Role Objective:
The Director of International Business Operations is responsible for the overall leadership, financial performance, compliance, and strategic direction of the international logistics operation. This position oversees ocean freight, air freight, international project cargo, and customs brokerage, ensuring operations are safe, compliant, efficient, customer-focused, and profitable.
The Director has direct responsibility for the International Business P&L, including revenue growth, gross margin, operating expenses, productivity, and overall profitability. The role also leads and develops the international operations team, manages customer and vendor relationships, oversees regulatory compliance and customs activities, and drives continuous improvement across the business.
The Director will also serve as the department’s CargoWise super user, ensuring effective system utilization, standardized workflows, accurate documentation, and strong data integrity. Success in this role will be measured by sustainable business growth, financial performance, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, customer satisfaction, and the development of a strong, accountable team.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead all international freight forwarding operations, including ocean import/export, air import/export, project cargo, and related customs brokerage activities
- Oversee the complete shipment lifecycle from quotation and booking through documentation, customs clearance, final delivery, billing, and file closure
- Ensure shipments are executed accurately, efficiently, profitably, and in accordance with customer and regulatory requirements
- Establish and maintain operational procedures, service standards, and performance expectations across the international operations team
- Provide operational oversight for complex, high-value, oversized, breakbulk, and project cargo movements
- Coordinate with domestic transportation, drayage, warehousing, pricing, sales, and finance teams to provide customers with integrated logistics solutions
- Monitor shipment exceptions and escalations and provide leadership on high-priority customer or operational issues
- Identify opportunities to improve workflows, reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer visibility
Customs Brokerage, Compliance & Documentation:
- Provide management oversight of customs brokerage activities associated with the international business
- Establish a strong culture of compliance, documentation accuracy, and accountability throughout international operations
- Ensure import and export documentation is complete, accurate, timely, and maintained in accordance with applicable regulatory and recordkeeping requirements
- Maintain appropriate internal controls and procedures surrounding customs entries, classifications, valuation, country of origin, documentation, and other customs-related activities
- Work closely with customs brokers, customers, agents, and internal teams to ensure timely and compliant clearance of international shipments
- Monitor customs brokerage performance, documentation quality, clearance issues, and compliance exceptions
- Maintain oversight of regulatory requirements applicable to international freight forwarding activities, including IATA, Indirect Air Carrier (IAC), NVOCC, TSA, FMC, and other applicable agencies and programs
- Ensure required licenses, registrations, certifications, bonds, tariffs, filings, and documentation remain current and compliant
- Coordinate regulatory audits, renewals, training, internal reviews, and corrective actions
- Establish processes for periodic file audits to verify documentation completeness and compliance with company and regulatory requirements
- Ensure employees receive appropriate compliance training and understand their individual responsibilities
- Stay current on regulatory changes affecting international transportation and customs activities and implement necessary operational changes
- Partner with leadership, legal counsel, insurance providers, customs brokers, and external compliance resources to identify and mitigate regulatory and financial risk
International Business P&L Management:
- Hold direct responsibility and accountability for the International Business P&L
- Develop and manage annual operating budgets, forecasts, revenue targets, margin expectations, and expense plans
- Monitor revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, and overall profitability of the international business
- Analyze financial performance by customer, service line, trade lane, and other relevant business segments
- Monitor shipment-level profitability and establish expectations for accurate costing, accruals, vendor charges, and customer billing
- Identify underperforming customers, lanes, services, or processes and develop corrective action plans
- Partner with Sales and Pricing to establish commercially sustainable pricing strategies and profitability expectations
- Identify opportunities to increase revenue, improve margins, reduce operating costs, and improve productivity
- Provide leadership with regular reporting on financial performance, operational KPIs, forecasts, risks, and growth opportunities
- Ensure operational decisions balance customer service, compliance, growth, and profitability
- Develop the operational capacity, staffing, technology, and vendor network necessary to support profitable growth of the international business
Team Leadership & Development:
- Lead, coach, and develop the international operations team
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability within the department
- Conduct regular team meetings, performance reviews, coaching sessions, and professional development activities
- Develop succession plans and cross-training to ensure appropriate operational coverage and business continuity
- Support recruiting, onboarding, and training of new international operations employees
- Create a culture focused on customer service, accountability, collaboration, compliance, profitability, and continuous improvement
- Evaluate staffing levels, productivity, and organizational structure as the international business grows
Customer Management:
- Serve as a senior operational point of contact for key international customers
- Build strong relationships with customers and develop a thorough understanding of their supply chains, service expectations, and business requirements
- Lead operational business reviews and participate in strategic customer meetings
- Manage customer escalations and ensure issues are addressed quickly and professionally
- Partner with Sales and Pricing to support customer retention, new business opportunities, RFQs, and implementation of new accounts
- Ensure new customer onboarding includes clearly defined SOPs, pricing requirements, compliance requirements, operational workflows, billing expectations, and service standards
- Identify opportunities to expand services within existing customer accounts while maintaining appropriate profitability
CargoWise System Leadership:
- Serve as the departmental super user and subject matter expert for CargoWise
- Ensure CargoWise is used consistently and effectively throughout international operations
- Develop and maintain standardized CargoWise workflows, procedures, templates, and operating standards
- Ensure required shipment, customs, financial, and compliance documentation is properly maintained within the system
- Train and support employees on CargoWise functionality and best practices
- Establish expectations for data quality, documentation, and timely system updates
- Stay current on CargoWise enhancements, releases, and functionality that could benefit international operations
- Work with internal technology resources and external vendors to evaluate and implement integrations, automation, and process improvements
- Identify opportunities to reduce manual processes and increase operational efficiency through technology
- Develop reporting and KPIs using data captured within CargoWise to improve operational and financial visibility
Carrier, Agent & Vendor Management:
- Develop and maintain relationships with ocean carriers, airlines, overseas agents, customs brokers, drayage providers, warehouses, and other international logistics partners
- Establish service and performance expectations for international vendors and partners
- Monitor vendor performance, service quality, compliance, and cost
- Support negotiations of rates, service agreements, credit terms, and other commercial arrangements
- Develop a reliable international partner network capable of supporting existing business and future growth
Key Performance Indicators:
- International Business revenue and P&L performance
- Gross margin and operating profitability
- Revenue and margin growth
- Shipment-level profitability
- Customer retention and service performance
- Customs brokerage compliance and documentation accuracy
- Regulatory compliance and audit performance
- Billing accuracy and timeliness
- Operational error and exception rates
- CargoWise data quality and system utilization
- Employee productivity and development
- Vendor and carrier performance
- Operational efficiencies and documented cost savings
- Successful onboarding and implementation of new customers
Qualifications:
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, International Business, Business Administration, or related field preferred; equivalent industry experience will be considered
- Significant experience in international freight forwarding and logistics operations
- Strong working knowledge of ocean freight, air freight, international project cargo, and customs brokerage processes
- Demonstrated knowledge of international freight forwarding and regulatory compliance requirements, including IATA, IAC, NVOCC, TSA, FMC, and applicable customs regulations
- Experience managing a business unit, department, or operational P&L
- Previous experience managing and developing an operations team
- Strong customer relationship and account management skills
- Strong understanding of freight forwarding financials, including buy rates, sell rates, accruals, billing, gross margin, and shipment profitability
- Strong understanding of international shipping and customs documentation requirements
- Excellent organizational, communication, analytical, problem-solving, and leadership skills
Preferred:
- Advanced experience with CargoWise and demonstrated ability to serve as a super user or system administrator
- Experience managing or overseeing customs brokerage operations
- Experience with oversized, heavy haul, breakbulk, RoRo, or international project cargo
- Experience developing SOPs, compliance procedures, and standardized operational workflows
- Experience working within an asset-based transportation or integrated logistics organization
- Experience integrating international forwarding with domestic transportation, drayage, warehousing, and other logistics services
Employee Benefits:
- Competitive compensation package with incentive bonus opportunity
- 401(k)
- Paid holidays
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Employer-paid group life insurance
- Voluntary life insurance
- Short-term and long-term disability coverage
- Accident, hospital indemnity, and critical illness insurance
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
Work Location: In person
