Global Senior Manager, Dangerous Goods Transportation

The Role: 

The Global Senior Manager, Dangerous Goods Transportation is a subject matter expert responsible for growing GM’s global Dangerous Goods Transportation program and building organizational capabilities to support the growth of electric vehicles. The role leads a team that interprets and applies regulatory standards to drive proactive compliance solutions, including interaction with regulators and key stakeholders. The leader is expected to stay current on business, regulatory, and legislative developments and anticipate relevant opportunities and challenges to GM’s business activities. 

The team 

The Dangerous Goods Transportation team is made up of professionals with expertise in the safe and compliant transportation of dangerous goods globally and across multiple transportation modes. The team develops and implements standardized procedures to mitigate risks associated with hazardous materials transportation, and works with regional teams, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders to maintain a uniform approach that promotes safety and minimizes environmental impact across GM. 

  What You’ll Do (Responsibilities):   

• Build and maintain the vision for the DGT global organization and recruit, develop, and retain high-performing DGT professionals. 

• Represent GM in industry group meetings and forums that include government representatives.  

• Provide subject matter leadership on applicable regulatory frameworks, including country-specific and mode-specific requirements for air, ocean, road, and rail transportation. 

• Manage GM’s team of global DGT professionals and plan and administer department strategies, goals, objectives, operations, and budgets. 

• Lead the development, review, and updating of DGT documentation, training, and transportation operations procedures, ensuring alignment with requirements and industry best practices. Ensure personnel responsible for dangerous goods activities are qualified and supported. 

• Build and sustain a governance model that includes regional procedures, steering committees, compliance monitoring, and clear role accountability. 

• Partner with regional technical SMEs and site teams to implement procedures, strengthen controls, and ensure local execution aligns with GM global policy and regulatory obligations. 

• Develop strategy to execute and implement global DGT procedures and compliance practices, maintaining a globally harmonized approach to policy, procedures, and operating standards. 

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with engineering, manufacturing, safety, supply chain, legal, and other internal and external stakeholders. 

• Support teams cross-functionally to identify DGT opportunities in their programs. 

• Collaborate, as necessary, with GM’s dealer network, joint ventures, suppliers, and third-party logistics providers on DGT matters. 

• Communicate DGT policies to stakeholders within the organization, driving comprehension and adherence. 

• Stay current on emerging trends, best practices, and developments in DGT through continuous professional development, industry conferences, and participation in trade groups. 

Top candidates will demonstrate:  

• Deep expertise in Dangerous Goods Transportation , with a track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives or projects and driving measurable improvements within their function. 

• Expertise in translating regulatory and technical requirements  into a practical, enterprise-wide operating framework that supports safety, compliance, and business continuity. 

• Ability to influence across functions and regions  without direct authority, aligning stakeholders around risk-based priorities and consistent execution. 

• Experience building a high-performing dangerous goods organization  by strengthening expertise, engagement, and visibility of dangerous goods transportation.  

• Proven to promote a culture  in which compliance, operational discipline, and continuous improvement are embedded into day-to-day transportation activities. 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills ; able to interpret risk data, prioritize actions, and drive timely remediation in a dynamic environment 

• Strategic orientation and learning agility , with the ability to quickly adapt to new information, environments, and priorities while constructively challenging the status quo within their scope. 

• Proven people leadership , including mentoring, motivating, and eliciting high performance from direct reports and cross-functional partners. 

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)  

• Bachelor’s degree required

• 5+ years of experience leading a DGT or similar compliance team. 

• Experience engaging with regulators. 

• Certified Hazardous Materials Manager credential. 

• Certified Dangerous Goods Professional or Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor credentials. 

• Experience working in a global context and navigating cultural nuances. 

• Understanding of regional variations in regulatory requirements and operational practices. 

• Proven track record of people leadership experience directly leading teams with a minimum of 4-5 people, driving results, and personal accountability with oneself and team   

• Demonstrated expertise in international and domestic regulations governing the transportation of dangerous goods, including experience with UNECE, U.S. DOT / PHMSA, FAA, ADR, ICAO, NOMs, TDG, and IMO.  

• Knowledge of national and local regulations related to environmental waste management,  

• Demonstrated success operating in a multi-stakeholder environment, setting expectations, aligning stakeholders, and following through on commitments. 

• Strong project/program management capability, driving initiatives to completion under tight deadlines and competing priorities. 

• Strong verbal and written communication, with the ability to distill complex issues into clear, concise messages for diverse audiences. 

• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, with a track record of leading and influencing cross-functional and global teams. 

• High comfort with ambiguity and autonomy, making sound decisions with incomplete information and appropriate escalation. 

• Strong drive for results and change leadership, effectively leading others through challenges to deliver measurable outcomes. 

• Demonstrated continuous improvement and innovation mindset, consistently challenging and improving processes within their scope. 

• Proven people leadership skills, including performance management, coaching, feedback, and talent development. 

• Willingness to travel approximately 30–50% of the time. 

Preferred Qualifications (What Gives You a Competitive Edge)   

• Automotive, aerospace, or heavy industrial experience  

• Crisis management and emergency response expertise to ensure swift, coordinated action that mitigates risk and minimizes impact. 

• Deep knowledge of dangerous goods or hazardous materials transportation regulations and their application in a complex, global operating environment. 

• Experience leading compliance, policy, governance, or operational risk programs across multiple sites, regions, or business units. 

• Strong background in cross-functional leadership, audit/regulatory engagement, and implementation of standard work, procedures, and training systems. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead through complexity, communicate clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, and drive enterprise adoption of new requirements and practices.