Director, Data Services

The opportunity:

At Flexport, we know global trade can move the human race forward. That's why it's our mission to make global trade easier for everyone. Flexport today connects more than 10,000 clients across more than 100 countries. Our role is to help businesses of all sizes find the global trade solutions that will empower their success.

Data and information is the foundation upon which Flexport builds its business and transforms the freight industry. Our Data Services Team helps Flexport deliver the accuracy and operational visibility that represent value to our clients. Working backwards from technology, the Data Services team manually updates the shipment milestones, closes integration gaps by completing administrative processes and validates shipment documents & data. This service is delivered via a global network of associates.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced leader to design, build and scale a best-in-class Data Services organization. In this role, you will be responsible for the overall performance of Global Data Service operations and productization success. You will design and develop a programmatic approach to optimizing workflows, fostering highly productive teams, and creating end-to-end processes to enable scalability and process automation.

In this role, you will work with a wide range of stakeholders, particularly across product, tech and Supply Chain operations, to productize & automate processes currently executed manually by associates. You lead a team of Operations & Program Managers and will report to our Sr Director of Customer Service & Support.

You will:

• Develop the strategy to build, productize services and lead the Data Services function that provides streamlined operational services to the organization with the end-goal of process automation.
• Build a high-performing Data Services Operation that delivers quality and on-time performance while meeting productivity targets.
• Evolve the Data Services product's value proportion by defining the scope, identifying the critical dependencies, and designing the metrics structure to drive performance.
• Partner closely with the internal operations teams, who rely on the support provided by the Data Services team, as well as external vendor partners who deliver the operational services.
• Provide leadership and direction to a high-performance team; including hiring, training, culture creation and people development.
• Build the framework and design tooling functionality to facilitate standardized operational execution and deliver consistent output.
• Analyze performance metrics and develop strategic & tactical initiatives to drive continuous improvement
• Build systems that surface defects, assess the root causes to build and execute corrective actions plans.
• Actively engage with internal stakeholders to seek feedback, optimize operational processes and ensure ongoing alignment.
• Architect, document and optimize operational processes across a wide range of administrative processes involving various platforms, decision-points and operational interdependencies.
• Design and implement performance indicators to measure efficacy, efficiency, and value creation impact, facilitated by weekly, monthly & quarterly business reviews.
• Scale a function to ingest workflows, generate streamlined processes, implement tooling to support data quality and partner with product teams to push for automation.
• Identify opportunities for automation and tech-enabled operational efficiency drivers, build and manage the roadmap, and interface cross-functionally to drive execution of key deliverables.

You should have:

• A Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience, with 5+ years of operational leadership experience
• Startup or high growth company experience preferred
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills and stakeholder management
• Experience in a B2B environment with unique and varied customer needs
• A strategic mindset with extensive operating experience, particularly in service operations, product management, BPO Vendor management or supply chain logistics.
• The ability to move from abstract to practical and strategic to tactical - with the experience to operate at scale and scrappy/nimble to deliver high impact quick wins
• A deep appreciation for service and operationally heavy environments, as well as an appreciation for the people that power the operations.
• A passion for people management, and the ability to effectively coach employees to achieve results.
• Ability to think strategically, communicate clearly and convincingly to influence stakeholders at every level of the organization.
• Extensive experience with process engineering & operational tooling development
• Aptitude to understand, interpret and relay complex technical concepts in a simplified manner.
• Strong project project management skills, including project roadmapping, resourcing, risk management, diplomacy, prioritization & dependency mapping, fully owning problem-solving and driving stakeholder alignment.
• Strong operational finance literacy, with the ability to tie operational decisions to impact.
• Dive Deep skills. You must be naturally curious and know the "5 Why" framework or similar paradigms to solve problems.
• Relentlessly data-driven and highly data literate, with a strong understanding of how to design and optimize performance metrics.
• The ability and desire to solve complex operational challenges by creating innovative strategies to drive performance.
• Extensive experience developing KPIs and developing corrective actions plans based on key operational conditions.
• Design-thinking mindset, with the ability to translate high-level program concepts into day-to-day operational processes, metrics and tools.
• Ability to anticipate risks and barriers to change and will closely monitor program success on an ongoing basis.

About Flexport:

At Flexport, we believe global trade can move the human race forward. That's why it's our mission to make it easy and accessible for everyone. We're shaping the future of a $8.6T industry with solutions powered by innovative technology and exceptional people. Today, 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.

The recent global supply chain crisis has put Flexport center stage as we continue to play a pivotal role in how goods move around the world. At a valuation of $8 billion, we're experiencing record growth and are proud to have the support of the best investors in the game who believe in our mission, solutions and people. Ready to tackle global challenges that impact business, society, and the environment? Come join us.

Worried about not having any logistics experience?

Don't be! Our mission is to make global trade easy for everyone. That's why it's important to bring people from diverse backgrounds and experiences together with our industry veterans to help move the global logistics industry forward.

We know this industry is complex. That's why we invest in education starting day one with Flexport Academy, a one week intensive onboarding program designed specifically to set every new Flexport employee up for success.

At Flexport, our ability to fulfill our mission of making global trade easy for everyone relies on having a diverse, dedicated and engaged workforce. That is why Flexport is committed to creating and nurturing an environment where anyone can be their authentic self. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, health status, marital and family status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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