Vice President of Cargo

Job Title: Vice President of Cargo

Location: Chicago, IL

We’re looking for a senior cargo leader to take full ownership of an existing project cargo portfolio during a critical leadership transition.

What you’ll do

• Take full ownership of an existing portfolio of project cargo accounts

• Protect and stabilize approximately $1.2M in annual gross profit

• Act as the senior client-facing lead for complex and high-risk project cargo movements

• Own execution decisions for non-standard shipments and exception scenarios

• Create, document, or refine SOPs for complex cargo movements when needed

• Partner closely with an established operations team to ensure execution integrity

• Lead knowledge transfer and transition with the outgoing VP

• Coordinate with agent partners on routed cargo business

• Ensure uninterrupted service, pricing consistency, and client confidence

Requirements

8+ years of experience in freight forwarding, project cargo, or specialized logistics
Senior-level ownership of complex cargo accounts or programs
Proven ability to manage and retain high-value client relationships

Strong understanding of project cargo execution, risk management, and exception handling
Ability to operate confidently in non-standard, high-pressure logistics scenarios
Experience creating or enforcing SOPs for complex operations
Comfortable acting as final decision-maker on execution and client matters
Strong written and verbal communication skills with executive presence
Ability to lead through transition and maintain stability during leadership change

Profile fit

This role can be filled by either:

• A sales-leaning leader with strong client ownership and sufficient operational depth

• An operations-leaning leader with deep execution expertise and client-facing confidence