Senior Fleet Manager

Organization Overview

Nourishing Hope, formerly known as Lakeview Pantry, is a dynamic Chicago nonprofit agency. Nourishing Hope has evolved to become more than solely a hunger relief organization. We provide food, social services such as job and housing assistance, and free mental wellness counseling with a growing team of licensed therapists. Founded in 1970, we strive to serve the needs of the whole person — with respect and dignity, always.

Nourishing Hope offers our neighbors nutritious food using a choice-based distribution model and access to life-changing social services including:

• Monthly food distribution and additional produce pickup through five different food access programs.
• Home delivery services for older adults, homebound neighbors and neighbors living with disabilities.
• Social services including case management, mental health counseling, job search support, domestic violence intervention, referrals and public benefits assistance (SNAP, healthcare, government forms) for anyone in need.

Nourishing Hope serves tens of thousands of people each year, providing more than 4 million meals through our programs, in addition to partnerships with other community organizations. This year, more than 7,000 low-income neighbors will also receive case management and social services.

Position Summary

The Senior Fleet Manager is responsible for managing Nourishing Hope drivers and vehicles, including driver hiring, training, route creation, dispatch support, vehicle selection, vehicle maintenance, and capturing key donation compliance data. This role is 100% on-site. 

Schedule and Locations

This is a full time on-site position reporting out of Nourishing Hope Headquarters, 1716 W. Hubbard in Chicago. 

Essential Job Functions

• Recruit, train, supervise and evaluate all staff and volunteer drivers.

• Train drivers by developing onboarding documentation and providing in person supervision for learning in vehicles. Conduct vehicle ride-alongs as needed for training and ongoing coaching and quality control. Ensure all driver licensing is compliant and up-to-date.

• Create driver schedules and daily routes ensuring Nourishing Hope food pickup and dropoff needs are met, including internal distribution, grocery store pickups, and other in kind donations, and where needed, support for online market and home delivery. Post routes in a timely fashion. Leverage software and process improvement to continuously add efficiency to routes and the route creation process.

• Provide on-call “Dispatch Support” during office hours and resolve ad hoc driver questions and donation partner issues, adjusting routes as needed.

• Manage maintenance/repairs for all vehicles, including preventive maintenance, ad hoc repairs, and servicing. Conduct regular inspections and audits of the fleet. Own vehicle maintenance budget and ensure expenditures are within budget while developing strategies to reduce cost. Maintain records of vehicle maintenance and costs.

• Provide ongoing coaching and mentoring to drivers, to monitor and assess their performance, identify, and resolve issues, and manage associated employee activities (e.g., performance reviews, pay adjustments, promotions/transfers).

• Create fleet strategy, identifying the number and type of incremental vehicles to add to the fleet to support program growth while maximizing efficiency.

• Oversee cleanliness of assigned vehicles: ensure that all pre-trip and post-trip vehicle maintenance and safety checklists are completed daily by drivers and any issues are reported immediately to the Senior Fleet Manager.

• Lead safety initiatives and oversee safety performance in person at Nourishing Hope facilities and on routes, including safety training, supporting investigation of accidents, and providing on-the-job coaching.

• Develop department objectives by managing staff and communicating with key cross-functional partners; plan and evaluate department activities.

• Collaborate with the Product Sourcing Coordinator to ensure that our in-kind donors' needs and schedules are being met, and work together to problem-solve any donation issues with these partners.

• Meet as needed with program staff, volunteer team, and warehouse team to collaborate across departments and solve any issues with food flow or scheduling.

• Learn, adhere to, and teach Nourishing Hope’s standards for food safety and quality.

• Ensure thorough collection of donation data by drivers; double-check data entry accuracy.

• Act as a backup for drivers as needed.

• Attend meetings and complete work as assigned for regular  and temporary cross-departmental working groups as well as departmental operations meetings.

Qualifications

Credentials

• HS Diploma or GED required. Associate’s degree or equivalent college courses preferred.

• Valid Class B Commercial Truck Drivers License (CDL) with air brake endorsement

Experience

• Minimum 5  year’s experience in fleet team management and fleet maintenance

• Minimum 3 years commercial truck driving experience

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite; Salesforce experience a plus.

• Experience using routing software and continuously improving route efficiency

• Understanding of truck and van maintenance and mechanics, including the ability to identify when major repairs are needed. Demonstrated history of delivering safety, reliability, and budget control in fleet maintenance

• Ability to set and monitor a budget

Physical Requirements

• Ability to operate a motor vehicle (van and Class B / C trucks) and sit in the vehicle for up to 8 hours per day.

• Ability to lift up to 100 pounds occasionally and up to 50 pounds frequently.

• Ability to lift, bend, crouch, reach.

• Visual acuity (with correction) to operate a motor vehicle (van).

Leadership, Communication, and Critical Thinking Skills

• Strong interpersonal verbal and written communications skills

• Good problem-solving, critical thinking and decision-making skills

• Exceptional organization, time management and multitasking abilities

• Keen attention to detail

• Proven success managing and supervising a team of drivers both staff and volunteers.

• Proven ability to work independently and as a member of a team.

• An understanding of, and belief in, the importance of food security for everyone

Background Check

Because we are a Medicaid provider all applicants who are offered employment with Nourishing Hope will be subject to a background screening. Offers of employment are contingent on the successful completion of a background screening conducted in accordance with Nourishing Hope policy and federal, state and local law.