Lead Export Documentation Controller

Ornua Co-operative Limited; Dublin; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Ornua Co-operative Limited is seeking a Lead Export Documentation Controller in Dublin to lead export documentation operations across international shipments. The role ensures accurate, timely and compliant documentation in line with customer, market, regulatory and customs requirements.

You will act as a subject matter expert, partner with cross-functional teams and drive standardised processes, governance and data-led improvements to support service reliability and cost-to-market efficiency.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in FMCG or foods, with export documentation and regulatory experience.
• Ability to interpret customer, market and regulatory documentation requirements into clear actions.
• Strong attention to detail, analytical thinking and root-cause analysis.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration, with stakeholder escalation skills.
• Experience working with ERP systems and documentation platforms to support automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day coordination of export documentation ensuring certificates, declarations and documents meet requirements.
• Provide SME guidance on complex markets, origin certificates and market controls.
• Maintain governance to ensure compliance and escalate risks.
• Support the Export Documentation Manager, including prioritisation and continuity of controls.
• Track performance data and contribute to dashboards and monthly reporting.

Skills

Export documentation

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

ERP systems

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Job title: Lead Export Documentation Controller

Function: Supply Chain

Reports to: Export Documentation Manager

Location: Dublin

Ornua is a leading dairy co-operative which sells premium dairy products globally on behalf of its Member Co-operatives, Ireland’s dairy processors and, in turn, Irish dairy farmers.

Ornua has revenues of €3.4 billion and is supported by a global team of approximately 2,800 employees. The Group operates as a commercial organisation across 10 business units, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

The commercial organisation is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold. Consumer markets are served by production facilities in Ireland, Germany and the UK and by in-market Sales & Marketing Teams in Asia, Germany, Ireland, MEA, Poland, Spain, rest of Europe and North and Latin America.

It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility. These activities are supported by production facilities and in-market teams in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

WHY THIS ROLE IS VALUABLE:

The Lead Export Documentation Controller will provide day-to-day leadership and subject matter expertise across Ornua’s export documentation activities, ensuring accurate, timely and compliant documentation for international shipments. The role will support the five-year Supply Chain and Customer Experience plan by strengthening standard ways of working, improving documentation accuracy and timeliness, reducing manual workarounds, supporting cost-to-market efficiency, and enabling a more globally aligned, data-led and customer-focused operating model. The role will also provide support and cover for the Export Documentation Manager, helping maintain continuity, prioritisation and effective decision-making across the function. Acting as a key link between Export Documentation, Customer Supply Chain, Commercial, Logistics, Regulatory, Finance and third-party partners, the role will help protect service reliability, customer confidence and compliance across priority markets.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

• Lead the day-to-day coordination of export documentation requirements, ensuring certificates, declarations and supporting documents are prepared accurately, on time and in line with customer, market, regulatory and customs requirements.
• Act as a subject matter expert for export documentation processes, providing guidance to the team on complex markets, documentation rules, DAFM requirements, certificates of origin and market-specific controls.
• Maintain strong governance over documentation compliance, ensuring risks are escalated early and corrective actions are implemented to protect customer service, shipment flow and regulatory standards.
• Provide support and cover for the Export Documentation Manager as required, including daily prioritisation, issue escalation, stakeholder updates, workload coordination and continuity of key documentation controls during periods of absence or increased business demand.

Five-Year Plan Alignment & Standard Ways of Working

• Support the five-year plan by helping embed standardised export documentation processes, templates, checklists and SOPs that reduce variation, improve consistency and support One Global Ornua ways of working.
• Identify process gaps, manual workarounds and repeat documentation issues, then work with Customer Experience, Supply Chain Excellence, ICT and operational teams to simplify, standardise and automate where possible.

Customer Service Reliability & Issue Resolution

• Support service reliability by ensuring documentation readiness is aligned with shipment schedules, customer commitments and priority market requirements.
• Act as a key escalation point for documentation-related issues, coordinating timely investigation, root-cause analysis and sustainable corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Market Support

• Partner with Commercial, Customer Supply Chain, Logistics, Technical, Finance, DAFM and third-party partners to ensure documentation requirements are understood, validated and delivered for existing customers, new routes to market and customer onboarding.
• Provide proactive support for complex or high-risk markets, ensuring customer requirements, regulatory rules and operational constraints are clearly documented and communicated.
• Track and report documentation performance, including accuracy, timeliness, recurring issues and service risks, using data-led insights to support monthly reporting and improvement plans.
• Contribute to dashboards, scorecards and control trackers that improve visibility, support faster decision-making and align with the wider Supply Chain performance reporting roadmap.

Cost-to-Market, Capability & Future Readiness

• Support cost-to-market and route-to-market efficiency initiatives by identifying documentation-related cost leakage, avoidable rework, courier costs, delays and opportunities for cost recovery or cost avoidance.
• Build team capability through coaching, cross-training, knowledge sharing and succession support, ensuring export documentation skills are resilient, future-ready and aligned with evolving customer, regulatory and global operating model requirements.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

• Strong experience of 5+ years in the FMCG or foods industry. Experience in export documentation, international trade, customs, regulatory compliance or supply chain operations.
• Proven ability to interpret customer, market and regulatory documentation requirements and translate them into clear operational actions.
• Strong attention to detail, analytical thinking, problem-solving and root-cause analysis capability.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the confidence to challenge, escalation and influence where required.
• Comfortable working with ERP systems, documentation platforms, reporting tools and process improvement initiatives that support automation, standardisation and better data visibility.