Head of Customs Compliance

Vacancy Name

Head of Customs Compliance

Permanent

United Kingdom

Liverpool

Operations

Hybrid

The Princes Group has over 7,000 employees with offices and production sites in the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, France and Mauritius. Princes manufactures 350 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.

Princes Liverpool are recruiting for a Head of Customs Compliance to join the Supply Chain Leadership Team. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to work within one of the most prestigious buildings in the city - the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool.

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 >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.

Princes Group PLC is a global food and drink company specialising in the production, and distribution of both branded and private-label products. The company offers products in over 20 categories, such as fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, soups, pastes, pasta, cooking sauces, edible oils, baby food, alcoholic drinks and various soft drinks. 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.

This Head of Customs Compliance is responsible for designing and executing global business processes that ensure compliant, streamlined, and cost-optimized movement of goods across borders. The role identifies the need for key business resources across systems, processes, people capabilities, and incorporates these into budget cycle planning over the long-term strategic horizon. The role operates at a senior level, building proactive internal cross functional relationships across Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Legal, Procurement, Technical, IT and Finance departments to plan and execute business strategy.

In parallel, the role is the key point of contact externally for various Regulatory bodies, HMRC and other Industry groups, plus external vendors (Road and Sea Freight Providers, Freight Forwarders, Customs Agents etc.). This also extends to direct Customer collaboration.

• 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

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. In addition, 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…