Operations Manager

Lead freight ops in a well-established NZ forwarder. Hands-on, full-scope role with autonomy, variety, and room to drive real change.

This is a great opportunity to step into an operational leadership role with a long-standing, New Zealand-owned freight forwarder. The business is well-established, customer-focused, and known for delivering tailored logistics solutions across air, sea, customs, and 3PL.

We're looking for a hands-on leader who’s as comfortable running the day-to-day as they are identifying smarter ways of working. This role is suited to someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, understands freight operations inside-out, and can lift both process and team performance.

Skills & Experience:

• A solid freight forwarding background across import/export and multi-modal operations
• Experience using CargoWise to support operational flow and team productivity
• Confident managing teams, coordinating workflows, and overseeing end-to-end freight processes
• Commercially aware, with the ability to link operational decisions to business outcomes

Behaviours & Attributes:

• Practical leadership: Calm under pressure, leads by example, and builds team trust
• Process improvement mindset: Always looking for small wins that deliver meaningful gains
• Customer-focused: Service quality is always front of mind, even in complex situations
• Proactive and adaptable: Comfortable challenging legacy systems and finding better ways forward

Motivators & What You’ll Be Part Of:

• A company that values autonomy and backs operational leaders to make real change
• A leadership team that’s open to new ideas and committed to doing things better
• A stable customer base, a supportive internal culture, and space to grow within the role
• Variety day to day—working across people, process, systems, and service

We believe diversity is vital to a healthy, high-performing workplace. That’s why we’re committed to delivering a psychologically safe recruitment experience. One that uncovers and celebrates your strengths. If traditional hiring processes don’t bring out your best let us know. We want you to shine, not shy away.
  
Next Steps
  
Apply now - you'll need to hold New Zealand citizenship, residency, or a valid work visa.

If this role isn’t a perfect match, we still encourage you to apply or register your details on our website. If this isn’t quite the right fit, another role might be.

This ad may have been written with help from AI, but your application will be reviewed by a real human, Liam:

I'm passionate about helping people and strive to make the recruitment process as smooth and positive as possible. When off the clock, I enjoy keeping active through rugby, social sports and whatever the outdoors has to offer. Otherwise, you’ll see me around a coffee or a beverage with family or mates anytime I can.

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