Director Operations - Defense

Icat Logistics•Elkridge, MD

10h

About The Position

The Director Operations - Defense leads operational execution, customer experience, compliance, and process efficiency for ICAT’s Defense Contracting business subvertical. Working closely with the subvertical commercial lead and vertical leadership team, the Director identifies and drives strategic growth initiatives. The role is the senior operational authority within the defense vertical, aligning execution with customer requirements, compliance standards, financial performance, and long-term growth objectives. It oversees a Control Tower team responsible for executing mission-critical domestic and international freight across transportation modes, while supporting customer growth through vertical-specific logistics solutions. The Director develops scalable operational strategies, workflows, and SOPs; supports customer retention and business development; manages carrier and vendor relationships; and serves as an escalation point for sensitive or mission-critical shipments. The role also oversees regulatory and safety compliance, operational KPIs, budgets, forecasting, cost management, and profitability. It collaborates across Procurement, Operations, Sales, Security, Compliance, and Technology, and leads staff through hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, performance management, and continuous improvement. This position requires travel of up to 30%. Most work is performed indoors in an office setting, with flexibility to support client needs and project requirements. The role includes supervising staff and may require occasional movement of items weighing up to 20 pounds.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Logistics, Operations Management, or a related field.
At least 8 years of experience in freight forwarding or transportation operations across multiple modes.
At least 5 years of experience leading others.
Prior leadership experience within a freight forwarder, 3PL, defense logistics provider, or government logistics environment.
Ability to lead, mentor, and share knowledge with team members and foster accountability for department goals.
Ability to plan, set priorities, and implement plans effectively.
Analytical and problem-solving skills in a time-sensitive logistics environment.
Ability to meet deadlines, manage time, multitask, and maintain attention to detail in a fast-paced setting.
Strong communication and listening skills, with the ability to motivate and work effectively with a broad and diverse workforce.
Ability to work in a client-centric environment, adapt as priorities shift, and follow through consistently.
Positive, motivated team orientation, personal integrity, and adaptability to ICAT’s core values.
Ability to type and handle or feel objects, use close, distance, color, and peripheral vision, perceive depth, and focus.
Clear, understandable oral communication ability.
Ability to push, pull, lift, carry, or maneuver weights up to 20 pounds and sit for prolonged periods; may occasionally need to stoop, climb, or squat.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Advanced understanding of international and domestic freight forwarding operations.
Functional knowledge of government transportation requirements, compliance expectations, and defense logistics operations.
Dangerous goods or hazmat knowledge.
Experience managing operational escalations and high-priority shipments.
Strong knowledge of applicable transportation and trade regulatory frameworks.
Proven experience managing carrier and vendor relationships.
Proven commercial, financial, and analytical skills.
Track record of building relationships and credibility with customers and vendors.
Experience with expedited, project cargo, or time-critical logistics.
Intermediate skills with Microsoft Office products.

Responsibilities

Lead the team managing daily operations for ICAT’s defense contracting and government logistics business.
Oversee domestic and international defense-related shipments across all transportation modes.
Develop and implement operational strategies, workflows, and SOPs that support scalable growth.
Establish operational objectives with leadership and support readiness for expedited project cargo, hazardous materials, and specialized government freight.
Partner with sales and vertical leadership on customer retention, business development, and account expansion.
Participate in customer calls, operational reviews, and strategic meetings with defense contractors and government-related customers.
Support development of pricing strategies, carrier selections, and operational solutions for government and defense opportunities.
Support preparation and review of RFQs, RFPs, tenders, and operational capability responses.
Serve as a primary operational escalation point for high-priority, sensitive, or mission-critical shipments.
Maintain relationships with carriers, overseas agents, cartage providers, airlines, and strategic service partners.
Resolve service issues with vendors and providers, support rate and relationship negotiations, and monitor performance, cost, service quality, reliability, and compliance.
Maintain awareness of government transportation requirements, defense industry expectations, and compliance considerations.
Ensure compliance with applicable transportation regulations, dangerous goods and hazmat requirements, and carrier operating standards.
Serve as ICAT’s subject matter expert for defense-related operational processes and support internal stakeholders.
Drive operational efficiency, profitability, service quality, and consistent execution.
Monitor operational KPIs and report on service performance, customer satisfaction, profitability, and compliance.
Contribute operational insight to budgeting, forecasting, and cost management, and identify cost-saving and margin-improvement opportunities.
Collaborate with Procurement, Operations, Sales, Security, Compliance, and Technology teams on customized defense logistics solutions and customer engagements.
Translate operational constraints into clear guidance for commercial and customer-facing teams and educate internal stakeholders on defense market dynamics, compliance requirements, and emerging opportunities.
Manage staff, including training on SOP changes and new processes, monitoring productivity, and handling performance management and disciplinary issues.
Lead continuous improvement, quarterly business reviews, team meetings, and updates to SOPs based on performance and lessons learned.
Use TMS, BI dashboards, and RPA/BOT tools to improve efficiency.
Ensure the department meets operational KPIs and financial goals, including invoicing and variance policies, budget management, cost savings, and margin improvement.
Hire, onboard, train, coach, and mentor team members; support their growth and development.
Conduct regular one-on-one and team meetings, communicate department goals, review metrics and performance, and conduct appraisals and disciplinary actions as appropriate.
Perform other duties as assigned.