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Director, EMEA Ocean Operations
Contract type
Ongoing
Work mode
On-site · Amsterdam, Netherlands
Experience
Lead / principal · 10+ years
Job description
Director, EMEA Ocean Operations at Flexport, leading ocean gateway operations (FCL and LCL) across EMEA and reporting to the EMEA Head of Operations as part of the EMEA Senior Leadership Team.
At a glance
- Employment
- Full-time · Employee (employment agreement)
- Work mode
- On-site · Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Languages
- English – excellent, European languages
What you'll do
- Lead and develop a leadership team of Senior Managers and Managers, who in turn run Ocean Operations teams across EMEA; accountable for organisation design, hiring plans and succession planning at every level beneath you
- Own end-to-end EMEA ocean gateway operations (FCL and LCL) across all markets, both insourced and partner-operated countries; set one operating standard and decide where local markets differ
- Define and deliver the multi-year EMEA ocean strategy and the planning cycles that support it (biannual planning and quarterly check-ins)
- Build and drive the EMEA ocean automation roadmap with your teams, deciding where to remove manual work first, working with Product, Engineering and Operational Excellence
- Act as the senior operations voice to EMEA Operational Excellence, Global Product and Engineering, turning operational pain points into clear product priorities
- Report to the EMEA Head of Operations and serve as a member of the EMEA Senior Leadership Team
- Partner with EMEA commercial leadership (GMs) and global operations leaders in other regions to align commercial promises and operational reality and flag deal and delivery risk early
- Hold executive-level relationships with key clients, carriers and partner operators; lead major escalations, negotiate service commitments with partners, and represent EMEA operations in client business reviews
- Use data to find the biggest bottlenecks and root causes across markets; set the metrics the organisation runs on and hold leaders to them in weekly, monthly and quarterly business reviews
- Own the long-term capacity plan, working with Operations Excellence and Finance on staffing models for seasonal peaks and multi-year growth, including the balance between insourced teams and partners
- Own the P&L and operational health of EMEA ocean gateway operations; set financial discipline, stop revenue and cost leakage at scale (for example, billing accessorials)
What we're looking for
- BA/BS degree in Logistics, Supply Chain Management or equivalent experience
- Proven track record of measurable business results, including quantified impact on quality, productivity, efficiency and customer service
- 10+ years of experience in cross-border supply chains, logistics and/or freight forwarding, with ocean freight experience
- 5+ years of people management experience, including managing managers
- 3+ years in customer-facing roles, with experience managing senior client or partner relationships
- Experience running operations across several countries
- Technology (and AI) first mindset, comfortable in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent English; ideally other European languages
- Excellent technical skills (e.g. Claude, N8N, Looker, Excel)
- Owner's mindset and strong discipline across the whole organisation
- Customer obsession, with high standards as a point of pride
- An operator at heart who removes waste and redesigns processes for lean, scalable efficiency
- Dives into metrics to fix root causes while delivering the short-term wins that stabilise operations
- Builds trust through transparent, concise communication and encourages the team to challenge the status quo
Nice to have
- Other European languages
Your team
EMEA Ocean Operations
Benefits
An opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing companies, where you'll have the chance to create a global impact while being a part of a thriving multinational environment
Health insurance: Flexport offers a collective health insurance plan including a basic package and any available additional packages; monthly premium fully paid by Flexport
- Daily catered lunches incl. vegetarian options, breakfast, snacks and soft drinks available in our office on daily basis
- Commute expenses: Flexport will cover home-office commuting costs for employees living outside of Amsterdam
- Amazing office in the heart of Amsterdam
- 25 working days as vacation days based on full time employment
- A defined pension contribution scheme
- Equity program: every team member becomes a shareholder
- Employee Assistance Program through Aetna Resources for Living
- Parental leave benefit
Apply
About Flexport
Make global commerce so easy there will be more of it
Flexport shapes the future of a $10T industry with solutions powered by innovative technology and exceptional people. Companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $19B of merchandise across 112 countries a year.
Mission
To make global commerce so easy there will be more of it
Key facts
- Logistics and freight forwarding
- Companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $19B of merchandise across 112 countries a year
- Flexport is backed by the best investors in the game
What they value
- Owner's mindset
- Customer obsession
- High standards
- Transparent, concise communication
- Challenge the status quo