Job Description
Job Description Summary Are you ready to see your career take flight? At GE Aerospace, we believe the world works better when it flies. We are a world-leading provider of jet engines, components, and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. We have a relentless dedication to the future of safe and more sustainable flight and believe in our talented people to make it happen. The Global Executive Customs & Trade Compliance Leader is responsible for setting and executing the global strategy for customs operations, trade compliance, tariff management, and duty optimization across GE Aerospace. In this role, you will lead global risk management for export and import operations, oversees compliant execution of high-volume cross-border shipments, and ensures adherence to GE Aerospace Enterprise Standards and regulatory requirements in all regions. This leader owns a portfolio of significant annualized duty avoidance, savings, and refunds and is accountable for building a high-performing global organization, strengthening controls, enabling business growth, and protecting GE Aerospace’s license to operate. The position leads a global operations team and functional experts across four regions (UK, EMEA, Americas, APAC), overseeing customs brokers, vendors, and site-level processes for approximately 150 locations and 150,000-200,000 shipments annually. Key Skills & Competencies Strategic leadership Ability to set global vision, prioritize initiatives, and align stakeholders around execution Risk management & compliance Identify, assess, and mitigate customs, tariff, and trade compliance risks Tariff & special program strategy Design/implement global tariff management and special program optimization People leadership & development Lead/develop global teams and build succession pipelines Will lead a team of 34 direct reports and 66 contingent workers Executive communication Strong written and verbal communication with senior leaders and regulators Change management Lead organizational change (new policies, tools, regulatory requirements) Continuous improvement Use data/audits/feedback to drive simplification, standardization, and process improvement Vendor & brokerage management Manage/develop/control brokers/vendors to meet performance and compliance goals Cross-functional influence Influence peers and leaders outside own function; communicate complex plans in executive-friendly formats Job Description Role & Responsibilities Global strategy, governance & risk management Define and execute GE Aerospace’s global customs and trade compliance strategy (including tariff management and special program optimization). Establish governance mechanisms (e.g., risk councils, operating reviews) and maintain a global risk assessment framework/methodology. Own global KPIs and reporting across risk indicators, Enterprise Standard conformance, audit outcomes, lead times, tariff exposure, and duty optimization results. Global operations leadership Lead the global customs and trade compliance operations team across four regions (UK, EMEA, Americas, APAC). Provide executive oversight of classification, valuation, origin determination, special programs, and recordkeeping across approximately 150 sites. Coordinate with Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, Legal, Engineering, and business units to integrate customs/trade requirements end-to-end in alignment with control tower standards and strategy. Customs brokerage management, development & control Manage, develop, and control customs brokers and vendors globally, including selection in alignment with Sourcing and Transportation strategy, onboarding, contractual conformance, and performance management. Establish and maintain controls, standards, and operating procedures for brokerage activities to ensure consistent classification, valuation, documentation, and recordkeeping. Duty optimization, tariff management & special programs Own and manage significant annualized duty avoidance, savings, and refunds through tariff management, trade programs, and special regimes. Lead tariff strategies (classification governance, origin planning, valuation strategies) and mitigate tariffs, trade remedies, and surcharges. Drive special program optimization (e.g., FTAs, duty drawback, inward/outward processing, bonded warehouses, foreign trade zones, Trusted Trader Programs). Lead the global HS classification program to improve governance, accuracy, and consistency. Provide executive oversight of global BPO provider programs supporting custo