Job purpose:

The Transport Manager is the senior operational leader of the company’s entire transport and logistics function, responsible for the safe, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective movement of goods across all routes operated by the company. Reporting directly to the Operations Director, this role carries full accountability for fleet performance, driver management, logistics administration, cold-chain transport integrity, fuel cost management, and regulatory compliance across a diverse fleet of heavy goods vehicles including 10T to 20T ordinary trucks and refrigerated (reefer) trucks.

The Transport Manager leads a team of approximately 55 people. This is a role that demands equal capability in operational management and strategic leadership: on one hand, making sound decisions in fast-moving, pressure-filled operational situations; on the other, building the systems, disciplines, and team capability that make the transport function increasingly reliable, safe, and cost-efficient over time.

A critical dimension of this role is the interface between transport operations and the cold chain. With reefer trucks forming a significant part of the fleet, the Transport Manager must ensure that cold-chain integrity — from vehicle readiness and temperature compliance to driver awareness and documentation accuracy — is maintained without exception on every refrigerated dispatch. Any failure in this area carries direct consequences for product quality, customer relationships, and regulatory compliance.

The Transport Manager is the primary transport authority within the company, representing the function at management level, providing the Operations Director with reliable management information, and driving continuous improvement in transport performance, safety culture, and cost management.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Transport Leadership & Planning

• Develop and implement an annual Transport Operations Plan aligned to the company’s business objectives — covering fleet utilization targets, route planning, driver headcount requirements, maintenance investment, fuel budgets, and logistics capability development.
• Provide the Operations Director with weekly transport performance reports, budget variance analyses, and strategic recommendations on fleet investment, route optimization, and operational improvement initiatives.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement initiatives across the transport function — reducing cost per kilometer, improving fleet availability, enhancing driver safety performance, and strengthening cold-chain logistics capability.
• Contribute to business planning processes by providing accurate transport capacity assessments, cost projections, and logistics feasibility inputs for new routes, new customers, or new product lines

Fleet Management Oversight

• Provide strategic direction and daily oversight to the Fleet Coordinator, ensuring fleet availability targets are consistently met and preventive maintenance schedules are adhered to across all vehicles.
• Approve vehicle maintenance priorities, major repair expenditures, and fleet replacement recommendations in consultation with the Maintenance Manager and Operations Director.
• Monitor fleet utilization rates, vehicle availability trends, and maintenance cost per vehicle — intervening where performance falls below target and implementing corrective actions.
• Oversee telematics programme management — reviewing Telematics Officer reports, acting on driver behaviour trends, and ensuring GPS fleet monitoring data is used to drive measurable improvements in safety and efficiency.
• Ensure all vehicles in the fleet are always legally compliant — licensed, insured, UNRA fitness certificate current, and axle-load compliant — with zero tolerance for non-compliant vehicles operating on public roads

Driver & Team Leadership

• Lead, motivate, and develop the transport team — setting clear performance expectations for the Fleet Coordinator and Logistics Administrator, conducting structured performance reviews, and ensuring the team has the skills, tools, and support required to perform at a high level.
• Establish and enforce driver standards covering road safety, vehicle care, load handling, coldchain compliance, fuel management, and professional conduct — personally championing a safety-first culture throughout the team.
• Manage significant disciplinary and grievance matters escalated from the Fleet Coordinator, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant resolution in coordination with Human Resources.
• Oversee driver recruitment, onboarding, and retention — working with HR to attract qualified candidates and reduce driver turnover through effective people management practices.
• Ensure driver welfare is appropriately managed: legal rest periods between shifts, roadworthy vehicles, appropriate personal protective equipment, and access to emergency support while on the road

Logistics Administration & Customer Delivery

• Oversee the Logistics Administrator’s function — ensuring dispatch coordination is accurate, timely, and well-communicated to drivers, customers, and the warehouse team.
• Review and approve transport documentation standards — waybills, delivery manifests, proof of delivery, and customer consignment notes — always ensuring documentation accuracy and traceability.
• Collaborate with the Sales and Commercial team to align transport capacity with order volumes, manage peak season logistics pressures, and resolve customer delivery escalations at management level.
• Oversee cold-chain logistics documentation for all reefer dispatches — ensuring temperature logs, chain of custody records, and customer delivery conditions are correctly maintained and filed.

Fuel, Cost & Budget Management

• Own the transport operational budget — monitoring monthly expenditure against approved budgets for fuel, maintenance, tyres, driver costs, and logistics overheads, and delivering the budget within approved limits.
• Implement and oversee robust fuel management controls — reviewing fuel consumption reports from the Fleet Coordinator, investigating variances flagged by the Telematics Officer, and taking decisive action on suspected pilferage, inefficiency, or fraud.
• Identify and implement cost reduction opportunities across the transport function — route optimization, fuel efficiency improvements, tyre life management, and preventive maintenance cost control.
• Prepare and submit weekly transport cost reports to the Operations Director, providing clear variance explanations and forward cost projections.

Safety, Compliance & Regulatory Management

• Ensure full compliance with all applicable Ugandan transport regulations — Uganda Traffic and Road Safety Act, UNRA vehicle fitness requirements, axle-load regulations, and any applicable food safety or cold-chain transport standards.
• Lead the organization’s road safety programme — implementing driver safety training, managing speed and behaviour compliance through telematics, investigating all accidents and near-misses, and driving a measurable reduction in road safety incidents over time.
• Manage all vehicle accident claims, third-party incidents, and traffic authority interactions professionally, in coordination with insurance providers and Legal/HR as required.
• Maintain a transport compliance register covering all vehicle documentation, driver permit renewals, insurance certificates, and fitness inspections — ensuring no compliance lapse occurs.
• Conduct periodic transport safety audits across depots, loading points, and vehicle operations — identifying gaps and implementing corrective measures.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Coordinate daily with the Warehouse / Cold Store Supervisor to align vehicle dispatch schedules with loading readiness, cold-chain handover procedures, and inbound/outbound logistics timing.
• Liaise regularly with the Maintenance Manager on fleet maintenance scheduling, workshop capacity constraints, major repair decisions, and fleet investment planning.
• Engage with the Procurement team on fuel supply agreements, tyre contracts, and transport consumables to ensure cost-effective supply and uninterrupted operations.
• Provide management-level transport input into business planning, capital budgeting, and organisational development processes as requested by the Operations Director

Education:

For a Ugandan-trained professional, the following qualifications are required or preferred:

Minimum Academic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Transport Management, Business Administration, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field from a recognized Ugandan institution — Makerere University, Makerere University Business School (MUBS), Uganda Management Institute (UMI), Kyambogo University, or an accredited equivalent.
• A Postgraduate Diploma or Master’s Degree in Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration (MBA), or Transport Management is a strong advantage at the senior management level.

Professional / Technical Training (Preferred):

• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT Uganda) — at Member or Fellow level — is strongly preferred and demonstrates professional standing in the transport and logistics discipline.
• Certification in Fleet Management, Supply Chain Management, or Transport Operations from a recognized professional body (CILT, APICS, CILSCM, or equivalent).
• Training in Uganda Traffic and Road Safety Act requirements, UNRA vehicle licensing and fitness regulations, and axle-load control — essential for managing legal compliance across the fleet.
• Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) management training, particularly covering road transport safety, driver welfare, and incident investigation.
• Cold-chain logistics awareness training — covering temperature-controlled transport requirements, food safety obligations, and chain of custody documentation for refrigerated consignments.
• Project or operations management training — e.g., Prince2, PMP, or equivalent — is an advantage for managing fleet investment projects and transport improvement programmes.
• Computer literacy: advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) is mandatory; experience with fleet management software, TMS, or ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Sage) is a strong advantage

Skills and Experience:

Minimum Experience:

• At least 7–10 years of progressive experience in transport, fleet management, or logistics operations — with a minimum of 3–5 years in a management or supervisory role overseeing a team and a fleet of commercial vehicles.
• Demonstrated experience managing a heavy goods vehicle fleet (trucks of 7.5 tons GVW and above) in Uganda or the East African region.
• Proven track record of managing large, diverse frontline transport teams — drivers, logistics staff, and workshop personnel.
• Experience managing transport operations within a food distribution, FMCG, agro-processing, coldchain logistics, or similar perishable goods environment is a strong advantage.
• Experience managing transport budgets, fuel cost controls, and maintenance cost reporting at operational management level.
• Familiarity with GPS/telematics fleet management systems and the use of vehicle tracking data to improve driver performance, reduce fuel consumption, and enhance safety.

Technical Skills:

• In-depth knowledge of heavy goods vehicle fleet management — utilization optimization, preventive maintenance coordination, fuel management, and roadworthiness compliance.
• Sound understanding of cold-chain transport logistics — reefer truck operations, temperature monitoring, cold-chain documentation, and food safety compliance requirements.
• Competency in transport cost management — budget preparation, monthly variance analysis, costper-kilometer/cost-per-ton calculations, and fuel consumption benchmarking.
• Working knowledge of Uganda’s transport regulatory environment — traffic law, UNRA licensing, axle-load control, and driver permit requirements.
• Ability to produce high-quality management reports, presentations, and operational analyses for senior leadership

Leadership & Operational Skills:

• Proven ability to lead, develop, and hold accountable a multi-tier team across operational, administrative, and technical functions.
• Strong performance management capability — setting targets, conducting reviews, managing underperformance, and recognizing achievement.
• Ability to manage and resolve complex employee relations issues — misconduct, grievances, and disciplinary matters — fairly and in compliance with Ugandan employment law.
• Strong stakeholder management skills — able to build productive relationships with the Operations Director, peer managers, customers, regulatory authorities, and transport contractors

Attitude and Motivation:

The ideal candidate must demonstrate the following personal attributes:

• Ownership Mentality: Treats the transport function as their own — takes personal pride in fleet performance, team behaviour, cost results, and safety outcomes. Does not look upward for direction on things within their authority to resolve.
• Safety as a Personal Value: Does not treat road safety and driver welfare as a compliance exercise — genuinely believes that getting every driver home safely is the most important outcome of every operational day. Visibly champions this belief across the team.
• Commercial Discipline: Understands that every kilometer driven, every litre of fuel consumed, and every hour of vehicle downtime has a cost — and manages accordingly, always seeking to improve efficiency without compromising safety or service quality.
• Decisive Under Pressure: When fleet crises, customer escalations, or team performance issues arise, steps up — makes clear decisions, communicates with authority, and resolves problems without waiting to be told what to do.
• High Standards, Consistently Applied: Holds the fleet coordinator, logistics administrator, and drivers to high standards every day — not just when senior management is watching. Understands that culture is what happens when the manager is not in the room.
• Collaborative Partner: Recognises that the transport function cannot succeed in isolation — actively builds and maintains strong working relationships with the Maintenance Manager, Warehouse team, Sales team, and Finance without being prompted
• Data-Informed Decision Maker: Uses telematics data, fuel reports, maintenance records, and logistics KPIs to understand what is really happening in the operation — and uses those insights to make better decisions and drive improvement.
• Transparent & Honest: Reports results to the Operations Director as they are — including failures — and comes with a plan to fix them. Never manages upward perceptions at the expense of operational reality.
• People Developer: Invests genuinely in the Fleet Coordinator, Logistics Administrator, and the wider team — providing feedback, creating development opportunities, and building the bench strength of the transport function over time.
• Resilient & Energised: Transport operations are demanding, unpredictable, and rarely contained in office hours. The ideal candidate finds energy in the complexity of the role and brings consistent professionalism regardless of operational conditions.

Competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate the following BPIL High Performance Behaviours:

• Common purpose
• Open communication
• Setting and Achieving Targets
• Sense of Urgency & Agility
• Accountability
• Collaborate Effectively
• Result-Driven Mindset
• Trust & Mutual Respect
• Customer Focused
• Innovation & Continuous Learning
• Sense of Belonging

• Develop and implement an annual Transport Operations Plan aligned to the company’s business objectives — covering fleet utilization targets, route planning, driver headcount requirements, maintenance investment, fuel budgets, and logistics capability development.
• Provide the Operations Director with weekly transport performance reports, budget variance analyses, and strategic recommendations on fleet investment, route optimization, and operational improvement initiatives.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement initiatives across the transport function — reducing cost per kilometer, improving fleet availability, enhancing driver safety performance, and strengthening cold-chain logistics capability.
• Contribute to business planning processes by providing accurate transport capacity assessments, cost projections, and logistics feasibility inputs for new routes, new customers, or new product lines
• Provide strategic direction and daily oversight to the Fleet Coordinator, ensuring fleet availability targets are consistently met and preventive maintenance schedules are adhered to across all vehicles.
• Approve vehicle maintenance priorities, major repair expenditures, and fleet replacement recommendations in consultation with the Maintenance Manager and Operations Director.
• Monitor fleet utilization rates, vehicle availability trends, and maintenance cost per vehicle — intervening where performance falls below target and implementing corrective actions.
• Oversee telematics programme management — reviewing Telematics Officer reports, acting on driver behaviour trends, and ensuring GPS fleet monitoring data is used to drive measurable improvements in safety and efficiency.
• Ensure all vehicles in the fleet are always legally compliant — licensed, insured, UNRA fitness certificate current, and axle-load compliant — with zero tolerance for non-compliant vehicles operating on public roads
• Lead, motivate, and develop the transport team — setting clear performance expectations for the Fleet Coordinator and Logistics Administrator, conducting structured performance reviews, and ensuring the team has the skills, tools, and support required to perform at a high level.
• Establish and enforce driver standards covering road safety, vehicle care, load handling, coldchain compliance, fuel management, and professional conduct — personally championing a safety-first culture throughout the team.
• Manage significant disciplinary and grievance matters escalated from the Fleet Coordinator, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant resolution in coordination with Human Resources.
• Oversee driver recruitment, onboarding, and retention — working with HR to attract qualified candidates and reduce driver turnover through effective people management practices.
• Ensure driver welfare is appropriately managed: legal rest periods between shifts, roadworthy vehicles, appropriate personal protective equipment, and access to emergency support while on the road
• Oversee the Logistics Administrator’s function — ensuring dispatch coordination is accurate, timely, and well-communicated to drivers, customers, and the warehouse team.
• Review and approve transport documentation standards — waybills, delivery manifests, proof of delivery, and customer consignment notes — always ensuring documentation accuracy and traceability.
• Collaborate with the Sales and Commercial team to align transport capacity with order volumes, manage peak season logistics pressures, and resolve customer delivery escalations at management level.
• Oversee cold-chain logistics documentation for all reefer dispatches — ensuring temperature logs, chain of custody records, and customer delivery conditions are correctly maintained and filed.
• Own the transport operational budget — monitoring monthly expenditure against approved budgets for fuel, maintenance, tyres, driver costs, and logistics overheads, and delivering the budget within approved limits.
• Implement and oversee robust fuel management controls — reviewing fuel consumption reports from the Fleet Coordinator, investigating variances flagged by the Telematics Officer, and taking decisive action on suspected pilferage, inefficiency, or fraud.
• Identify and implement cost reduction opportunities across the transport function — route optimization, fuel efficiency improvements, tyre life management, and preventive maintenance cost control.
• Prepare and submit weekly transport cost reports to the Operations Director, providing clear variance explanations and forward cost projections.
• Ensure full compliance with all applicable Ugandan transport regulations — Uganda Traffic and Road Safety Act, UNRA vehicle fitness requirements, axle-load regulations, and any applicable food safety or cold-chain transport standards.
• Lead the organization’s road safety programme — implementing driver safety training, managing speed and behaviour compliance through telematics, investigating all accidents and near-misses, and driving a measurable reduction in road safety incidents over time.
• Manage all vehicle accident claims, third-p