Trade Compliance Specialist – Interim

For one of our clients, a large international industrial group, we are looking for an experienced Trade Compliance Specialist for an interim assignment.

The assignment sits within a broader Compliance function covering areas such as Trade Compliance, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, data privacy, digital compliance, competition law and internal investigations. The focus of this assignment is to strengthen and further develop the Trade Compliance framework within the business area. This is not primarily an operational Trade Compliance Officer role. Instead, you will work hands-on with projects, frameworks, processes and controls, helping the organisation strengthen its overall Trade Compliance setup.

The assignment

You will work closely with the Compliance function and relevant stakeholders across the international organisation. The exact priorities will develop during the assignment, but key areas are expected to include:

• Reviewing existing Trade Compliance frameworks, processes and ways of working.
• Developing and updating policies, procedures and internal processes.
• Ensuring alignment between business-area processes and the group-level Trade Compliance framework.
• Conducting selected Trade Compliance risk assessments.
• Reviewing and improving sanctions screening processes.
• Supporting development of customs-related processes and controls.
• Contributing to export control-related matters.
• Identifying gaps and opportunities for new or improved controls.
• Supporting or developing Trade Compliance training where relevant.
• Assessing new regulatory requirements affecting international trade, including regulations related to areas such as carbon emissions and deforestation.
• Taking a broader, holistic view of Trade Compliance and helping identify which areas should be prioritised.

The assignment is expected to initially focus on a number of defined workstreams, while also allowing the consultant to bring an external perspective, identify additional gaps and recommend priorities. You will be expected to work independently: gather information, engage the right stakeholders, analyse issues, develop solutions and drive the work forward.

Your background

We are looking for a senior Trade Compliance professional with broad practical experience from an international organisation. Practical Trade Compliance expertise and the ability to translate regulatory requirements into workable business processes are more important than a specific educational background or job title.

You should have strong experience within several of the following areas:

• International Trade Compliance
• Sanctions and sanctions screening
• Customs and customs processes
• Export control
• Trade Compliance risk assessments
• Policies, procedures and frameworks
• Internal controls

Experience within sanctions/sanctions screening and customs is particularly relevant. Your deepest specialist expertise may be within customs, export control or another area of Trade Compliance, we do not expect one person to be equally specialised across every discipline.

Experience from an international industrial, manufacturing or similarly complex environment is highly advantageous.

Who you are

To succeed in the assignment, you need to be senior, pragmatic and highly self-driven.

You are comfortable receiving an overall objective rather than detailed instructions and can independently determine how the work should be approached. You know how to navigate a large international organisation, identify the right stakeholders and move initiatives forward.

You combine regulatory understanding with commercial judgement. Rather than simply identifying every theoretical risk, you are able to assess materiality, prioritise and develop solutions that work in practice.

This is a hands-on role, but not an operational one. You will personally analyse, structure, interview stakeholders, draft documentation and develop processes, while the day-to-day approvals and transactional Trade Compliance activities remain within the operational organisation.

Assignment details

• Scope: 50%
• Duration: Approximately 6 months
• Start: As soon as possible
• Location: Flexible. Malmö or Stockholm are both possible, as is a largely remote setup. Consultants based elsewhere in Europe may also be considered.
• Some physical meetings during the assignment should be expected.
• Language: Fluent professional English is required.

Interested?

For more details, please contact Mikaela Virsholm, [email protected], +46 (0)76 898 68 38