Time Critical Operations & Customs Executive
Job Overview
We are seeking an experienced Time Critical Operations & Customs Executive to manage urgent international shipments during night operations, with a strong focus on import/export coordination, cross-trade movements, and customs clearance. The successful candidate will have hands-on experience with the UK Customs Declaration Service (CDS), including import and export declarations, and will be confident managing time-sensitive shipments independently while ensuring customs compliance and operational accuracy.
Work Schedule: 4 days on / 4 days off
Working Hours: 7:00 PM – 7:00 AM
Key Responsibilities
- Manage end-to-end time-critical import and export shipments, ensuring urgent cargo movements are coordinated efficiently.
- Coordinate international cross-trade shipments between origin and destination countries without routing through the UK, where applicable.
- Prepare, process, and manage customs declarations using the UK Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
- Handle import and export customs entries, ensuring accuracy and compliance with applicable customs requirements.
- Coordinate with airlines, overseas agents, freight partners, customs brokers, and transport providers to ensure timely shipment movement.
- Monitor shipment milestones, identify potential delays, and implement solutions to minimise disruptions.
- Manage shipment documentation and ensure all customs and operational records are accurate and up to date.
- Provide timely shipment updates and resolve customer or operational queries during the night shift.
- Ensure compliance with relevant customs procedures, internal operating standards, and customer service requirements.
- Maintain clear handovers and communicate outstanding shipments, issues, and priorities to the incoming operations team.
Requirements
- Proven experience in time-critical freight forwarding, international logistics, or express cargo operations.
- Strong hands-on experience managing import and export shipments.
- Previous experience handling cross-trade shipments.
- Strong practical knowledge of the UK Customs Declaration Service (CDS), ideally covering both import and export declarations.
- Experience coordinating urgent, high-priority, and time-sensitive shipments from booking through to delivery.
- Ability to work independently and make effective operational decisions during night shifts.
- Excellent communication, coordination, and problem-solving skills.
- Strong attention to detail, particularly in customs documentation and shipment tracking.
- Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced operational environment