[Hiring] UK Customs Operations Leader @GE Aerospace

Role Description

The UK Customs Operations Leader oversees how GE goods move across borders, ensuring every shipment is compliant, on time, and cost-effective. They own the key customs processes and procedures, working closely with logistics, supply chain, finance, and external brokers to keep goods flowing smoothly. The role shapes how the team works day to day, setting priorities, driving improvements, and resolving issues quickly when shipments are held or challenged. Guided by clear policies but with a good level of autonomy, this person uses strong operational judgement to balance risk, service, and cost while supporting the wider business.

Qualifications

• Solid experience in logistics and customs operations, with a strong understanding of how goods move across borders in a complex business environment.
• Proven process and people leadership, comfortable leading teams, setting direction, and coaching others to deliver results.
• Current UK customs license or certification (minimum Level 4, or equivalent), with up-to-date knowledge of customs rules and requirements is preferred.
• Confident, advanced communicator, able to adapt your style, influence stakeholders, and present clearly to senior leaders.
• Strong project management skills, able to plan, prioritise, and deliver initiatives on time and to good quality.
• Ability to bring together multiple business perspectives (operations, finance, compliance, customers) into practical strategies and action plans.
• Genuine customer focus, able to listen, understand needs, and find solutions that balance customer expectations with policies, procedures, and business goals.
• Experience working in a metrics-driven environment, comfortable compiling and analysing data, tracking performance, and closing gaps with clear, measurable actions.

Requirements

• Provides direction, creates and executes on customs strategy affecting customs operational transactions on behalf of GE businesses in the UK.
• Lead, develop, and coach a local team in alignment with GE Aerospace leadership standards, fostering high performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee UK sites export and import process conformance to requirements, lead corrective actions and process improvement projects as needed; and special program execution.
• Support and lead the region from Customs operational and advisory support perspective covering all UK sites.
• Management of Customs Brokers and Customs Vendors to assure shipments execute to requirements.
• Support global external customs audit preparation and audit processes.
• Lead projects with different levels of risk and resource requirements.
• Drive risk reduction and support risk reduction in accordance with risk management strategy for UK region.
• Support investigation of compliance defects to determine root cause and lead/support corrective actions to closure.
• Own UK Operations KPI’s to monitor Enterprise Standard and regulatory conformance to reduce risk and optimize process lead time.
• Manage customs integration process for regional sites.
• Follow the UK Customs Regulatory updates, and support UK Customs Regulatory changes by leading operational change management projects.

Benefits

• Pension
• Bonus
• Life Assurance
• Group income protection
• Private medical cover

Security Clearance

Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance is required and must be maintained for this role. Please note that in the event that BPSS clearance cannot be obtained, you may not be eligible for the role and/or any offer of employment may be withdrawn on grounds of national security.

Right to Work

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. However, under the applicable UK immigration rules, it may be that candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be appointed to a post if a suitably qualified, experienced, and skilled candidate who does not require sponsorship is available to take up the post.