Global Shipping Manager - Intermodal

Job Title

Global Shipping Manager - Intermodal

Job Description

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of Vanderlande’s global shipping operations. You will have the mandate to build a new worldwide team, improve processes, drive efficiency, and elevate quality across all regions.

Your leadership will directly impact the success of our projects and the satisfaction of our customers, while offering you personal growth and achievement in a truly international environment.

What will you be doing?

As Global Shipping Manager, you will lead and transform Vanderlande’s worldwide regional shipping and forwarding teams. This newly created global role offers you the chance to build one cohesive team from regionally based groups around the globe, with headquarters in the Netherlands. You will be responsible for shaping the future of our global shipping operations, driving efficiency, and elevating quality across all regions.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Transformation

• Lead the transformation from regional teams into one global organization, establishing a common way of working, standardizing processes, and implementing best practices.
• Build and develop a global team of shipping managers and forwarding officers, responsible for arranging all transports of materials to project sites and between distribution centres.
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities, hold team members accountable for performance, and empower leaders and employees to make informed decisions.
• Develop talent and skills within the team, enabling autonomy while providing guidance and support.

Operational Excellence

• Define optimal transport networks and global routing set-up. Supervise shipments from distribution centres and directly from suppliers, with origins and destinations spanning every continent.
• Ensure all worldwide shipments are moved effectively, efficiently, and aligned with global demand schedules.
• Develop an adaptive and scalable shipment model that anticipates future business requirements.
• Make strategic decisions related to logistics, tariff implications, cost, and shipment mode volume/mix, integrating financial and operating plans with strategic objectives (e.g., ESG).
• Advise globally on logistics, customs, export compliance, and international trade topics from the sales phase through installation.

Stakeholder & Partner Management

• Act as a business partner for internal teams (e.g., global category management, global trade compliance, project managers) and external stakeholders, including customers and suppliers.
• Proactively manage expectations and provide customers with peace of mind by ensuring shipments are delivered smoothly on time, complete, and within budget.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Steer on KPIs, drive continuous improvement, and lead sustainability initiatives across the global shipping function using Lean principles.

Innovation & Digitalization

• Lead initiatives to implement advanced digital supply chain technologies (e.g., TMS) to enhance logistics visibility, efficiency, automate routine tasks and digital tools for real-time data analysis and decision-making.

Risk Management & Sustainability

• Develop and implement response plans for disruptive challenges in logistics, minimizing disruption and ensuring effective response.
• Foster a culture of sustainability within the supply chain team and integrate ESG considerations into logistics decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with environmental regulations and standards; monitor and report on ESG performance.

What do we ask from you?

• HBO/WO degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, or Operations.
• 10+ years’ experience in multiproduct global supply logistics management, including leading international teams.
• Proven track record in building and transforming multi-site organizations, with strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation, and communication skills across diverse cultures.
• Pragmatic, result- and metric-driven, and flexible, with a high sense of urgency to support teams where needed.
• Strong leadership qualities, able to inspire collaboration and performance across regions.
• Fluent in English; proficiency in Dutch or other languages is a plus.
• Willingness to travel frequently (25%) to connect with your globally spread team.

What we offer

We offer a position in an informal, international and professional working environment with a lot of scope for personal development.

This position offers a competitive salary range of € 7.000 to € 8.500 gross per month (excluding 8% holiday allowance).

On top of your fixed salary, you’ll receive the following secondary benefits:​

• 40 vacation days (20 statutory days and a flexible budget worth 20 days).
• Flexible working hours.
• A hybrid workplace (40% working from home and 60% in the office)
• A Health & Wellbeing budget worth €300 per calendar year
• Commuting allowance, including full reimbursement of travel by public transport.
• Working from home allowance.
• Collective pension scheme and discount on additional health insurance
• On-site company health centres with a gym, physiotherapists and occupational therapists
• A variety in Vanderlande Network communities and initiatives

Contact

Are you interested in this position? Please apply directly via our Workday vacancy link, including your CV and short motivation.

For further information about the role, you may contact Carlijn Kneepkens (Recruiter) via [email protected].

Please note: due to process compliance, we cannot process applications submitted via email.

Diversity & Inclusion

Vanderlande is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regards to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status.