Global Trade Operations Leader

Description

• Develop strong relationships with customs brokers, freight forwarders, and trade advisory partners; co-lead quarterly performance reviews and implement broker scorecards and KPIs.
• Inspire and lead a high-performing team of trade operations professionals, fostering a culture of innovation, curiosity, and continuous learning.
• Create tailored training programs for cross-functional partners to promote understanding of trade processes and regulatory drivers.
• Educate and consult business leaders on trade topics to support global commercial strategy development.
• Develop and execute training strategies for the Operations Team, ensuring alignment with Licensed Customs Broker continuing education requirements.
• Lead the development and implementation of effective controls for high-impact processes, ensuring alignment with internal control frameworks.
• Engage proactively with regulatory enforcement agencies and coordinate company responses to audits or other significant customs-related actions.
• Partner with IT and data teams to implement tools that support automation, visibility, and compliance efficiency.
• Leverage trade data analytics to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Manage export licensing, jurisdictional determinations, and technology control plans.
• Lead escalation protocols for significant compliance violations or government inquiries
• Oversee the Global Sanctions program, including service provider compliance and escalation procedures.
• Ensure compliance with U.S. CBP, CBSA, BIS, and other relevant authorities across North America.
• Supervise company participation in supply chain security programs (e.g., AEO) and ensure audit readiness through robust documentation and recordkeeping.
• Manage and escalate issues related to global sanctions, restricted party screening, and anti-boycott regulations.
• Build strategic partnerships across key functions including Sourcing, Planning, Sales, Customer Service, Warehouse, Manufacturing, Engineering, Finance, Tax, Accounting, Sustainability, EH&S, and Legal.
• Own and execute the operational trade strategy for North America, including import/export controls, broker management, and service provider oversight.
• Develop trade metrics and dashboards to monitor performance and drive accountability.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration and teamwork, engaging internal and external stakeholders to maximize performance and shared accountability.
• Drive talent development and retention by creating energy and enthusiasm around professional growth, leveraging resources to build leadership and functional capabilities.
• Establish clear performance and development objectives that align with company goals and growth initiatives, and provide regular coaching and feedback to support individual and team success.
• Lead internal audits and assessments to evaluate control effectiveness and regulatory adherence.
• Coordinate global and regional trade compliance risk assessments and implement mitigation plans in collaboration with the Director of Global Trade and Trade Data & Risk Management teams.
• Manage and escalate issues related to global sanctions, restricted party screening, and anti-boycott regulations in coordination with Legal.
• Enhance trade compliance expertise through active engagement in training, seminars, industry groups, and knowledge-sharing across the Center of Excellence (COE) team.

Requirements

• Foreign language proficiency is a plus.
• Strong critical thinking and thought leadership capabilities, with a strategic mindset and outside-in perspective.
• Action-oriented leader who drives results through experimentation, reflection, and continuous improvement.
• Thoughtful communicator with excellent stakeholder engagement skills, capable of inspiring collaboration and alignment.
• Demonstrated success in developing high-performing teams and fostering a culture of innovation, curiosity, and continuous learning.
• Creative problem solver with a passion for simplifying complex processes and driving scalable solutions.
• Technologically proficient; comfortable working with trade systems, analytics platforms, and automation tools.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex trade data and identify actionable insights.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. Canada and Mexico trade regulations, with experience navigating import/export controls and compliance frameworks.
• Proven ability to lead through influence and build strong cross-functional partnerships across global teams.
• A t least 10 years relevant experience in logistics, trade compliance or a related field
• Undergraduate degree, advanced degree (i.e. MBA) or other significant industry experience such as U.S. Customs Broker License required
• E x perience working in a multinational company with cross-functional collaboration that relies heavily on relationship building to succeed.
• High integrity and commitment to ethical compliance, with a strong sense of accountability and ownership.

Benefits

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance