Job Description:
As the Senior Manager, Global Trade Compliance, you will serve as a key leader within Milwaukee Tool's Global Trade Compliance organization. You will lead a team of trade compliance professionals responsible for enabling global growth while ensuring compliance with import, export, customs, sanctions, and trade regulations worldwide.
You will act as the operational and strategic bridge between executive leadership and front-line execution, transforming business priorities into actionable plans, removing obstacles, and enabling your team to perform at the highest level. This role requires a leader who can make informed decisions quickly, navigate ambiguity, develop talent, and drive measurable business outcomes.
This position reports to the VP, Global Trade Compliance.
Job Description
Milwaukee Tool continues to expand globally, creating new opportunities and increasing complexity across supply chains, regulatory environments, and international markets.
As the Senior Manager, Global Trade Compliance, you will play a critical leadership role in shaping and executing the organization's trade compliance strategy while ensuring operational excellence across a rapidly evolving business.
You will oversee trade compliance programs, regulatory initiatives, customs compliance activities, systems governance, operational analytics, and team development. Working closely with Supply Chain, Sourcing, Logistics, Legal, Finance, Operations, Customer Care, IT, and executive leadership, you will ensure compliance objectives are achieved while enabling business growth and operational efficiency.
In addition to leading people and programs, this role will establish operational rigor through strong data management, systems ownership, structured documentation, and performance measurement. You will leverage metrics and analytics to help the department identify risks, monitor performance, improve processes, and support executive decision-making. Success requires the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights while building scalable processes that support Milwaukee Tool's continued growth.
Your Responsibilities
Leadership & Team Development
- Lead, develop, and inspire a team of trade compliance professionals across multiple functional areas.
- Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, and accountability measures.
- Coach and develop team members through candid feedback, mentorship, and growth opportunities.
- Contributes to an environment that promotes cross-functional collaboration, ownership, urgency, collaboration, and continuous learning and improvement.
- Build organizational capability by developing future leaders within the Trade Compliance organization.
Trade Compliance Strategy & Execution
- Translate executive and organizational priorities into actionable initiatives and measurable results.
- Lead import and export compliance projects supporting Milwaukee Tool's global operations.
- Oversee customs compliance, tariff strategy, country of origin, valuation, free trade agreements, duty mitigation programs, and related trade initiatives.
- Monitor, assess, and implement regulatory changes impacting global trade operations.
- Partner with business leaders to support sourcing initiatives, new product introductions, acquisitions, market expansions, and supply chain transformations.
- Evaluate compliance risks and recommend practical business solutions that balance risk mitigation and operational efficiency.
Operational Excellence, Analytics & Documentation
- Identify, coordinate, provide guidance, and continuously improve trade compliance KPIs, scorecards, dashboards, and executive reporting.
- Establish and provide guidance to the team on structured documentation practices including SOPs, work instructions, process maps, governance frameworks, and decision-making guides.
- Identify and coordinate the creation of performance metrics that provide visibility into team effectiveness, compliance health, service levels, and business impact.
- Analyze trade, customs, operational, and process data to identify risks, trends, bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities.
- Support Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics, and business stakeholders through reporting, analytics, data validation, data review, and performance measurement.
- Provide meaningful insights and recommendations that enable business teams to make informed decisions.
- Drive data integrity, governance, and quality across trade compliance systems and reporting tools.
- Facilitate structured documentation, metrics management, and operational reviews that improve consistency, scalability, and accountability.
- Ensure trade compliance programs are supported by measurable performance objectives and clearly documented processes.
Systems & Technology Leadership
- Serve as the business owner and champion for Global Trade Management and related compliance technologies.
- Partner with internal trade team, IT and business stakeholders to prioritize system enhancements and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Evaluate opportunities to automate processes and leverage technology to increase efficiency and compliance effectiveness.
- Support development of reporting capabilities, analytics tools, workflow automation, and business intelligence solutions.
- Ensure trade compliance systems effectively support business growth, compliance requirements, and operational scalability.
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders across Supply Chain, Sourcing, Logistics, Operations, Finance, Customer Care, Legal, and IT.
- Partner with business stakeholders to solve complex trade compliance and operational challenges.
- Collaborate with customs brokers, consultants, outside counsel, and regulatory authorities as needed.
- Communicate complex regulatory and business issues clearly to both executive and operational audiences.
Regulatory & Compliance Governance
- Ensure compliance with U.S. and global import and export regulations.
- Maintain effective compliance controls, recordkeeping requirements, and governance procedures.
- Lead audit preparation, regulatory inquiries, disclosures, corrective actions, and remediation efforts.
- Drive a culture of proactive compliance while supporting business objectives and operational needs.
- Ensure programs remain aligned with evolving regulatory requirements and industry best practices.
You will have:
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Supply Chain, International Trade, Law, Finance, Data Analytics, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in trade compliance, customs, global trade, logistics, international business, or related regulatory functions.
- 5+ years of experience leading and developing professional teams.
- Demonstrated success leading through organizational growth, change, and ambiguity.
- Strong knowledge of U.S. customs regulations, import compliance, export controls, sanctions, and global trade requirements.
- Experience utilizing metrics, analytics, and reporting to drive operational performance and business decisions.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex concepts into actionable guidance.
- Legal authorization to work in the U.S. Milwaukee Tool will not sponsor individuals for employment visas now or in the future for this position.
Preferred:
- Licensed Customs Broker (LCB).
- Advanced degree in International Business, Law, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, or related field.
- Experience managing customs and regulatory communications, including audits, inquiries, disclosures or other government interactions as needed.
- Deep understanding of tariff programs, country of origin analysis, customs valuation, and free trade agreements including USMCA.
- Experience overseeing implementation or managing Global Trade Management (GTM) systems and trade compliance technology solutions.
- Strong analytical capabilities, including overseeing and assisting with development of KPIs, dashboards, scorecards, and executive reporting.
- Strong understanding of how business processes translate into system functionality, data flows, reporting requirements, and automation opportunities, including an awareness of system capabilities and limitations.
- Experience establishing governance frameworks, documentation standards, and scalable business processes.
- Proven track record of using data to drive operational improvements and support strategic decision-making.
- Strong project management, organizational leadership, and change management capabilities.
- Experience supporting multinational operations and global compliance programs.
