Operations Director (Railway and Multimodal Logistics)

Location:

Kazakhstan (with responsibility for Azerbaijan, Turkey, China, and Europe)

Reporting to:

Group CEO / Group COO

Job Purpose:

We are looking for an experienced Operations Director to lead and optimise our railway and multimodal logistics operations across Central Asia and beyond. This role will cover rail, road (domestic and international), sea (Caspian and global), air freight, and project cargo. The Director will ensure efficient coordination across regional offices and continuous improvement of operational processes, digital tools, and team performance.

Key Responsibilities:

Transport Operations Management

- Manage multimodal transport services: rail freight, road transport (FTL/LTL), maritime, air freight, and intermodal solutions.
- Ensure optimal planning, routing, scheduling, and utilisation of assets and capacity.

Sea Freight & Caspian Shipping

- Oversee vessel planning, port coordination, and chartering in both the Caspian Sea and global routes.
- Ensure compliance with international maritime standards and optimise port turnaround time.

Air Freight

- Establish partnerships with air carriers to secure cargo capacity and cost-effective routing.
- Oversee handling efficiency and service levels at air terminals.

Road Transport (Domestic & International)

- Supervise fleet performance and cross-border trucking operations.
- Ensure compliance with customs and road regulations, including oversize and project cargo.

Warehousing & Terminal Management

- Manage storage and consolidation hubs across the region.
- Ensure warehouse operations meet KPIs on efficiency, accuracy, and utilisation.

Project Cargo & OOG

- Lead execution of oversized cargo shipments including permitting, routing, and multimodal integration.

Tender Management & Post-Mortem Analysis

- Coordinate tender submissions with commercial teams.
- Conduct in-depth post-mortem analysis of unsuccessful bids to refine strategy and competitiveness.

International coordination

- Supervise operations in Kazakhstan and China and coordinate cargo flow managed by Azerbaijan, Turkey, China, and Europe cargo shipment in/out of Central Asia.
- Harmonise performance standards and compliance across countries.

Operational Excellence & Digitalisation

- Drive implementation of TMS, WMS, BI, and other logistics tech platforms.
- Promote lean processes and data-driven decision making.

Performance Monitoring

- Track operational KPIs across all logistics segments.
- Report on cost, service quality, utilisation, and delivery performance.

Compliance & Risk Management

- Ensure compliance with local laws, HSE standards, ESG requirements, and international trade regulations.
- Prepare mitigation plans for operational, legal, and geopolitical risks.

Stakeholder Relations

- Maintain strong relations with clients, vendors, authorities, and infrastructure partners.

Team Leadership

- Build and manage a multicultural operations team.
- Promote accountability, collaboration, and continuous development.

Qualifications:

- Bachelor’s degree in Logistics, Supply Chain, or Business. Master’s preferred.
- 10+ years in international logistics or transport operations, including senior leadership roles.
- Deep knowledge of multimodal logistics, tenders, and transport compliance.
- Strong technical skills with TMS/WMS/ERP platforms and BI tools.
- Fluency in English and Russian; Turkish or Chinese is a plus.

We Offer:

- A strategic group-level leadership position.
- Dynamic, international working environment.
- Opportunity to lead innovation and growth.
- Competitive remuneration package.