Terminal Manager

Forward Air Services • Austin, TX

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Terminal Manager leads all aspects of multimodal transportation and forwarding terminal operations, providing strategic and day-to-day leadership to support the safe, compliant, and efficient movement of freight from inbound receipt through final delivery. The role ensures operational performance meets contractual, service, financial, and regulatory commitments across supported modes, and drives workforce planning, multimodal capacity management, cost control, and terminal productivity through operational discipline and data-driven decision-making. The Terminal Manager partners with transportation providers, carriers, customers, and internal teams to support seamless multimodal handoffs and service delivery.

The role oversees terminal transportation flows spanning ground, air, ocean, and rail. It owns terminal P&L performance, leads workforce and capacity planning, manages capital expenditures tied to approved investments, and drives initiatives and KPIs for productivity, quality, velocity, safety, compliance, cost, and on-time performance. It also develops employees, manages employee relations, ensures compliance with applicable regulations, and promotes continuous improvement through data and structured problem-solving.

This is a 100% on-site position, with travel for related meetings and events. The role requires commuting to and working at the facility and may require operation of applicable material handling equipment, including forklifts and other site-specific equipment.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED/equivalent required.
• Valid forklift certification/licensure, or ability to obtain it before operating equipment, required.
• Ability to operate applicable material handling equipment such as sit-down or stand-up forklifts, reach trucks, order pickers, pallet riders, or other specialized equipment as required by the site.
• At least 5 years of leadership experience in multimodal transportation, 3PL, contract logistics, or operational environments involving ground, air, ocean, or rail.
• Strong working knowledge of multimodal transportation processes, carrier operations, freight flow management, and terminal/linehaul coordination.
• Strong functional understanding of TMS, WMS, ERP systems (such as McLeod, SAP, or Oracle), and reporting/data tools.
• Proven ability to manage operational KPIs, labor planning, transportation capacity, and cost performance.
• Experience developing and using dashboards, scorecards, and transportation KPI reporting to manage terminal performance.
• Ability to create, track, and interpret safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity metrics across multiple transportation modes.
• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.
• Proficiency with Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 applications (including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), and web conferencing tools such as Teams, Zoom, or Webex.
• Comfort commuting to and working in a 100% on-site setting, with travel for related meetings and events.

Nice To Haves

• Undergraduate degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Transportation, Logistics, or a related field.
• Training in Lean, Six Sigma, DOT compliance, IATA/IMDG familiarity, or similar.
• Additional equipment certifications depending on facility needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead terminal operations across ground, air, ocean, and rail transportation flows from inbound receipt through final delivery.
• Ensure service, financial, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements are met across transportation modes.
• Coach operations and support teams to promote consistent execution, operational discipline, and multimodal process accuracy.
• Own terminal P&L performance, including labor, variable costs, period expenses, and cost-to-serve across modes.
• Lead workforce planning, volume forecasting, transportation capacity alignment, and cross-mode resource allocation based on network and customer demand.
• Monitor terminal operational and financial performance, identify variances, and implement corrective actions.
• Manage terminal capital expenditures tied to approved investments, terminal improvements, and multimodal handling needs.
• Sponsor and lead initiatives to improve productivity, quality, velocity, safety, and multimodal cost performance.
• Establish and manage terminal KPIs aligned with safety, regulatory compliance, on-time performance, mode accuracy, cost, and productivity.
• Lead regular operational, transportation, and performance reviews to assess results and identify improvement opportunities.
• Manage employee relations through communication, coaching, performance feedback, and team development.
• Ensure robust safety practices and compliance with DOT, OSHA, TSA, FMC, IATA, rail, and other mode-specific regulations.
• Collaborate with carriers, drayage providers, freight forwarders, brokers, linehaul partners, and regulatory authorities to support smooth multimodal operations.
• Promote continuous improvement using data, structured problem-solving, and transportation analytics.
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: High school or GED