General Manager, Transportation Services
Calgary, Alberta Posted: July 17, 2026 Salary Range: $110,000 - $150,000 CAD annually
About the Role
A growing paratransit service provider is seeking an experienced General Manager to lead day-to-day business for our paratransit service in Calgary. This is a senior, multidimensional role spanning operations leadership, labour relations, people management, and project delivery. The successful candidate will be a key partner to executive leadership, particularly given the company’s evolving unionized environment and an active roster of infrastructure and process improvement initiatives.
This role requires someone who can operate independently across three distinct disciplines:
1. operational excellence in specialized transit service delivery.
2. sound labour relations judgment.
3. disciplined project management execution.
Key Responsibilities
Operations Leadership
- Oversee daily paratransit operations, including scheduling, dispatch, on-time performance (OTP), and fleet/vehicle allocation
- Monitor and address driver performance issues, including OTP shortfalls, in a fair and consistent manner.
- Ensure equitable distribution of vehicles (including hybrid fleet) across drivers and Routes
- Supervise dispatch staff, including coaching on communication tone, professionalism, and documentation standards
- Identify and close gaps in operational processes, such as end-of-shift reporting and review procedures
Labour Relations & People Management
- Serve as a primary point of contact for labour relations matters, working closely with legal counsel on strategy, tone, and communication approach.
- Interpret and apply the collective agreement; manage grievances through to resolution.
- Support and help lead collective bargaining processes, including preparation, communication planning, and follow-through.
- Manage discipline processes fairly and consistently, ensuring documentation meets legal and organizational standards.
- Support workforce stability initiatives, including onboarding and retention strategies for drivers and dispatchers.
- Navigate matters related to union certification and representation with sound judgment, in coordination with legal counsel.
Project Management
- Lead and drive to completion capital and infrastructure projects (e.g., facility/building projects) on defined timelines.
- Own implementation of new systems, tools, and SOPs (including AI-enabled process improvements), from planning through rollout and adoption.
- Establish clear milestones, accountability structures, and status reporting for all active Projects.
- Proactively surface risks, delays, and resourcing needs to leadership rather than allowing projects to stall
Business Development & Growth
- Identify and lead initiatives to grow and strengthen the business, including new service opportunities, contract expansion, and operational efficiencies that support growth.
- Bring forward proposals and business cases for growth initiatives, not just execute on direction from above.
Training
- Own the training function for drivers, dispatchers, and operational staff — onboarding, ongoing skills development, and compliance training.
- Build and maintain training materials and programs that support consistent service quality and reduce early-tenure attrition.
Customer Service & Stakeholder Relationships
- Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with Calgary Transit Access and other key external stakeholders.
- Champion service excellence and customer service standards across the operation.
- Act as a primary relationship owner for external partners, representing the company professionally and proactively.
Succession & Continuity
- Document processes, decisions, and institutional knowledge to support organizational continuity.
- Build capacity within the operations team so that routine functions can be delegated appropriately.
Ownership & Independent Execution
- Operate independently and take full ownership of the role, with minimal direct supervision thinking and acting like a business owner rather than waiting for direction.
- Take initiative in identifying problems and driving improvements across all areas of the Operation.
- Track and measure all operational KPIs on an ongoing basis, with a mandatory expectation of meeting and exceeding baseline KPI targets, not simply maintaining them.
- Prepare strong, clear, and useful executive management reports on a regular basis to keep leadership informed without requiring leadership to chase for updates.
- Prepare and present presentations to executive leadership and external stakeholders as required.
Qualifications
Required
- 5+ years of senior management experience within paratransit, specialized transit, or a closely related transportation service (ideally with Canadian municipal transit authorities).
- Demonstrated experience in labour relations, ideally within a unionized or newly unionizing environment (collective agreement interpretation, grievance handling, bargaining support).
- Proven project management experience, with a track record of taking projects from planning to completion on schedule.
- Strong people management skills, including performance management, coaching, and discipline.
- Excellent judgment and discretion in handling sensitive HR and labour matters
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, adaptable across formal (email, legal correspondence) and informal (text/WhatsApp) channels.
- Demonstrated ability to track, measure, and drive performance against KPIs, with a results-oriented mindset focused on exceeding targets rather than simply meeting them.
- Confident presenting to executive leadership and external stakeholders, with strong presentation development and delivery skills.
Preferred
- PMP or equivalent project management certification.
- Experience working directly with legal counsel on labour relations strategy.
- Familiarity with ATU or similar transit union structures.
- Experience with SOP development and AI/technology-enabled process improvement initiatives.
- Experience managing external stakeholder relationships, ideally with municipal transit authorities (e.g., Calgary Transit Access).
- Track record of identifying and leading business growth initiatives.
What We’re Looking For
Above all, we’re looking for someone who takes ownership — someone who volunteers information and action rather than waiting to be prompted, follows through on commitments without requiring repeated check-ins, and treats operations, labour relations, business development, and stakeholder management as core to the role rather than as competing priorities. This person should be comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy, exercising the judgment and initiative of someone who runs the operation as if it were their own business, and communicating upward through clear, regular executive reporting rather than needing to be asked for status updates.
Reporting Structure
Reports to executive leadership. Works closely with legal counsel on labour relations matters and coordinates across operations, dispatch, and driver teams.
- We are an equal opportunity employer.
Pay: $110,000.00-$150,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
