Manager, Transportation

About City Harvest

City Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, helping to feed millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. During our 40 years serving New Yorkers in need, we have rescued more than one billion pounds of fresh, nutritious food and delivered it free of charge to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets across the five boroughs.

This year, we will rescue and distribute more than 86 million pounds of nutritious food to our neighbors in need. City Harvest works alongside our community partners to boost community capacity, expand nutrition education, and strengthen local food systems. Since our founding in 1982, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time.

The Transportation Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for City Harvest’s Transportation Department. This role is responsible for managing a unionized Driver workforce and a large fleet operation while driving continuous improvement across safety, service, cost, and performance. This position is highly focused on data‑driven decision making, departmental systems optimization, and operational excellence, with accountability for safety, regulatory compliance, labor relations, budget controls, and service delivery.

This role reports to the Director of Transportation and is fully on‑site in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

• Leadership & People Management
  • Lead, coach, and develop a team of 25–35 union Drivers and Transportation Coordinators
  • Drive a high‑performance culture centered on accountability, safety, and service
  • Conduct performance evaluations, coaching sessions, and development planning
  • Serve as frontline labor relations representative with Local 804
  • Enforce collective bargaining agreements, policies, and procedures
  • Build strong cross‑functional relationships with internal stakeholders
• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
  • Lead day‑to‑day transportation operations supporting food rescue and delivery
  • Develop, implement, and continuously improve departmental SOPs
  • Evaluate and optimize routing, scheduling, and resource allocation
  • Identify inefficiencies and implement corrective action plans
  • Improve service reliability, productivity, and sustainability
  • Lead operational improvement initiatives aligned with organizational strategy
• Safety, Compliance & Risk Management
  • Lead departmental safety programs and accident reduction initiatives
  • Ensure compliance with DOT regulations and internal safety standards
  • Conduct route observations, ride‑along and road inspections
  • Investigate accidents and incidents and implement corrective actions
  • Manage emergency response and on‑call operations
  • Promote a culture of proactive safety and accountability
• Fleet & Asset Management
  • Manage a large fleet of vehicles and material handling equipment
  • Oversee fleet maintenance, inspections, utilization, and replacement planning
  • Manage vendor partnerships (fuel, rentals, repairs, equipment)
  • Reduce downtime, damage, and maintenance costs through preventive programs
  • Leverage Samsara Transportation Management System to monitor performance
• Data, Analytics & Performance Optimization
  • Analyze transportation KPIs including:
    • On‑time performance
    • Route efficiency
    • Cost per mile
    • Fuel utilization
    • Safety metrics
    • Maintenance trends
  • Develop dashboards and performance reporting for leadership
  • Use analytics to drive productivity, service quality, and cost efficiency
  • Lead data‑driven continuous improvement initiatives
• Financial & Resource Management
  • Support departmental budget planning and forecasting
  • Monitor and control operating expenses (fuel, maintenance, rentals, repairs)
  • Identify cost‑saving and efficiency opportunities
  • Manage staffing models, schedules, and capacity planning

• 5+ years of transportation or operations management experience
• Supervisory experience leading frontline teams
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office
• Proven experience using KPIs and analytics to improve performance
• Excellent leadership, communication, and coaching skills
• Excellent time management skills with the ability to…