Description:
Scope of Position:
To lead and manage a Customs brokerage department within a branch so that the department has strong technical expertise, flawless operational execution, strong infrastructure, strong and knowledgeable personnel, strong customs compliance, efficiency, profitability, and continual growth.
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
Administration and Personnel Management
• Manage and monitor service execution within the Customs brokerage department
• Manage capacity and resource needs for the department
• Ensure that department is properly staffed, structured and organized
• Manage timely and effective staff evaluations and reviews
• Provide feedback, coaching, mentoring to staff on an ongoing basis
• Manage staff for continual growth in skills and expertise
• Prepare and execute personal goals
• Assist staff in preparing personal goals
• Make certain that all staff members complete annual training in required timeframes
• Make certain that new employees receive all mandatory training in required timeframes
• Maintain highest compliance levels for all necessary and applicable Customs and other government agency controls and requirements
• Ensure that company controls, policies, procedures, processes, applications, tools, and systems are understood and implemented
• Ensure that the company’s third party broker program is properly managed within the branch
• Ensure oversight, including self-assessments and daily monitoring so that issues are resolved at the root cause level
• Prepare and execute department business plan and goals
Operations, Compliance and Customs Expertise
• Provide deskside training to department as needed in these specific areas:
o National customs regulations
o The Company's customs policies, controls, procedures and processes
o Operational and customer service execution
o Customer communication, interaction, development and maintenance,
o The Company's applications, tools, systems and their usage
o Client specific requirements
• If using third party brokers, provide clear instructions, procedures and expectations regarding both the Company's and customer requirements
• If required, review and sign entries prior to submission to Customs
• Work with staff on capacity and efficiency issues
• Make certain that all new clients are set up properly with any of the following that apply: power of attorney, letter of authorization, importers’ worksheet, DLSOP, and/or standard operating procedures
• Make certain that client specific instructions are clear and detailed to ensure that desk level staff can properly process entries and invoice for services
• Control department’s interface with Customs authorities
• Make certain that files are logged correctly and timely with proper codes, trace types and events as needed
• Review all entry rejections, EDI rejections, or other discrepancies in business unit to make certain that they are resubmitted timely and correctly
• Monitor and review post entry activity with branch compliance manager
• Make certain that discrepancies are monitored and resolved timely and correctly
• Work with branch compliance manager to understand and trend discrepancy root causes and implement necessary training
• Ensure there is a workflow or management reports to oversee and manage the operation
• Control workflow within business unit
• Control document receipt and distribution within business unit both for hard copy and electronic documents
• Ensure that all correspondence within business unit is handled timely and professionally
• Escalate necessary issues to District or Branch Manager
• Develop optimum efficient processes without sacrificing compliance, oversight or controls
• Stay current with developments and changes in regulations or company offerings; educate staff as these happen
• Understand requirements of participating government agencies or OGAs
• Ensure all employees have proper training in other government agency requirements
Finance
• Ensure that all files are timely billed and correctly
• Ensure that all billing and billing packages are timely mailed or electronically transmitted including the correct and complete documents and backup
• Manage execution of credit policy
• Review department P and L on a monthly basis and understand composition of clients, revenue, and file type and complexity for customs entries
• Review all billed not paid and paid not billed items for proper handling and closing
• Review entries for proper use of bill codes, GL codes and file types
• Review customer A/R for area of responsibility and depending upon structure, be prepared to communicate with customers regarding either late payments or invoice discrepancies
• Review invoices from third party brokers against their tariffs
Sales and Marketing (and Growth)
• Maintain and develop relationship with current brokerage customers
• Work with sales, customer retention and development, and account management to maintain and develop relationships with current customers, and to develop and bring new customers into the department
• Work with T&I and account management to make certain that customer requirements are both understood and properly implemented
• Prepare effective customer presentations and updates
• Communicate clearly and often with sales, customer retention, account management and T&I to provide information on status of service levels, execution, and future opportunities
Requirements:
- Degree or equivalent (this is dependent upon countries and discretion of District Manager)
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in Customs brokerage
- Has completed country specific certification in Customs brokerage if available
- Hands-on knowledge of Customs clearance function
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to articulate clearly through written and oral communication and presentations
- Ability to relate to clients, service providers and employees at all levels
- Understanding of data and reports or outputs used from data
- PC skills including word processing and spreadsheet applications
- Hands-on user skills with the Company's applications as needed
- English fluency
- Degree or equivalent (this is dependent upon countries and discretion of District Manager)
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in Customs brokerage
- Has completed country specific certification in Customs brokerage if available
- Hands-on knowledge of Customs clearance function
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to articulate clearly through written and oral communication and presentations
- Ability to relate to clients, service providers and employees at all levels
- Understanding of data and reports or outputs used from data
- PC skills including word processing and spreadsheet applications
- Hands-on user skills with the Company's applications as needed
- English fluency