Driver Recruiter — Drayage

Join Grane Transportation's GIX drayage team in Chicago and Houston for a Driver Recruiter role that centers on stability, merit, and a clear path to impact. Grane operates as a 100-year-old, family-owned carrier with a diversified Grane platform that includes drayage, asset trucking, brokerage, and warehousing. This onsite opportunity in Chicago offers a competitive salary range of USD 52,488 to 63,211 per year, plus a full benefits package (401(k) with match, dental, health, and paid time off). You will own the full recruiting lifecycle for Class A CDL drivers and owner-operators, championing speed to hire and 90-day retention while positioning GIX as the carrier of choice.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a continuous pipeline of qualified Class A CDL drivers and owner-operators across the Chicago and Houston drayage markets.
• Source candidates through cold calling, referrals, driver job boards (DAT, Truckers Report, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, CDLLife), social media, port and terminal networking, ATS databases (Tenstreet or equivalent), and industry events.
• Develop and maintain relationships with CDL schools, owner-operator networks, and carrier-side referral partners in both markets.
• Track sourcing channel performance and reallocate effort toward channels producing the highest-quality hires.
• Conduct thorough phone screens and follow-up interviews; use these conversations to identify red flags before candidates consume orientation resources.
• Review MVRs, PSP reports, employment verifications, and background checks against DOT, FMCSA, and GIX-specific qualification standards.
• Confirm TWIC card status, port credential eligibility, equipment ownership condition (for owner-operators), and market-specific requirements for Chicago intermodal ramps and the Port of Houston.
• Document candidate disposition in the ATS in real time so operations, safety, and orientation teams have full visibility.
• Articulate the GIX value proposition — equipment, lanes, settlement structure, home-time, dispatcher quality, and the stability of a 100-year-old family-owned carrier — in a way that resonates with experienced drayage drivers.
• Tailor the pitch to the candidate, recognizing that an owner-operator Houston port has different priorities than a company driver pulling Chicago rail.
• Drive urgency in decision-making and shorten the gap between offer and orientation start date.
• Coordinate orientation scheduling with operations, safety, and dispatch in both markets.
• Stay engaged with new drivers through the first 30 to 90 days to identify retention risks and feed insights back to leadership.
• Partner with operations leadership to translate driver feedback into program improvements — pay structure, equipment, dispatch communication, lane mix.
• Maintain a daily and weekly recruiting scorecard covering applications, phone screens, interviews, qualified candidates, hires, time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and 30/60/90-day retention.
• Report directly to GIX leadership on pipeline health, market conditions, and competitive intelligence in Chicago and Houston.

Requirements

• 5+ years of drayage-specific driver recruiting experience (not substitutable by general OTR or LTL recruiting).
• Previous CDL driving experience, enabling credible conversations with drivers about chassis, ramps, port turn times, detention, and home time.
• Proven recruiting track record with documented results in driver hires, time-to-fill, and 90-day retention.
• Aggressive sense of urgency and the ability to compress the time from first contact to offer and seat.
• Detail orientation with the ability to identify issues on the phone and disqualify candidates before orientation.
• Strong ability to read people and determine candidate fit early in conversations.
• Sales mindset with the capability to position GIX as a premier drayage carrier and close.
• Working knowledge of DOT and FMCSA driver qualification requirements, MVR and PSP review, drug and alcohol testing protocols, and TWIC credentialing.
• Proficiency with applicant tracking systems (Tenstreet preferred), Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook), and standard sourcing tools.

Technologies

• Tenstreet
• Indeed
• ZipRecruiter
• DAT
• Truckers Report
• CDLLife
• ATS (Tenstreet or equivalent)
• Microsoft Office
• Excel
• Outlook

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct recruiting experience in both the Chicago and Houston drayage markets.
• Existing network of owner-operators and company drivers in either or both markets.
• Prior experience recruiting for a McLeod-based carrier.
• Bilingual English/Spanish

Performance Expectations — First 12 Months

• First 30 days: Onboard with operations, safety, and dispatch in both markets. Audit the current recruiting pipeline, ATS, sourcing channels, and orientation hand-off process. Deliver a written recruiting plan to leadership.
• First 90 days: Reduce average time-to-fill versus current baseline. Establish a consistent weekly scorecard. Begin filling open seats in both Chicago and Houston.
• First 12 months: Meet hiring targets for both markets, achieve 90-day retention above carrier benchmark, and build a sustainable pipeline that does not rely on a single sourcing channel.

Why GIX

• 100 years of operating history. Family-owned, financially disciplined, and built for the long term.
• Diversified Grane platform across drayage, asset trucking, brokerage, and warehousing for stability and storytelling.
• Direct access to senior leadership, making the recruiter a strategic partner.
• Competitive base salary plus performance-based incentives tied to hires and retention.
• Full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with match, and PTO.

Experience

• Drayage-specific driver recruiting: 5 years (Required)
• CDL driving: 1 year (Preferred)

Language

• Spanish (Preferred)

Location

Chicago, IL 60644 (Preferred)

Work Location

In person

Pay

USD 52,488 - 63,211 per year