Director of Business Analytics

Cedar Rapids, Iowa | On-site

A well-established, locally-owned transportation company in Eastern Iowa is seeking a strategic, hands-on leader to build and lead its Business Analytics function.

This newly created leadership position will shape how analytics, technology, and business insight support decision-making across the organization. Rather than inheriting an established department, you'll have the opportunity to build one-from strategy and infrastructure to the processes and capabilities that will support the company's long-term growth.

We're looking for someone who enjoys solving business problems, asking thoughtful questions, connecting information across the organization, and building practical solutions that create measurable business impact. This isn't a role focused on producing reports-it's about helping leaders make better decisions, improve performance, and build a stronger business.

What You'll Build

As Director of Business Analytics, you'll establish and lead a best-in-class Business Analytics function that supports the company's long-term growth.

Your work will focus on five key objectives:

• Develop and lead a scalable Business Analytics function that grows with the organization.
• Work at the intersection of data, people, and processes to improve visibility, accountability, and business performance.
• Equip Executive and Operations Leadership with trusted insights so they can spend more time working on the business rather than in the business.
• Establish a consistent cadence of accountability by delivering timely, reliable information that celebrates success, identifies opportunities, and supports informed decision-making.
• Provide Operations Leadership with the insights they need to make confident, high-quality business decisions.

How You'll Make an Impact

Working closely with leaders across the organization, you will:

• Identify trends, opportunities, and risks impacting business performance.
• Develop analytical models that improve network performance, fleet operations, pricing strategy, fuel performance, and long-term growth.
• Translate business questions into analytical initiatives with measurable outcomes.
• Turn complex information into practical, actionable recommendations that support decision-making.
• Help build a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and data-informed leadership.
• Evaluate current systems, processes, and technology while creating a roadmap for future analytics, automation, and business intelligence capabilities.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who has successfully solved similar business challenges and enjoys turning insights into action.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in business analytics, operational analytics, finance, logistics, supply chain, transportation, or related business functions.
• Experience leveraging multiple business systems, data sources, and reporting environments to support operational and strategic decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business questions into analytical solutions that drive measurable business outcomes.
• Strong analytical thinking, business acumen, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to influence across departments and lead cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience with business intelligence and visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, Looker, or similar platforms.

Preferred Experience

• Transportation, trucking, logistics, manufacturing, supply chain, or another operationally intensive industry.
• Experience building analytics capabilities, KPIs, reporting, or business intelligence functions from the ground up.
• Experience identifying opportunities for operational improvement, process optimization, cost reduction, and profitability enhancement through analytics.
• Experience working with ERP systems, Transportation Management Systems (TMS), fleet management systems, or similar enterprise platforms.
• Experience with SQL, databases, automation, AI, or predictive analytics.
• Experience working in entrepreneurial, privately held, or growth-oriented organizations.

Current Technology Environment

You'll work with operational, financial, fleet, customer, recruiting, and transportation data across multiple business systems and third-party platforms. One of your first opportunities will be evaluating how these systems can better work together to improve visibility, strengthen decision-making, and support future growth.

Who Will Thrive Here

Success in this role starts with character, capability, curiosity, and adaptability.

You'll thrive here if you're defined not by a specific title or industry, but by how you think. You ask thoughtful questions, take ownership, enjoy solving problems, and aren't afraid to step into ambiguity.

You're as comfortable walking through an operation and talking with managers as you are analyzing data, facilitating discussions, or presenting recommendations to executive leadership. You'll enjoy this opportunity if you're energized by building something meaningful rather than stepping into a fully developed environment. If you're excited by creating new capabilities, improving how a business operates, and helping leaders make better decisions, we'd love to hear from you.

Compensation

• Target starting base compensation: $100,000-$125,000.
• Compensation may be adjusted for candidates whose experience, leadership capability, and overall fit align with the broader vision for this role.