Lead Driver

Gourmet Gorilla•Chicago, IL

7d•Onsite

About The Position

Gourmet Gorilla delivers fresh, healthy meals to daycares and schools across Chicagoland. The Lead Driver is a hands-on leader on the logistics team, responsible for being able to run any route in any truck and supporting operations through driver training, route coverage, ownership of a focus area, and continuous improvement projects. The role sets a standard for fleet performance and professionalism and offers a growth path toward Fleet Coordinator. The position is based in Chicago, Illinois (Goose Island), and is full-time and hourly at $23.00 per hour, DOE. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Requirements

Valid driver's license and clean driving record.
Delivery or route driving experience.
Willingness to drive any route and vehicle, including a box truck; no CDL is required, and training is provided.
Solid computer skills, including comfort with routing and dispatch software, data entry and tracking, Slack, email, and smartphone apps.
Reliable and punctual, with the ability to lead by example.
Ability to lift over 75 lbs and work in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Leadership experience.
Training experience.
Food delivery experience.

Responsibilities

Run any route in any truck, covering PTO, call-outs, and route changes while maintaining on-time, in-full delivery standards.
Support continuous improvement projects for routes, load-outs, and operational processes.
Dispatch and update routes in Routific, record route and audit data, and communicate with the team through Slack and email.
Train and onboard new drivers on routes, trucks, delivery standards, Routific, and Slack.
Act as the first point of contact for road issues, triage them, and escalate relevant information to the Fleet Coordinator.
Follow food safety and temperature compliance standards on every route.
Perform daily product audits and report findings the same day.
Communicate professionally and promptly on Slack throughout the shift.
Own an assigned focus area, such as fleet and maintenance or product and load-out.
For a fleet and maintenance focus area, conduct vehicle audits, handle maintenance tasks, track the fleet, and manage parts and tools inventory.
For a product and load-out focus area, ensure load-out accuracy, check milk dates, and keep load-out under 30 minutes per truck.