Trade & Customs Operations Team Leader

Reporting to the Manager CoE Europe, the Trade & Customs Operations Team Leader is responsible for the regional customs and trade operations in Hitachi. Main activities are related to ensuring execution and correctness of Customs declarations, and all accompanying documents, both on import and export flow. He/she works closely with the Country Trade Customs Officer and whole organization to ensure process performance and compliance with law and internal processes. The team lead is a key contributor to achieve and maintain the quality of customs processes in related region.

Besides major involvement in the daily operational activities, the Team Lead leads and coaches a team of trade and customs specialists.

Responsibilities:

• Manage the team of Trade and Customs Specialists that perform customs declarations and making sure that export and import procedures are properly executed and reported.
• Ensure appropriate daily staffing is in place to cover daily operations and coordinate the holiday planning of team members.
• Provide operational support to other parties as needed.
• Run and report agreed KPIs for his/her team. Take appropriate action in case KPIs are below target and/or negatively trending.
• Ensure processing with compliance to Standard Operating Procedures, work processes and business rules.
• Responsible for operational relations with Hitachi approved Customs Brokers.
• Responsible for SAP GTS customs master data.
• Troubleshoot any potential or pending problems; provide assistance in any deficiency and immediately investigate and bring it to resolution. Report any potential service failures to appropriate internal and external stakeholders.
• Analyze processes, identify areas for improvement and ensure success of the agreed improvement projects.
• Support change management programs.
• Act as backup for others Team Leads as needed.

Requirements:

• Bachelor degree+ or equivalent.
• 4+ years of experience in Trade and Customs clearance, auditing customs process and customs reporting.
• 2+ years of experience with management of diverse small to medium sized teams in an international environment.
• Fluent in English (B2 level as minimum) and one other European language as a plus.
• Advanced proficiency in the Microsoft Office applications, with focus on Excel.
• Team player and builder, good communicator with efficient reporting skills.
• Have a continuous improvement mentality and mindset.
• Detail-oriented, well organized and reliable in a fast-paced environment.
• Proactive and willing to take initiatives.
• Problem solver.
• Willing to perform additional activities outside own area of expertise.
• Ability to work independently and in a team, with colleagues and external service providers.