Senior Sea Import Operator

Altius Talent | Freight Forwarding Recruitment; Hamburg; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Altius Talent | Freight Forwarding Recruitment is seeking a Sea Freight Import professional in Hamburg to take full ownership of shipments for a growing international forwarder. You will manage enquiries through to delivery and invoicing, handling customs and documentation with direct client contact.

The role emphasizes independent management of sea freight import processes (A–Z), with export experience beneficial but not required, and a strong focus on proactive customer communication.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in Sea Freight Import
• Ability to manage shipments from enquiry to delivery and invoicing
• Fluent German with good English communication

Responsibilities

• Manages complete Sea Freight Import process from A to Z for assigned customers
• Coordinates customs clearance and documentation
• Prepares quotations, rates and freight calculations
• Liaises with shipping lines, carriers and overseas agents and handles invoicing and profitability checks
• Owns each shipment from start to finish and communicates proactively with customers

Job description

Sea Freight (Senior) Operations Specialist – Import

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Salary: Up to €70,000 per year

The Opportunity

We are working with an established and growing international freight forwarder in Hamburg that is looking to strengthen its Sea Freight team with an experienced Sea Freight (Senior) Operations Specialist – Import.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced freight forwarding professional who wants genuine ownership of their shipments and customers.

The business is looking for someone who understands the complete Sea Freight Import process from A–Z – not someone who has only been responsible for one small part of the forwarding process.

You will manage your own customers, communicate with them directly and take responsibility for their shipments from initial enquiry through to final delivery and invoicing.

Your Responsibilities

You will independently manage the complete Sea Freight Import process, including:

• Handling Sea Freight Import shipments from A–Z
• Managing your own portfolio of customers
• Acting as the main point of contact for customers throughout the shipment
• Coordinating customs clearance and relevant customs documentation
• Preparing quotations, calculations and customer rates
• Buying, negotiating and comparing freight rates
• Communicating with shipping lines, carriers and overseas agents
• Preparing and checking shipping documentation
• Organising on-carriage and final delivery
• Completing invoicing and checking shipment profitability
• Monitoring shipments and proactively updating customers
• Identifying and resolving operational issues when things don't go according to plan
• Taking full ownership of each shipment through to completion

Sea Freight Export experience would be beneficial but is not essential. The priority is finding someone with strong Import knowledge who can confidently manage the entire process.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone with:

• Strong experience within Sea Freight Import
• Experience handling shipments independently from A–Z
• Good knowledge of customs processes and documentation
• Experience preparing quotations and freight calculations
• Confidence dealing directly with customers
• Experience working with shipping lines, carriers and overseas agents
• A strong understanding of the commercial and operational side of freight forwarding
• Fluent German and good English communication skills
• Sea Freight Export experience would be advantageous but is not required

The Personality

For this position, personality and mentality are just as important as technical experience.

We are looking for someone who takes ownership.

When a problem occurs, the mentality should not be:

"That's not my responsibility."

Instead, we're looking for someone who thinks:

"This is my customer and my shipment. I'll take care of it."

You should be:

• Confident and comfortable making decisions
• Open and communicative
• Proactive and solutions-focused
• Commercially aware
• Comfortable taking responsibility
• Strong when communicating directly with customers
• Genuinely hands-on in your approach

This is not a position for someone looking to move away from operations into a management title. You may operate at Senior level, but you should still enjoy being involved in the day-to-day forwarding process and taking responsibility for your own shipments.

What's On Offer

• Salary of up to €70,000
• Senior-level responsibility within Sea Freight Import
• Ownership of your own customers and shipments
• A hands-on role with genuine autonomy
• Opportunity to join an established international freight forwarding environment
• A business that values personality, initiative and ownership alongside technical experience
• A quick and straightforward recruitment process for the right candidate

If you're an experienced Sea Freight Import professional in Hamburg who enjoys managing the complete forwarding process and taking real ownership of your customers and shipments, we'd be interested in speaking with you.