Send job to a friend

Job Specification

Duties:

Account Administration and Shipment Coordination

• Create and maintain freight jobs using pro-forma invoices, purchase order information
• and supplier documentation.
• Chase suppliers and shippers for booking confirmations, shipping instructions,
• documentation and outstanding information.
• Maintain shipment trackers, schedules and customer visibility reports, ensuring
• milestones and outstanding actions remain current.
• Coordinate with the customer, suppliers, shipping lines, hauliers, warehouses and
• internal operational teams.
• Maintain accurate electronic records and upload customer-facing documents to the
• agreed platforms.
• Customs and Regulatory Compliance – Essential
• Complete and control UK import customs declarations, including the review of
• commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, commodity information, origin data
• and customs valuation information.
• Check declaration accuracy, manage duty and deferment requirements and escalate
• discrepancies before submission.
• Create and manage IPAFFS notifications and CHEDs for applicable food and Products of
• Animal Origin movements.
• Manage Port Health queries, health certificate documentation and supporting
• regulatory records.
• Complete and track duty reclaims.
• Support HMRC or customer audits through accurate document collation and record
• retention.
• Support European movements and the associated customs or regulatory requirements
• where required.
• Customer Reporting, Financial Control and Billing
• Prepare weekly shipment schedules and operational status reports for the customer.
• Produce monthly management reports covering delivery activity, insurance, quay rent,
• container or shipping line information and related account measures.
• Complete weekly bulk invoicing, check charges and ensure deliveries are billed
• accurately.
• Prepare dummy costings and estimated landed cost information using complete
• commercial and shipment data.
• Respond to customer queries concerning invoices, duty and deferment, providing the
• relevant supporting documentation.

Operational Cover and Business Continuity

• Train to provide operational cover for the Account Supervisor during annual leave or
• other absence.
• Monitor vessel schedules, shipment progress and ETA changes, providing timely
• updates to the customer and internal teams.
• Liaise with shipping lines regarding releases, bills of lading, charges and operational
• exceptions.
• Coordinate hauliers, delivery bookings, warehouses, cold stores and delivery previews.
• Update landed costs, issue releases and support urgent operational decisions in
• accordance with customer instructions and Fracht procedures.
• Maintain account continuity through clear handovers, current trackers and accessible
• records.

Systems, SOPs and General Support

• Use CargoWise to maintain accurate operational, customs, costing and billing records.
• Use SharePoint, Web Tracker or equivalent platforms to maintain document control and
• customer visibility.
• Create, review and maintain account SOPs, work instructions and training records.
• Monitor shared operational mailboxes and respond to relevant customer or shipment
• requests.
• Provide account-specific presentations, process support and ad hoc reporting when
• required.

Experience required:

• Experience of deep-sea import freight forwarding.
• Practical experience of completing and controlling UK import customs declarations.
• A high level of accuracy when reviewing and processing shipment and customs
• documentation.
• Confident and professional customer communication.
• Ability to manage several live shipments and competing deadlines.
• Competent spreadsheet and reporting skills.
• Ability to identify, question and escalate incomplete or inconsistent information.

Highly Desirable

• CargoWise experience.
• Food import experience.
• Experience of IPAFFS, CHEDs and Port Health requirements.
• Experience of SharePoint, Web Tracker or comparable document management and
• customer visibility systems.
• Previous experience supporting a major key account.

Personal Attributes

• Methodical, organised and commercially aware.
• Calm and practical when working under pressure.
• Confident in questioning incomplete or potentially incorrect information.
• Proactive in identifying and escalating operational, customs or compliance risks.
• Comfortable working independently and as part of an account team.
• Willing to learn both the primary back-office role and the operational cover duties.
• Committed to maintaining accurate records, customer service and account continuity.

Performance and Conduct Expectations

• Maintain accurate and complete operational, customs, financial and compliance

records.

• Follow approved SOPs, customer instructions and Fracht procedures, escalating

matters where information is unclear or incomplete.

• Communicate with customers and operational partners in a timely, practical and

professional manner.

• Protect customer confidentiality and commercially sensitive information.
• Support cross-training, handover and business continuity so that critical account

knowledge is not held by one person.

Additional information:

The Key Account Coordinator / Key Account Specialist will provide dedicated operational,

customs, compliance, reporting, billing and customer support for a major, long-standing food

retail import account.

This is a hands-on, detail-focused role requiring close coordination with the customer,

suppliers, shipping lines, hauliers, warehouses, internal teams and regulatory authorities.

The successful candidate will take primary ownership of the account’s back-office function and

will also train to provide operational cover for the Account Supervisor during annual leave, other

absence and business continuity requirements.

Health & safety notes:

Salary: From £33,000 per annum, depending on experience (with full experience K£36/£37)

Benefits:

Twice-yearly discretionary bonus, subject to both company and individual performance

Enhanced pension scheme with Legal & General

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Health scheme benefit

Life Assurance scheme, including GP access

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with 24/7 confidential support

Location: Erdington, Birmingham. Primarily office-based, with occasional attendance at another local office to provide holiday cover (with prior notice).

Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm (one-hour lunch break)

Office Use Only:-

Office - PERM

Division - PERM

Service - PERM VAC