About the Role:
Position Summary:The Customs & Trade Business Partner North America leads the Customs & Trade agenda for the United States and Canada, ensuring strong customs compliance while positioning Customs & Trade as a strategic business partner and value contributor.
The role combines deep customs expertise with business acumen, regulatory risk management, change leadership and value creation. It identifies Customs & Trade implications of business and supply-chain decisions before implementation and translates complex regulatory developments into pragmatic business guidance, controls and opportunities.
Essential Functions:The position acts as the senior Customs & Trade partner to Supply Chain, Finance, Tax, Sourcing, Legal, External Affairs, Operations and other key functions.
- Lead Customs & Trade for the US and Canada, covering import/export compliance, classification, valuation, origin, FTAs, tariffs, AD/CVD, duty drawback and relevant trade controls.
- Act as strategic Customs & Trade Business Partner, identifying customs implications of changes in sourcing, manufacturing footprint, supply chains, products and commercial models before implementation.
- Translate regulatory developments into business action, particularly US tariff measures, executive orders, CBP/CBSA requirements and other material regulatory changes.
- Drive Customs & Trade value creation, identifying and implementing opportunities related to tariff mitigation, duty recovery/drawback, preferential origin, classification, valuation and duty-efficient supply-chain structures.
- Own Customs & Trade risk management and controls, including risk assessments, internal controls, audits, remediation, disclosures and documentation of material customs positions.
- Lead customs authority interactions, including CBP/CBSA inquiries, audits and information requests, and manage external customs/legal advisors where required.
- Drive customs broker governance, establishing appropriate SOPs, KPIs, controls, performance reviews and escalation mechanisms.
- Leverage customs data and technology to improve compliance, visibility, automation, control effectiveness and identification of savings opportunities.
- Lead Customs & Trade change and transformation, strengthening processes, accountability, data quality and cross-functional ways of working.
- Build organizational capability, providing guidance and training and strengthening Customs & Trade awareness across the business.
- Support the Director Global Customs & Trade in global initiatives, transformation programs and implementation of global standards within North America.
Education / Experience Requirements: - 8-12+ years of progressive Customs & Trade experience, preferably within a multinational manufacturing or complex international supply-chain environment with footprint both in US as CA
- Strong, hands-on knowledge of US Customs regulations and practices and relevant Canadian customs requirements.
- Demonstrated expertise in classification, customs valuation, origin, FTAs, tariffs, drawback, customs audits and broker management.
- Proven ability to assess complex regulatory developments and translate them into practical business implications and solutions.
- Experience identifying and delivering customs savings, risk mitigation and process-improvement opportunities.
- Experience partnering with senior stakeholders across Supply Chain, Finance, Tax, Sourcing, Legal and Operations.
- Experience with customs technology, automation and data analytics is highly desirable.
- Proficient in MS Office Suite and Google (Gmail, Drive, Calendar) tools
- Knowledge of U.S./CAN/MX import and export control laws and regulations
Leadership Competencies:- Strategic and hands-on: Able to move from complex strategic questions into detailed customs issues when required.
- Business-oriented: Understands the commercial and operational context and translates customs requirements into workable solutions.
- Connects the dots: Able to link Customs & Trade with Supply Chain, Tax, Finance, Sourcing, Operations and business strategy.
- Change leader: Able to convert regulatory change into structured cross-functional implementation.
- Strong judgment: Balances compliance, financial exposure, business continuity and operational feasibility.
- Influential challenger: Confident in challenging senior stakeholders, brokers and external advisors when necessary.
- Clear communicator: Able to simplify complex regulatory matters into concise recommendations and decisions.
- Proactive and accountable: Anticipates issues and opportunities rather than operating primarily reactively.
- Data-driven: Uses customs and business data to identify risk, opportunity and control weaknesses.
What you can expect from Barry Callebaut: - Salary Range of $100K - $125K based on experience and location, plus bonus and our comprehensive benefits package
- Paid time off, plus generous holiday time
- Environment that welcomes workplace flexibility
- An atmosphere where diversity is embraced, and inclusivity is second nature. We call it #OneBC! Just ask our champions with the Americas Women's Forum and the Racial Equality Forum!
- Ability to grow personally and professionally within an organization that values development and internal career growth
- Be part of our mission in making sustainability the norm through Forever Chocolate with priorities centered around prospering farmers, zero child labor, carbon and forest positive, and creating 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products
If you want to learn more about Barry Callebaut, please find further information here.
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