Director, Customs and Foreign Trade

About the role

Ryan is building one of the world's leading Customs and Foreign Trade practices and is seeking an entrepreneurial Director to help shape its next chapter. The Director leads and grows a significant part of the practice, acts as a trusted advisor to senior executives and multinational organisations, leads complex and strategically important engagements, drives revenue growth and defines the future direction of service offerings. The position is based in Manchester or London.

Key responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor to C-suite executives, tax, finance and supply chain leaders and boards, and lead complex, high-profile Customs and Foreign Trade engagements
• Help clients navigate geopolitical, regulatory, operational and commercial challenges, and deliver commercially focused solutions
• Drive revenue growth, expand key accounts, identify and convert new business, and build referral networks and strategic partnerships
• Lead the development of innovative, technology-enabled solutions and explore data, analytics, automation and AI in service delivery
• Represent the firm externally and internally, lead thought leadership and shape industry discussion
• Build and lead high-performing teams, coach and mentor, and support recruitment, succession planning and talent retention

Required profile

• Established leader with a reputation for technical excellence, commercial success and strong client relationships
• Significant experience in Customs and Foreign Trade advisory, industry, government, legal or a related environment
• Demonstrated success leading large, complex client engagements or trade programmes
• Strong commercial track record, including business development and revenue generation
• Proven leadership capability with experience developing and managing high-performing teams

Required skills

• Deep technical expertise in customs compliance and advisory: classification, valuation, origin, customs procedures, reliefs, governance, audits, investigations, management operating model and strategic trade planning
• Ability to balance technical excellence with commercial pragmatism and client outcomes

What we offer

• Competitive compensation and benefits
• Business connectivity reimbursement (phone/internet)
• Gym membership or equipment reimbursement
• LinkedIn Learning subscription
• Tuition reimbursement after one year of service
• Flexible work environment
• Award-winning culture and community outreach