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Salary: USD 180,000 - 220,000 / annual
Via Transportation is seeking a Director of Strategy & Operations to lead the West Coast regional portfolio. This is a significant P&L leadership role with direct responsibility for managing Field Operations Managers initially, expanding to oversee General Managers and Operations Managers as the region scales.
You will own regional P&L outcomes including revenue, cost per ride, labor productivity, and margin improvement. Key responsibilities include setting and executing regional operating strategy, ensuring safe and reliable service across a growing portfolio of markets, and driving operational excellence across the region.
The West region is in high-growth mode, launching new markets, expanding existing contracts, and introducing new service types. You will lead through scale and ambiguity, develop strong frontline leaders, and partner effectively with transit agency stakeholders, commercial teams, and central functions.
Regional leadership duties include leading and coaching your team, running consistent operating rhythms, building leadership depth through hiring and development, and fostering a culture of safety and compliance. You will own regional P&L outcomes in partnership with Finance, set and track KPIs (service reliability, on-time performance, seat availability, safety, driver staffing, vehicle readiness, customer experience), and drive root-cause problem solving on underperforming markets.
Strategy and growth responsibilities involve translating regional priorities into actionable market strategies, leading the region through new service types and operating models, prioritizing resources across markets during launches and constraints, and representing Operations in cross-functional strategy discussions.
Stakeholder management is critical: you will serve as a senior operational counterpart to transit agency leadership, build trust through transparent reporting and proactive communication, and navigate complex regulatory and contractual environments. Cross-functional collaboration with Commercial, Enablement, Service Design, Safety, Fleet, HR, and Finance is essential to align operational capacity with growth and product roadmap.
Required qualifications: 10+ years operational leadership experience, ideally with P&L responsibility and a mix of consulting and operating roles. Proven track record in high-growth or transformation environments, scaling teams, launching new business lines, or integrating acquisitions. Strong operational fluency in people-intensive, regulated, 24/7 businesses with comfort in labor planning, safety culture, and compliance. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, analytical problem-solving ability, and comfort operating in ambiguity. Bachelor's degree required. Willingness to travel extensively across West Coast (~25%, higher during launches).
