Operational Excellence Manager – Freight Forwarding

Rhenus Group; Cranford (NJ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Rhenus Group in Cranford, NJ is seeking an Operational Excellence lead to drive optimization across the U.S. network and oversee system rollout initiatives. The role focuses on improving processes, data quality, and KPI reporting while coordinating with commercial, finance, IT, and support functions.

Responsibilities include leading regional improvement projects, prioritizing initiatives, and guiding end-to-end readiness for new systems and tools across branches.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate operational excellence initiatives across the U.S. network, aligned with regional priorities and the Regional Head of Operational Excellence – Americas.
• Plan and support operating model changes, including country-to-regional in-sourcing and the transition from end-to-end (A–Z) workflows to defined front-end and back-end responsibilities.
• Monitor data quality at the branch and country levels; investigate recurring issues with operations teams and implement corrective actions.
• Review, document, standardize, and improve operational processes in coordination with commercial, finance, IT, and other support functions.
• Develop and maintain operational KPI reporting covering productivity, efficiency, data accuracy, compliance, and customer service; translate findings into improvement plans.
• Gather and assess branch requests for process and application enhancements; prioritize and elevate proposals through the regional demand-management process.
• Coordinate resources and stakeholders for approved process, system, documentation, and KPI changes, ensuring clear ownership and timely execution.
• Apply the regional operational audit framework to evaluate process compliance, documentation quality, data integrity, and service performance.
• Benchmark branch performance, identify root causes of gaps, and share proven practices across the network.
• Partner with regional leadership to define short-, medium-, and long-term operational excellence priorities and track progress against agreed objectives.
• Lead cross-functional improvement projects, support change management, and help teams adopt new standards and ways of working.
• Assess business requirements, process gaps, and operational readiness before introducing new systems or functionality.
• Partner with Operational Excellence and IT leadership to define rollout standards, scope, milestones, and success measures.
• Plan and coordinate system rollouts across branches, including testing, training, implementation, and post-launch support.
• Align operations, IT, and other stakeholders on rollout timelines, responsibilities, and process impacts.
• Provide clear project status updates, risks, and action plans to regional leadership and key stakeholders.
• Monitor adoption, system performance, and operational KPIs after launch; address issues and identify further improvements.
• Support implementation of new application features and ensure consistent use of approved tools and workflows.
• Act as a point of contact for branch teams during rollout, coordinating issue resolution and ongoing process support.

Job description

Operational Excellence:

• Lead and coordinate operational excellence initiatives across the U.S. network, aligned with regional priorities and the Regional Head of Operational Excellence – Americas.


• Plan and support operating model changes, including country-to-regional in-sourcing and the transition from end-to-end (A–Z) workflows to defined front-end and back-end responsibilities.


• Monitor data quality at the branch and country levels; investigate recurring issues with operations teams and implement corrective actions.


• Review, document, standardize, and improve operational processes in coordination with commercial, finance, IT, and other support functions.


• Develop and maintain operational KPI reporting covering productivity, efficiency, data accuracy, compliance, and customer service; translate findings into improvement plans.


• Gather and assess branch requests for process and application enhancements; prioritize and elevate proposals through the regional demand-management process.


• Coordinate resources and stakeholders for approved process, system, documentation, and KPI changes, ensuring clear ownership and timely execution.


• Apply the regional operational audit framework to evaluate process compliance, documentation quality, data integrity, and service performance.


• Benchmark branch performance, identify root causes of gaps, and share proven practices across the network.


• Partner with regional leadership to define short-, medium-, and long-term operational excellence priorities and track progress against agreed objectives.


• Lead cross-functional improvement projects, support change management, and help teams adopt new standards and ways of working.

System Rollout:

• Assess business requirements, process gaps, and operational readiness before introducing new systems or functionality.


• Partner with Operational Excellence and IT leadership to define rollout standards, scope, milestones, and success measures.


• Plan and coordinate system rollouts across branches, including testing, training, implementation, and post-launch support.


• Align operations, IT, and other stakeholders on rollout timelines, responsibilities, and process impacts.


• Provide clear project status updates, risks, and action plans to regional leadership and key stakeholders.


• Monitor adoption, system performance, and operational KPIs after launch; address issues and identify further improvements.


• Support implementation of new application features and ensure consistent use of approved tools and workflows.


• Act as a point of contact for branch teams during rollout, coordinating issue resolution and ongoing process support.