Director Operations

Location: Remote or hybrid in Cleveland, OH (Independence, OH) Reports to: Founder/CEO Compensation: $80,000 to $100,000 base plus 15% bonus tied to performance metrics Relocation: Relocation assistance available for the right candidate This is an immediate hire. We are actively interviewing and will move quickly for the right candidate. Why This Role Most operations roles in freight hand you an existing system and ask you to maintain it. This one is the opposite. You are building the operating system for a brokerage that is scaling fast, and you have a CEO who wants you to own it. In your first 90 days you will see be able to tangibly feel the difference you are making in the organization. In your first year you will have built the playbooks, the cadence, and the team standards that the company runs on for the next phase of growth. The work is visible, the impact s measurable, and the opportunity for growth is real. If you are an operator who has been waiting for a seat where you build the engine instead of inheriting one, this is that seat. About Serve Freight Serve Freight is a third-party logistics provider specializing in high-stakes, time-sensitive, and complex shipments. We are building a multi-division logistics platform with a freight brokerage that runs like a machine. Serve Freight is a founder-driven company with a clear vision and an accelerating growth curve. The company runs on high standards, a bias for pace, and a genuine willingness to invest in the people who help build it. You will work directly with leadership on the operational decisions that shape where the business goes next. Location Flexibility On-site or Hybrid in Cleveland, OH or Asheville, NC Fully remote for exceptional candidates with a strong record of operating remotely in a The Role As the Director of Operations (Brokerage), you will play a central role in scaling Serve Freight's operational infrastructure and execution quality. You will work directly alongside the CEO and leadership team to build, document, and run the systems that power every operational function in the company. Your primary job is building and running the internal engine that makes everything work seamlessly. SOPs, process flow maps, training programs, operational playbooks, KPI ownership, and accountability systems across carrier sales, account management, and operations support. This role is for an operator who doesn't just build the engine but can squeeze every ounce of horsepower out of it for consistent results. You are comfortable recording a Loom walkthrough for track and trace, designing a process flow map in Miro, pulling a report on quote response time, and coaching a CSR on performance standards, all in the same afternoon. Role and Responsibilities Own and continuously improve the end-to-end operational workflow, from quoting through delivery, identifying bottlenecks, eliminating inefficiencies, and driving measurable outcomes across the brokerage. Enforce the quoting and load lifecycle workflow as the operational standard and hold the line on process adoption. Design, document, and implement SOPs, process flow maps, and operational playbooks that create consistency, reduce errors, and enable the team to scale without sacrificing service. Build and maintain training and development materials for all carrier sales and operations support staff, ensuring every team member has clear guidance, knows the standard, and can execute independently. Provide hands-on operational leadership to the carrier sales and operations support teams, setting expectations and driving continuous improvement. time, invoice accuracy, claims rate, SLA adherence), proactively raising issues and executing fixes before they become customer or carrier-facing problems. Leverage and optimize tools and systems, including Turvo, HubSpot, Highway, ID Scan, DAT, Miro, Notion, Loom, and ClickUp to improve process efficiency, data accuracy, and Audit and optimize TMS configuration. Identify gaps, unused features, and integration opportunities. Drive adoption of email distribution group routing and standards. Own the after-hours coverage model, escalation protocols, and exception management for time-critical and high-value freight. Build and maintain a live performance dashboard so the team and leadership have real-time visibility into operational KPIs, by role and by team. Collaborate directly with the CEO and leadership team on strategic planning and the operational foundation for Serve Freight's next phase of growth. Support the buildout of a scalable freight brokerage, including contributing to hiring decisions, onboarding frameworks, and performance standards as the company grows. What You Will Do First 30 Days Shadow every operational role (carrier sales, CSR, AM, track and trace, admin). Document strengths, gaps, and bottlenecks for each function. Identify the top 10 processes needing SOPs first, ranked by both revenue impact and employee experience impact. Take ownership of the TMS quoting workflow rollout. Monitor compliance daily, hold the line on adoption, and report out to the CEO on progress. Begin building relationships with the carrier sales and operations support teams. Understand current workflows, communication rhythms, and quality gaps. Be active in the weekly operating cadence, contributing operational insights and Begin building interview rubrics, scoring criteria, and onboarding frameworks for upcoming operational hires. Pull initial snapshots of operational performance: volume by account, margin by lane, team productivity, and carrier performance to support leadership decision-making. Days 31 to 90 Build and publish the first ~10 SOPs with Loom walkthroughs. Begin building the training library for all carrier sales, account management, and operations support staff. Complete an end-to-end company-wide process flow map focused on speed to cash. Identify every handoff, bottleneck, and failure point. Run the first monthly performance reviews using real data and a KPI framework. Design and document a structured onboarding program for all future operations and Define minimum activity requirements, performance tiers, and escalation protocols for the operations team and carrier sales. Build a live performance dashboard so the team and leadership have real-time visibility into operational KPIs by role and by team. Deliver a clean operations report for leadership: volume trends, margin by customer, team productivity metrics, and bottleneck status. Operational reporting and analysis is owned by you. Complete the TMS configuration audit. Document unused features, integration opportunities, and a buildout roadmap aligned to SOP and automation rollout. Take direct operational leadership of the offshore team, with clear expectations, regular check-ins, and quality control cadence in place. Days 91 to 180+ All core SOPs complete (~20 plus). Loom library and training materials built. Process flow maps finalized and published. Deploy 2 to 3 automations that eliminate manual work and reduce error rates. Launch incentive programs tied to operational KPIs. Operations reporting runs on a recurring cadence. Leadership has a standing data package for strategic planning. Begin scoping operational playbooks for other service lines. Training and development materials are complete, maintained, and actively used by all operations and carrier sales staff. Operations support teams operating under your direct leadership with documented workflows, performance standards, and escalation protocols. Driving down cost-per-load and producing reliable margin-per-load reporting at the load, lane, and customer level. What You Bring Required 5 to 7 years in the freight brokerage or logistics industry. You have seen inside a brokerage and understand the full workflow from quote to delivery. Strong process documentation skills. You have built SOPs, training programs, process flow maps, or operational playbooks before, not just followed them. Comfortable pulling data and building reports. You do not need to be a strategist, but you need to be fluent in operational, carrier, and revenue metrics and able to track and report out on what matters. Experience with TMS platforms (Turvo strongly preferred) and CRM tools (HubSpot preferred). Proficiency with DAT, Highway, ID Scan, and standard freight coverage and compliance tools. Proficiency with Notion, Loom, Miro, ClickUp, Google Workspace, and basic Self-directed. You create your own task list, identify what needs fixing, and go fix it without waiting for direction. Comfortable with accountability. You will coach, confront, and hold people across the organization to the standards you help build. If remote or hybrid, a demonstrated track record of running operational teams without being in the same room. You know how to build cadence, visibility, and accountability Preferred Experience building operational dashboards or recurring performance reports. Background in process automation (Zapier, Make, or TMS-native tools). Experience in a high-growth or founder-led environment, wearing multiple hats. Exposure to project logistics, over-dimensional or overweight freight, or specialized and high-stakes shipments. Familiarity with carrier vetting and sourcing workflows, and compliance documentation (insurance, authority, safety scores). Experience managing or providing operational leadership to remote or offshore teams. #J-18808-Ljbffr