Director, Transportation- Ocean Operations
Job Description
About the Role
Reporting into the Head of Inbound & Franchise Operations, this role is responsible for leading day-to-day execution of Gap Inc.’s global ocean network beginning at vessel departure, including shipment movement, carrier coordination, destination port execution, and delivery into Gap Inc.’s global destination network.The Director, Ocean Operations leads a lean team and is accountable for delivering service, cost, and operational performance on a daily basis, ensuring product flows reliably through the network and issues are identified and resolved quickly. This role owns execution from vessel departure through destination port, terminal operations, and drayage planning and execution, ensuring efficient container recovery and flow to transload facilities or direct-to-DC delivery.
This role is required to align closely and partner with upstream origin operations to ensure continuity from booking through vessel departure, including working through competing priorities and driving fact-based decisions across teams to maintain network flow. This role serves as a critical operating extension of network leadership, supporting carrier relations and performance, budget execution, and lane-level service outcomes, while translating broader strategy into consistent day-to-day results.
The leader will work closely with cross-functional partners across Origin Operations, Franchise Operations, Domestic Transportation, Procurement, Finance, and Technology, ensuring aligned decision-making and execution across the end-to-end network.
What You'll Do
Plan and execute operational strategies across the supply chain functions to deliver service against micro and macro industry pressures
Lead day-to-day execution of international ocean shipments from vessel departure through destination port and drayage delivery, ensuring product moves to plan
Oversee shipment movement, exception management, and resolution of delays, disruptions, and service failures across the network
Take direct ownership of issues impacting service or flow, ensuring clear accountability through resolution
Lead and develop a small team responsible for shipment tracking, coordination, and issue resolution, maintaining clear ownership of daily execution
Own day-to-day carrier performance across ocean trade lanes, holding partners accountable for service commitments including schedule reliability, capacity, and execution
Drive carrier performance follow-up and escalation, resolving issues tied to rolled cargo, capacity constraints, and operational variability
Partner with Procurement and Origin leadership to support carrier decisions, allocation, and performance management
Oversee destination port and terminal execution, including container availability, dwell, and cargo velocity, ensuring efficient flow through port operations
Own drayage planning and execution, ensuring timely container recovery and delivery to transload facilities or direct-to-DC locations
Manage detention, demurrage, and port-related costs as core drivers of network performance and cost control
Analyze performance at the lane, service, and port-pair level, identifying issues and driving routing, recovery, and service improvements, including improvements in transit time reliability
Manage execution against budget, balancing cost, service, and flow outcomes, and identifying opportunities for cost improvement
Leverage dashboards and visibility tools to identify issues early, drive action, and improve milestone compliance and shipment visibility
Monitor ocean market conditions, including capacity shifts, congestion, and disruptions, and translate into clear operational actions
Proactively communicate risk events across the network, providing clear signals to downstream operations
Work cross-functionally to maintain alignment from origin through downstream execution, ensuring consistent decision-making and flow across the network
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Based in Northern Kentucky (Cincinnati area) — in-office presence required
- Regular interaction with global partners across multiple time zones
- Travel required to support port, carrier, and key partner relationships – as needed
- Ability to support non-traditional hours as operational performance requires
Who You Are
10+ years of experience in ocean transportation, international logistics, or freight operations
Deep expertise in ocean execution, including carrier operations, vessel schedules, port/terminal operations, and drayage
Proven experience managing carrier performance and driving service outcomes in a complex network
Strong understanding of global trade lanes, routing, and ocean network dynamics
Experience managing cost, service, and operational performance, with clear understanding of tradeoffs
Highly analytical — comfortable working at the lane, shipment, and exception level to drive decisions
Strong bias for action — works issues directly and stays close to the work
Effective working across teams and influencing peers to drive outcomes
Clear, direct communicator who can articulate issues, actions, and decisions without overcomplication