Head of Customs Compliance

Princes Limited; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food production company in Liverpool is seeking a Head of Customs Compliance. This pivotal role requires deep knowledge of customs regulations and extensive leadership experience in managing global trade compliance programs. The successful candidate will formulate customs procedures and represent the company to regulatory bodies. Ideal applicants will hold a degree and have over 10 years of leadership experience, including familiarity with the food and beverage sector and budget management. This role is hybrid, offering competitive compensation and benefits.

Benefits

Competitive Salary

Cash Car Allowance

25 days Annual Leave plus Birthday off

14.5% Pension

Flexible Working

Private Medical Insurance

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in a leadership role managing diverse teams.
• Extensive knowledge of Customs, EU procedures and legislation.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual Import/Export strategy for business optimisation and growth.
• Formulate group-wide customs procedures and policies.
• Represent the company with industry and government bodies.

Skills

Deep knowledge of customs regulations

Food & Beverage sector experience

Proven leadership in managing global trade compliance

Experience of annual budget management

Education

Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

Tools

SAP

Job description

Vacancy Name: Head of Customs Compliance

Employment Type: Permanent

Country: United Kingdom

Location: Liverpool

Business Area: Operations

Workplace Type: Hybrid

About Princes

The Princes Group has over 7 employees with offices and production sites in the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, France and Mauritius. Princes manufactures different food and drink products responsibly sourced and enjoyed by consumers every day. None of this would be possible without striving to be an employer of choice, where our colleagues are proud to represent our business.

Job Purpose

Reporting into the Chief Supply Chain Officer as a key member of the Supply Chain Leadership Team, the Head of Customs Compliance is responsible for setting the Group Import/Export strategy to enable sustainable business growth aligned to the Corporate vision and purpose. This role shapes the future ways of working across geographic regions for the flow of cross‑border movement of goods across a supply network of more than 20 production sites, a trusted network of ingredients suppliers and a diverse customer base, with the intent of delivering competitive advantage to Princes Group PLC. The successful candidate will be a specialist in this sector as well as demonstrating leadership in cross‑functional collaboration aligning with Sales, Technical, Manufacturing, IT, Legal and Supply Chain functions while building high‑performing global teams that drive a digitally enabled supply chain.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Cash Car Allowance
• 25 days Annual Leave plus Birthday off
• 14.5% Pension – 5% employee opt‑in / 9.5% employer contribution
• Hybrid & Flexible Working – 4 days in the Office / 1 day WFH
• Flexible Holiday Option – the option to buy 5 additional days each calendar year
• Enhanced Family Friendly & Carers Policies
• Life Assurance Cover
• Critical Illness Cover
• Private Medical Insurance
• Learning & Development Opportunities

Dimensions

Direct team management of up to 10 colleagues within the Customs Compliance team. Internally, the role typically interacts at a senior level with key contacts including the Chief Supply Chain Officer, I.T Director, Technical Director, Procurement leads, Head of Logistics, Head of Customer Service & Collaboration, National Sales Account Managers. Externally, the key interactions will be split between HMRC, 3rd Party Vendors (Vets, Logistics Service Providers, Shipping and Customs Agents) at Operations Director level and below. Direct contact with HMRC and Trade bodies such as British Soft Drink Association (BSDA) and Food and Drinks Federation (FDF) as examples will be expected. Also, direct Customer contact for all Export accounts (Tesco, Lidl, Aldi etc.) to build relationships and optimise supply flows.

Import scope includes: suppliers across 14 trade routes including International Group sites, sea freight management of over 40ft/20ft containers per annum, logistics spend over £20 million per annum, customs duty £8m p.a., key contact for HMRC, Port Health and other government bodies, key contact for trade sanctions screening.

Export scope includes: customers over 10 accounts across Ireland (NI & ROI) from Great Britain, deliver goods from EU factories and non‑EU factories direct to Ireland, rest of the world export from Great Britain (>20 countries worldwide), rest of the world export from Italy via consolidation hub.

Principal Responsibilities

• Leadership of the Import/Export strategy for Princes Group PLC to support business optimisation and growth inclusive of IT processes to drive digitalisation and remove manual non‑value activities.
• Formulation of Group wide policies relating to Customs procedures, duties, preference, tax, origin and restrictions to imports and exports – including traceability and audit protocols.
• Key member of the Supply Chain Leadership Team collaborating internally cross‑functionally to enable business strategy, whilst acting as key senior point of contact externally with regulatory bodies and industry forums.
• Represent Princes across industry forums with Trade and Government bodies, including the Food and Drink Federation, in relation to legislative changes to regulatory controls of International trade etc.; advise the business and implement required processes to maintain compliance.
• Senior point of contact for all Customers (for Import/Export matters), interfacing and building strong relationships to exceed Customer expectations whilst leveraging industry best‑practice.
• Project Management of delivering new initiatives from conception to execution supported by clear SMART objectives and change management protocols, examples include Sea Freight Digitalisation.
• Planning and execution of all associated Import/Export budgets aligned to Princes financial cycles, inclusive of leading on Periodic reporting; ultimate responsibility for Princes Group PLC duty deferment account.
• HRMC compliance and associated traceability and audit protocol.
• Approval of weekly transport/agents invoices and monthly site transport accounts which feed into the distribution line in the business P&L.
• Continuously challenging and improving the cost base through identification and management of value stream projects with the operations teams and customer base.
• Supplier contracting and contract management experience of 3rd parties inclusive of performance management as required monitoring to agreed KPIs – in partnership with the Procurement team.
• Ultimate owner of the trade sanctions procedure and perform sanctions checks on prospective customers and suppliers as required by the Group.
• Monitor and audit the Group’s systems and processes to ensure compliance with customs and other regulators requirements.
• Conduct risk assessments and implement mitigation plans to reduce exposure to penalties, delays and supply chain disruption.
• Employ, manage and subsequently audit the performance of shipping agents, taking steps to ensure clarity of requirements and resolve issues as necessary to ensure compliance with legislation and service levels.

Role Requirements – Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Able to undertake domestic and internal travel as required – visiting production sites, warehouses and customers as required (c10% of total role).
• Deep knowledge of customs regulations, tariff classification, valuation, origin rules and trade agreements.
• Food & Beverage sector experience – specifically knowledge of policy related to products of animal origin and preferential tariffs.
• Extensive knowledge of Customs, EU procedures and legislation, including the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and Windsor Framework.
• Deep understanding of incoterms, taxation and duty deferment.
• Proven leadership in managing global trade compliance programmes and building cross‑regional teams.
• Deep understanding of product classification, global trade regulations, customs requirements, free trade agreements, import/export requirements and international shipping procedures and documentation for the food & beverage industry.
• More than 10 years’ experience of operating successfully in a Leadership role managing diverse teams.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience of multi‑model Logistics Supplier management.
• Experience of Supplier contract negotiation and contract management.
• Experience of annual budget management and financial planning.
• Experience of direct Customer management and collaboration interface.
• Knowledge of warehousing operations and distribution environments.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.

Desirable Experience

• Working knowledge of SAP would be an advantage.
• Professional certifications (e.g., Customs Broker Licence, Certified Customs Specialist, AEO/CTPAT expertise) are highly desirable.