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First Student

Provides student transportation services for districts

Location Manager

Vehicle Operation & DeliveryConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeNormal, IL, USA$95k /yrIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

  • A four-year degree or equivalent experience is required.
  • A high school diploma or equivalent is required.
  • At least 3 years of management experience, including 1 year managing a small location or equivalent management responsibility, is required.
  • At least 5 years of operations experience is required.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, is required.
  • Technology literacy for managing operations, including approved smart technology, applications, encrypted drives, and shared drives, is required.
  • Solid oral and written communication skills and strong presentation skills are required.
  • Strong interpersonal skills when dealing with customers, parents, and the community are required.
  • Solid financial and budgetary skills, including the ability to interpret and analyze profit-and-loss statements, budgets, and forecasts, are required.
  • A strong business background in financial, strategic, and organizational analysis is required.
  • The ability to work in a fast-paced team environment is required.
  • The ability to train, coach, and provide leadership is required.
  • English proficiency is required.
  • The incumbent must be able to move about the office and between floors, use standard office equipment, access filing systems and cabinets, and communicate effectively in person or by telephone.

Responsibilities

  • Provide operational oversight, day-to-day management, customer interface, and required internal and external reporting and compliance for a specific location.
  • Represent company management in dealings with school officials on passenger management, route scheduling, billing, charter activities, driver issues, safety, fleet maintenance, and logistics.
  • Directly supervise exempt and non-exempt staff and manage financial performance, including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, retention, performance development and management, teammate relations, salary adjustments, and termination of direct reports.
  • Complete required online learning courses personally and ensure location employees complete their required courses.
  • Coach and develop location employees to support company initiatives and location and regional goals.
  • Identify resource needs, including driver shortages, in relation to location needs and customer requirements.
  • Stimulate local commercial and charter growth.
  • Develop, prepare, and analyze the location budget and financial controls.
  • Ensure safe and timely transportation of passengers to and from their destinations.
  • Manage operational expenses to optimize cost per bus.
  • Manage contractual services, including administrative functions, information systems, parts purchasing, and inventory control, and ensure purchases follow company processes and policies.
  • Lead day-to-day location activities supporting operations, safety, maintenance, dispatch, fleet and facility management, payroll, routing and scheduling, accounts receivable and accounts payable, and related functions.
  • Maintain positive relationships within and outside the location, including with senior management and customer contacts, and prioritize work assignments and functional team resources as needed.
  • Oversee customer contract compliance and management with a focus on customer retention, including staff, driver, and vehicle requirements; key performance indicators; billing and budget management; contract-specific technologies; and required training.
  • Build and maintain relationships with employees, local school officials, parents, and the community, and resolve their concerns through fair and consistent recognition or corrective discipline.
  • Communicate with customers by telephone, electronically, and in face-to-face meetings; respond to inquiries, identify and escalate priority issues, evaluate information to resolve inquiries and complaints, follow up, and develop action plans for customer retention.
  • Ensure services remain within budget and implement action plans to improve operational efficiency.
  • Manage the location budget, including budget and forecast development, preparation, and analysis; identify budget variances and provide timely and accurate operational and financial reporting when requested.
  • Maximize charter revenue and support the assistant general manager in identifying or bidding on local commercial growth opportunities.
  • Build and maintain a strong location team through recruiting, onboarding, training, coaching, team building, and succession planning.
  • Prepare or participate in staff development plans for functional employees and assess the skills and skill levels needed to achieve location objectives.
  • Monitor location compliance with federal, state, local, contractual, and company policies and procedures.
  • Ensure employees follow safety practices and applicable regulations, and manage injury and collision claims.
  • Ensure compliance with security policies and procedures and involve appropriate leadership from the assistant general manager, senior director of security, and human resources when security issues occur.
  • Maintain company vehicles, facilities, inventories, tools, and equipment, and ensure facilities and buses meet safety, regulatory, and environmental standards, including idling-time standards.
  • Set accurate scheduled route hours and minimize route drive times and mileage while meeting contractual and regulatory requirements.
  • Assess resource needs, problems, and trends; plan accordingly; track and address labor variances; use standby drivers efficiently; and minimize driver labor schedules.
  • Partner with corporate recruiting on driver-shortage strategies and with compensation teams to understand local wage markets.
  • Administer and execute local and national collective bargaining agreement terms, ensure compliance, investigate and defend union grievances, meet with union officials as required, prepare for and participate in union negotiations with regional leadership and corporate labor relations, and maintain productive relationships with local union officials as applicable.
  • Drive employee engagement and recognition and champion location-sponsored community or employee events.
  • Promote new company initiatives and support the assistant general manager in implementing changes and championing them locally.
  • Mentor Location Manager I employees at other locations as needed.
  • Perform other responsibilities as required or requested.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience with timekeeping and payroll systems is preferred.

About the Company

First Student

Provides student transportation services for districts

First Student provides school bus transportation services across North America, operating a large fleet and handling millions of daily student rides. Its core offering is safe, reliable bus transportation for school districts, delivered through close partnerships with districts and highly trained drivers. The product works by coordinating scheduling, routing, and operations across a network of more than 48,000 vehicles in 42 U.S. states and 8 Canadian provinces/territories to ensure students get to and from school each day. The company differentiates itself through strong district partnerships, responsiveness to changing district needs, a focus on safety and trained staff, and a scalable, organized operations model that can serve many districts efficiently. The goal is to support education by providing a dependable transportation solution that starts and ends each school day safely for every student.

Company size
10,001+
Company stage
Not listed
Total funding
Not listed
Headquarters
Cincinnati, OH
Founded
2021

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