Import Manager

Scope: The Import Manager develops and manages the branch import function across Ocean Import, Air Import, Customs Brokerage, and Order Management, providing leadership for operations, finances, sales partnership, people, systems, compliance, service execution, and continuous improvement. 

Core Responsibilities: 

Integrated Import Strategy and Product Leadership 

• Lead branch import strategy across Ocean Import, Air Import, Customs Brokerage, and Order Management. 

• Align product teams so customers experience one coordinated import organization. 

• Identify gaps and implement cross-functional solutions that improve quality, visibility, compliance, and customer experience. 

Customer, Sales, and Business Development Partnership 

• Partner with Sales, CRDM, Account Management, T&I, and Product Managers on onboarding, RFQs, QBRs, lane reviews, service recovery, and business development. 

• Ensure customer SOPs, service levels, compliance needs, reporting expectations, and billing requirements are understood and executable. 

• Represent the integrated import capability to customers and internal stakeholders with professionalism and clarity. 

Operational Excellence and Process Discipline 

• Maintain a consistent operating rhythm across import products, including KPI review, exception management, escalation, and follow-up discipline. 

• Ensure smooth freight flow across documentation, processing, clearance, release, delivery, order visibility, billing readiness, and customer communication. 

• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for service failures, compliance gaps, missed milestones, escalations, and billing issues. 

Compliance, Risk, and Control 

• Maintain compliance discipline across customs clearance, import documentation, customer SOPs, regulatory requirements, internal controls, security requirements, and company policies. 

• Work with Trade Compliance, Customs Brokerage, Security, Finance, and product leaders to identify and manage operational risk. 

• Promote a culture where compliance, controls, and customer trust are part of daily execution. 

Financial Management and Profitability 

• Manage import financial performance, including revenue growth, profitability, margin, billing quality, cost control, and loss prevention. 

• Partner with Finance and Product Managers to support accurate invoicing, timely billing, and profitable execution. 

• Use financial reporting and operational insights to identify improvement opportunities and make informed decisions. 

People Development and Leadership 

• Recruit, train, coach, develop, and retain high-performing import employees and leaders. 

• Build leadership depth through supervisors, leads, senior agents, product experts, and future managers. 

• Create a culture of accountability, customer service, compliance, collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement. 

Systems, Reporting, and Analytics 

• Promote disciplined use of Expeditors systems, import applications, customs systems, Order Management tools, dashboards, and reporting resources. 

• Ensure operational data is timely, accurate, and useful for customers, teams, analytics, compliance, and financial management. 

• Use reporting to monitor performance, backlog, exceptions, dwell, clearance activity, shipment status, order activity, and productivity.