growth.
• Establish and maintain executive-level and operational customer relationships to support account retention, satisfaction, and long-term partnership development.
• Partner with site and regional operational leadership to align customer expectations with operational execution and business objectives.
• Oversee customer service performance, account health, operational metrics, and customer feedback to identify risks, trends, and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead resolution efforts for significant customer concerns, service failures, escalations, and complex operational issues.
• Conduct and oversee customer business reviews, performance meetings, and strategic account planning discussions.
• Ensure account-specific service requirements, operating procedures, KPIs, reporting obligations, and contractual commitments are consistently executed.
• Analyze service, operational, financial, and customer performance data to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and account growth.
• Collaborate with Sales, Operations, Finance, and other functional leaders to support customer retention, business development, and service expansion initiatives.
• Provide strategic guidance on customer onboarding, account transitions, new service implementations, and operational change management activities.
• Monitor labor utilization, team workload, and account support resources to ensure effective customer coverage and service delivery.
• Champion customer advocacy within the organization while balancing operational capabilities, service commitments, and business objectives.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, customer requirements, contractual obligations, and applicable regulatory standards.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with customers, carriers, vendors, warehouse partners, and key internal stakeholders.
• Develop and implement corrective action plans, service recovery initiatives, and performance improvement strategies when necessary.
• Participate in forecasting, budgeting, and business planning activities related to customer operations and account support functions.
• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, operational excellence, and customer-focused decision-making.
• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

Qualifications

• Education: Undergraduate degree in Business, Logistics, Supply Chain, Transportation, or a related field from an accredited college or university preferred; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience considered.
• Certification/Licensure: Industry certifications related to transportation, logistics, freight forwarding, customs, TSA, IAC, supply chain operations, or leadership development are a plus.
• Experience: Five (5)+ years of experience in transportation, logistics, freight forwarding, supply chain operations, account management, customer success, or a related customer-facing operational environment required, including experience leading customer relationships and developing team members.
• Demonstrated success managing complex customer relationships, service delivery performance, account retention initiatives, and operational issue resolution.
• Prior leadership experience with responsibility for coaching, developing, mentoring, or directly supervising employees preferred.
• Strong knowledge of transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, contract logistics, supply chain operations, and related service delivery processes.
• Proven ability to analyze operational, financial, and customer performance data to drive process improvements and business results; Prior experience leveraging and/or building KPI visualizations/dashboards preferred.
• Strong business communication, relationship management, negotiation, conflict resolution, and leadership skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all organizational levels.
• Demonstrated ability to balance customer expectations, operational realities, and financial objectives while making sound business decisions.
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with operations, sales, finance, and leadership teams to achieve customer and organizational goals.
• Strong technical skills with the ability to quickly learn and leverage business systems and applications; prior experience with McLeod, CargoWise, Salesforce, or similar transportation and customer relationship management platforms highly preferred.
• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.
• Technical: Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.).
• Environment: Comfort commuting to/from and working in a 100% on-site setting (listed in this posting), with travel for related meetings/events.