Transportation
Import/Export Manager II
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An Import/Export Manager II is a senior-level leader overseeing complex, multi-region, or enterprise-scale trade programs — managing multiple teams or functions, owning significant compliance risk exposure, and advising senior leadership on trade policy implications. The role combines deep regulatory expertise with broad organizational influence.
Role at a glance
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree in international business, supply chain, or law; JD or MBA preferred
- Typical experience
- 10-15 years
- Key certifications
- Licensed Customs Broker, NCBFAA CSCCS, ITAR/DDTC familiarity
- Top employer types
- Multinational corporations, defense contractors, semiconductor manufacturers, large-scale importers/exporters
- Growth outlook
- Stable demand with acute talent gaps in export controls and sanctions compliance
- AI impact (through 2030)
- Augmentation — AI can automate routine classification and screening, but the role's core value lies in high-stakes executive advisory, navigating complex geopolitical shifts, and managing legal liability.
Duties and responsibilities
- Lead a multi-function trade team spanning import operations, export compliance, and trade analytics across multiple legal entities or business units
- Own the company's full CBP compliance program: classification accuracy, valuation methodology, broker management, and focused assessment readiness
- Develop and execute export control compliance programs under EAR and ITAR, including license management, technology control plans, and internal audit programs
- Manage trade counsel relationships: engage outside attorneys on classification disputes, enforcement matters, and regulatory interpretation questions
- Advise the CFO, COO, and General Counsel on material trade compliance risks, enforcement trends, and tariff exposure scenarios
- Evaluate and implement enterprise trade management technology platforms across multiple business units
- Lead cross-functional trade policy response teams when tariff changes, new export controls, or sanctions programs affect the company's supply chain or customers
- Manage senior customs broker relationships at VP or director level and negotiate multi-year service and technology agreements
- Direct the company's duty optimization and savings program across drawback, FTA utilization, first-sale valuation, and tariff engineering
- Build succession plans and career development frameworks for the trade compliance team
Overview
An Import/Export Manager II operates at the enterprise level — a function leader who is accountable not just for running the trade operations team efficiently, but for positioning the company to navigate a regulatory and commercial environment that changes regularly and with high financial stakes.
The regulatory accountability at this level is substantial. A Manager II owns the company's exposure under customs law, export control regulations, and sanctions programs — and that exposure, at a large importer or exporter with complex products, can be in the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual duty obligations and the potential for criminal or civil enforcement. Maintaining that compliance program in good standing across multiple legal entities, business lines, and regulatory regimes requires institutional systems, not just good intentions.
The executive advisory function is a meaningful part of the role. When USTR announces new Section 301 tariffs, or BIS issues a new rule restricting chip exports, the Manager II translates those regulatory changes into financial and operational implications that the CFO and COO can act on. Companies that are first to understand the financial impact of a policy change have more time to respond — through sourcing adjustments, customer pricing actions, or pre-shipment inventory decisions — than those who act slowly.
People leadership is a full management responsibility, not a partial one. Manager IIs build teams, develop specialists and analysts into future managers, and maintain succession depth for critical compliance roles. In a specialized field where turnover is costly and institutional knowledge is hard to replace, the team-building and retention aspects of the role are strategically important.
Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor's degree required; international business, supply chain, law, or a related field
- JD, LLM in international trade law, or paralegal background is a significant differentiator
- MBA with supply chain or operations focus valued for roles with cross-functional P&L influence
Experience:
- 10–15 years in international trade with 5+ years in people management roles
- Prior ownership of a CBP focused assessment, voluntary prior disclosure, or regulatory enforcement matter
- Demonstrated experience building or materially improving a trade compliance program
- Multi-entity or global scope experience preferred
Credentials:
- Licensed Customs Broker — strongly preferred or required
- Familiarity with ITAR/DDTC licensing framework if role includes defense-adjacent products
- NCBFAA CSCF (Certified Senior Compliance Fellow) or equivalent senior designation
Regulatory depth:
- CBP: 19 CFR, advanced classification, customs valuation (all methods), AD/CVD administration, FTA complex rules of origin
- Export controls: EAR classification and licensing, ITAR technology control plans, OFAC sanctions compliance
- Trade remedies: Section 301, Section 232, countervailing duty scope determinations
- WTO trade law fundamentals: MFN, preferences, customs valuation treaty framework
Leadership competencies:
- Executive communication: presenting risk exposure and strategic trade decisions to C-suite and board-level audiences
- Cross-functional influence: driving sourcing, product, and legal decisions through trade expertise without direct authority
- Vendor management at the strategic level: negotiating major broker and forwarder agreements
Career outlook
The Manager II level in trade compliance represents a well-compensated, stable, and increasingly influential leadership position. The demand for people who can operate at this level exceeds supply, and companies that have experienced CBP enforcement actions, BIS investigations, or OFAC consent orders are particularly active in recruiting candidates who have navigated those situations before.
Export controls has emerged as the most acute talent gap in the field. BIS controls on advanced semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and AI infrastructure were dramatically expanded in 2022–2024 and continue to evolve. Companies selling into or sourcing from affected supply chains need Manager IIs who understand EAR controls at a level that can translate policy changes into operational procedures before shipments go out the door. That expertise is scarce and commands premium compensation.
The sanctions landscape — OFAC — has also grown substantially. Russia, Iran, China-specific measures, and sectoral sanctions across multiple countries have created a complex denied-party and transaction-screening obligation that did not exist at this scale a decade ago. Companies without mature OFAC screening programs are exposed, and regulators have made clear they expect compliance to scale with business size and exposure.
For Manager IIs currently in role, the next career stage — Director of Global Trade or VP of Supply Chain Compliance — is realistically achievable within 4–6 years for those who build executive-level relationships and demonstrate the ability to advise on policy-level trade questions. The salary range at Director level at major multinationals is $160K–$200K base with performance compensation on top, and the pipeline of qualified candidates is thin.
Sample cover letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
I'm applying for the Import/Export Manager II position at [Company]. I have fifteen years in international trade compliance, currently as Import/Export Manager at [Company], where I lead a team of nine covering $240M in annual customs duty payments and an export program spanning 40 countries with EAR dual-use classification obligations.
The most consequential project I've led was restructuring our export controls program following a BIS voluntary self-disclosure three years ago. We had identified that one business unit had been shipping EAR99 classifications on products that were, on review, properly ECCN 5E002 — a software category with license requirements to certain countries. I worked with outside counsel to file the VSC, built a remediation plan that included retroactive ECCN classification for the affected product families and a pre-shipment review workflow, and implemented it within 90 days of the VSC filing. BIS closed the matter with a warning letter. The program has operated cleanly since.
On the import side, I renegotiated our two primary customs broker agreements two years ago, consolidating from three brokers to two and implementing performance SLAs with financial consequences for entry accuracy below 99%. Entry accuracy in the first year under the new agreements improved from 97.1% to 99.4%.
I'm interested in [Company] because your combination of consumer technology imports and dual-use technology exports is directly analogous to what I've been managing, and the scale is a meaningful step up. I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss the role in detail.
[Your Name]
Frequently asked questions
- What differentiates a Manager II from a Manager I in import/export?
- The Manager II designation typically reflects a step up in scope — more business units, more countries, higher duty volumes, more complex regulatory exposure — and more direct interaction with senior leadership. A Manager I runs the trade function for one legal entity or region. A Manager II may run it for multiple entities, oversee a Manager I, or carry specific enterprise-wide program ownership (e.g., the companywide export controls program or the global denied party screening architecture).
- What does a technology control plan involve and when is it required?
- A Technology Control Plan (TCP) is a documented program required by the State Department (DDTC) for companies that access or manufacture ITAR-controlled technology and employ foreign nationals. The TCP establishes procedures for preventing unauthorized access to controlled technology — physical access controls, IT systems barriers, and employee training. ITAR violations involving foreign national access to controlled technology have generated some of the largest enforcement actions in export compliance history.
- How should a Manager II approach a new OFAC sanctions program that hits an existing customer?
- The first step is halting further shipments while legal counsel reviews the designation. Then the manager assesses open orders, in-transit shipments, and existing contracts with that customer. OFAC offers a licensing process for specific authorizations when a transaction is otherwise prohibited. The company's response must be documented, defensible, and consistent — treating all similarly situated transactions the same way is important both legally and for audit purposes.
- How is AI affecting trade compliance at this management level?
- AI tools are becoming embedded in classification, screening, and shipment monitoring workflows. At the management level, the question is governance: how do you validate AI-generated classifications before they result in entries? What is the human review process for AI-flagged screening hits? What are the audit trail requirements? Manager IIs who establish clear governance frameworks for AI use in compliance workflows are ahead of those who adopt tools without thinking through the oversight structure.
- What is the career path above Import/Export Manager II?
- The next step is typically Director of Global Trade Compliance, VP of Supply Chain Risk, or a combined role that includes broader customs and trade policy scope. Some Manager IIs move to customs brokerage leadership, trade law practice (as a government relations lead or compliance counsel), or consulting at the Big Four or specialized trade advisory firms. The combination of regulatory expertise, people leadership, and executive-level communication skills that defines this level is sought across multiple career paths.
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