Senior Manager, International Customs and Trade - #1132242

Key Responsibilities :

1. Global Customs Strategy & Compliance Framework

• Develop and implement a global customs strategy and execution roadmap aligned with the company’s overall international business strategy.

• Conduct in-depth analysis, interpretation, and early risk assessment of customs regulations, trade agreements, export controls, and sanctions regimes across destination countries.

• Establish and maintain a country-specific compliance database to support decision-making on manufacturing footprint selection and global supply chain design.

2. Customs Operations & Cost Optimization

• Oversee and coordinate end-to-end customs clearance operations across overseas manufacturing sites, ensuring efficient, compliant, and timely clearance of goods.

• Establish customs risk assessment and monitoring mechanisms, and lead the resolution of major clearance exceptions, customs audits, and investigations.

• Drive customs duty, VAT, and indirect tax planning initiatives, leveraging bonded programs, processing trade arrangements, and rules of origin to achieve sustainable customs cost optimization.

3. Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build, develop, and manage professional overseas customs teams, setting performance standards and enhancing overall team capability.

• Act as the company’s key external interface with customs authorities, ministries of commerce, and other relevant government agencies.

• Collaborate closely with procurement, finance, logistics, manufacturing, sales, and customer service teams to enable end-to-end process integration and ensure smooth international business operations.

4. Digitalization & Intelligent Customs Capabilities

• Lead or support the development and implementation of customs and trade management systems, driving declaration automation and data visualization.

• Utilize systems and data analytics to continuously promote standardization, simplification, and intelligent enhancement of customs processes.

Qualifications: Core Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or above; International Trade, Logistics, Law, or related disciplines are preferred.

• 5+ years of customs or trade compliance management experience within multinational manufacturing companies, including at least 3 years of people management experience.

• Experience building overseas customs frameworks from 0 to 1 is highly desirable.

• Strong expertise in customs regulations, trade policies, and practical operations across at least two major regions (e.g., Southeast Asia, North America, Europe).

• Proven track record in customs duty planning and tax optimization, with demonstrable successful cases.

Key Competencies

• Strategic compliance insight: Ability to anticipate regulatory trends and translate complex regulations into clear business strategies and risk control measures.

• Operational excellence & problem-solving: Strong capability to optimize complex processes and rapidly resolve customs-related issues under pressure.

• Influence & collaboration: Excellent cross-cultural communication skills with the ability to align internal and external stakeholders and drive consensus.

• Digital mindset: Deep understanding and hands-on experience in customs digitalization, automation, and data-driven operations.