Senior Manager, Workforce Excellence & Safety Compliance

Zūm

15d

About The Position

ZÅ«m is a rapidly expanding Series E startup backed by industry leaders Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, Spark Capital, and GIC, with a bold mission to transform the stagnant school transportation industry. Operating in over 15 states across the United Statesâwith flagship hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattleâwe are actively extending our reach to the East Coast and Midwest regions. As a technology-driven company, we deploy cutting-edge solutions to manage and operate school district transportation systems while also launching our own charter platform and developing proprietary SaaS offerings. Additionally, we are spearheading a nationwide initiative to electrify school transportation fleets, simultaneously supporting local utilities by feeding much-needed energy back into the grid. We have been recognized as CNBC 50 disruptor, Financial Times 500 fastest growing companies, Fast Company World Changing Ideas. This is a greenfield opportunity to build world-class workforce development and compliance systems from the ground up. While existing processes are in place across our 18 locations in 8 states, you'll have the scope and autonomy to reimagine, standardize, and implement new approaches that scale with our growing operations. You'll be responsible for approximately 3,500 employees, including 2,500 CDL drivers, across our expanding footprint. As we continue to grow year-over-year through both market expansion and new location launches, your systems and processes will be foundational to our operational excellence. This is an individual contributor role within the Operations Strategy Program Management Office, with dotted-line relationships to training and safety staff at each location. You'll have the autonomy to drive change while collaborating cross-functionally with Field Operations, HR, Recruiting, Product, and Engineering teams.

Requirements

7â10+ years in operations, project management, workforce development, safety/compliance, process improvement, or quality roles
Proven track record of building and implementing scalable systems, SOPs, or training/compliance programs across multiple locations or business units
Experience designing processes from scratch with limited templates or existing infrastructure
Strong analytical skills with the ability to define metrics, build reporting frameworks, and translate data into actionable recommendations
Excellent communication and cross-functional leadership skills, with experience influencing without direct authority
Comfort with ambiguity and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, build-and-improve environment
Willingness to travel 30â50% to ZÅ«m markets for audits, training sessions, and stakeholder engagement

Nice To Haves

Experience in tech-enabled logistics, transportation, or high-scale operations environments
Lean Six Sigma certification, PMP certification, or similar process improvement credentials
Direct experience with CDL training programs, FMCSA/DOT compliance, or school transportation operations
Experience managing dotted-line relationships or influencing geographically distributed teams

Responsibilities

Build & Standardize Workforce Development Programs
Design and implement standardized onboarding, training, certification, and re-certification programs for 2,500+ CDL drivers and 1,000+ non-CDL driver and attendants across 18 locations and growing
Create and refine ZÅ«m's home-grown driver certification pipeline to improve time-to-credential, pass rates, and overall training quality
Develop curriculum, SOPs, competency frameworks, and evaluation tools that can scale across current and future markets
Drive Safety Compliance & Regulatory Excellence
Ensure consistent compliance with FMCSA, DOT, and state-specific transportation requirements across all ZÅ«m markets
Build and maintain systems for managing DQFs, Clearinghouse checks, MVR monitoring, and drug/alcohol testing programs
Create audit-ready documentation standards and lead internal/external compliance reviews
Lead Operational Excellence & Process Innovation
Identify and address process gaps across hiring, onboarding, training, and compliance; design and implement scalable solutions that work across diverse markets
Lead cross-functional projects that reduce friction, improve conversion rates, accelerate time-to-hire, and strengthen workforce quality
Partner with location-based training staff to ensure consistent execution while allowing for necessary local adaptation
Work closely with Field Ops, HR, Recruiting, Safety/Training, Product, and Engineering to ensure seamless execution and data accuracy
Establish Quality Frameworks & Performance Metrics
Define and own KPIs for training quality, workforce readiness, safety compliance, and operational effectiveness
Build reporting frameworks that surface actionable insights and drive continuous improvement
Use data to identify trends, recommend systemic improvements, and measure the impact of workforce development initiatives on service quality and safety outcomes