Regional Trade Compliance Leadership | Global Purchasing

JOB SUMMARY

The Global Trade Compliance Manager provides tactical leadership for trade compliance within an assigned region as part of the Global Purchasing organization. The role manages regional import and export compliance activities, classification and valuation controls, special trade programs, customs broker performance, government filings and inquiries, supply chain security requirements, and trade compliance data. The manager partners with Purchasing, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Tax, Legal, IT, logistics providers, customs brokers, and site teams to support compliant and efficient cross-border operations.

Consistent with the B10 Manager level, this role leads a single team or department function, manages resources and priorities to meet established objectives, supports work procedures and policies, maintains budget adherence, and resolves complex operational issues using sound judgment. Final level, reporting title, direct-report scope, and jurisdiction-specific requirements should be validated by Compensation, HR, Legal, and the hiring leader.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Regional Trade Compliance Leadership

•  Serve as the regional operational point of contact for customs and trade compliance and coordinate priorities across countries, sites, and business teams within the assigned region.

•  Translate global trade compliance requirements into regional work plans, controls, procedures, training, and monitoring activities.

•  Lead assigned employees or functional resources, establish priorities, monitor work quality, provide coaching, and escalate material compliance risks.

•  Partner with Global Purchasing and regional leaders to integrate trade compliance requirements into sourcing, supplier, logistics, and operational decisions.

Import, Export and Classification Compliance

•  Oversee tariff and export-control classification processes, including HTS and ECCN data governance across ERP, trade compliance, and broker systems.

•  Coordinate import and export documentation, customs declarations, valuation, country-of-origin, assists, reconciliation, recordkeeping, and other required data elements.

•  Manage requirements involving participating government agencies and coordinate accurate declarations with responsible internal functions.

•  Support customs rulings, requests for information, powers of attorney, liquidated-damages matters, and other government or broker correspondence with Legal and appropriate subject-matter experts.

•  Monitor compliance with applicable regional export-control, sanctions, customs, and trade requirements and escalate potential violations under established protocols.

Special Programs and Supply Chain Security

•  Lead regional administration of free trade agreements and other special trade programs, including qualification support, declarations, documentation, and customer requests.

•  Oversee supply chain security activities and required filings for applicable programs, including CTPAT-related controls where relevant to the region.

•  Support duty drawback, duty-leakage reduction, reconciliation, and other approved duty optimization or recovery initiatives.

•  Maintain roadmaps, action plans, evidence, and readiness activities for applicable customs and supply chain security programs.

Broker, Systems and Operational Oversight

•  Establish and monitor performance standards for customs brokers and other trade service providers; conduct reviews and coordinate corrective actions.

•  Maintain accountable ownership or administration for assigned government and trade systems, such as ACE, CARM, or other jurisdiction-specific platforms.

•  Conduct or coordinate internal audits of customs entries, classifications, valuation, origin, broker activity, and recordkeeping; track findings through closure.

•  Coordinate compliant handling of cross-border customer returns, pro forma documentation, and other nonroutine shipment scenarios.

•  Identify process, data, system, and training improvements that reduce compliance risk and improve operational efficiency.

Financial Management and Reporting

•  Coordinate timely payment and reconciliation of duties, taxes, fees, and related customs obligations with Finance and Accounts Payable.

•  Partner with Finance on import-related accruals, forecasts, landed-cost analysis, and budget tracking.

•  Support landed-cost modeling and make-versus-buy analysis by providing trade, duty, and customs inputs.

•  Prepare regional compliance metrics, risk summaries, audit results, duty trends, and action-plan updates for leadership.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Required Education

•  Bachelor’s degree in international trade, business, supply chain, logistics, finance, law, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Required Experience

•  Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in customs, import/export, global trade compliance, logistics, or a related field.

•  Experience managing trade compliance processes, customs brokers, audits, classifications, valuation, special trade programs, and government interactions.

•  Experience coordinating work across sites and functions in a regional or multi-country environment.

•  Experience leading employees, projects, or functional resources and managing priorities within established budgets and deadlines.

Required Skills and Capabilities

•  Working knowledge of customs and trade compliance requirements relevant to the assigned region, including classification, valuation, origin, recordkeeping, import controls, and export controls.

•  Ability to interpret requirements, evaluate risk, resolve complex operational issues, and determine when escalation or legal review is required.

•  Strong data, audit, root-cause analysis, process improvement, supplier-management, and project-management skills.

•  Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to train teams and present compliance findings and recommendations to leadership.

•  Proficiency with Microsoft Office and experience using ERP and trade compliance systems; SAP experience is preferred where applicable.

Preferred Qualifications

•  Advanced degree or specialized education in customs, trade compliance, law, logistics, or supply chain.

•  Relevant customs broker license, trade compliance certification, or jurisdiction-specific professional credential.

•  Experience with automotive, manufacturing, aftermarket, or another high-volume cross-border supply chain.

•  Experience with programs or systems applicable to the assigned region, which may include IMMEX, CTPAT, OEA, Annex 24 and 30, ACE, or CARM.

SCOPE AND DECISION AUTHORITY

•  Provides tactical leadership for a regional trade compliance team or department function and may operate as a high-level individual contributor where direct reports are not assigned.

•  Manages resources and priorities to deliver quality work within established objectives, procedures, budgets, and deadlines.

•  Makes day-to-day compliance and operational decisions using applicable regulations, company standards, precedent, and sound judgment.

•  Recommends corrective actions, process changes, supplier actions, and resource needs; material legal, financial, policy, or nonpreapproved commitments are escalated for approval.

•  Coordinates with Legal and designated compliance leaders on potential violations, disclosures, investigations, government responses, and other sensitive matters.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Primarily office-based work requiring regular use of a computer, phone, and standard office equipment. The role may require participation in site, warehouse, broker, or logistics reviews. Any role-specific physical requirements should be confirmed by HR and the hiring manager and assessed through the appropriate accommodation process.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Works in a regional, cross-functional environment with interaction across Global Purchasing, sites, customs brokers, logistics providers, suppliers, internal functions, and government agencies. Work location, work model, schedule, regional travel, and time-zone expectations are to be confirmed.

OTHER DUTIES

Additional duties, responsibilities, and activities may be required.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability