Global Freight Manager

The Global Freight Manager is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all international freight activities across the business, ensuring the efficient, compliant, and cost-effective movement of components, packaging, finished goods, and promotional materials worldwide.

This role is ideal for a highly organised and detail-driven logistics professional with strong international freight expertise, capable of operating in a fast-paced, growing global environment and partnering closely with cross-functional stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end global freight operations across air, ocean, and road transport.
• Coordinate shipments of components, packaging, finished goods, and marketing materials to manufacturing sites, filling partners, and global distribution centres.
• Ensure timely booking, pickup, transit, customs clearance, and final delivery of all shipments.
• Approve freight bookings, routes, transport modes, and rates in line with service, cost, and business requirements.
• Act as the primary point of contact for nominated freight forwarders, carriers, and logistics partners.
• Monitor and manage forwarder performance against agreed KPIs, including cost, transit time, reliability, and service levels.
• Proactively manage and resolve shipment exceptions, delays, potential damages, including claims handling with carriers and insurers.

Customs, Trade & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with international trade regulations, customs requirements, and cosmetic industry standards across all markets.
• Preparation, review, and submission of shipping documentation (commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, etc.).
• Coordinate with customs brokers on import/export formalities, duties, taxes, and special regulatory programs (e.g., FDA notifications, aluminium/steel declarations).
• Maintain accurate and auditable digital records of customs and trade documentation.

Cost Control, Analysis & Reporting

• Manage global freight spend in line with approved budgets and commercial targets.
• Review and approve freight, duty, VAT, and disbursement invoices for accuracy.
• Produce regular reporting on freight costs, duty exposure, transit performance, and service levels, providing insights and recommendations to stakeholders.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Supply Planning, NPD, and Commercial teams to support product launches and ongoing supply.
• Provide logistics expertise and input into new product development, packaging changes, and market expansions.
• Support urgent and time-critical shipments, including escalation management where required.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve freight efficiency, routing, lead times, and resilience.
• Drive best practices to reduce cost, risk, and environmental impact across global freight operations.
• Support logistics process optimisation and system enhancements in line with business growth.