Customs Compliance Lead

We are looking for a Customs Compliance Lead within the Trading Optimisation Profession. This key role will serve as the Partnership’s authoritative expert and principal point of contact for HMRC across both John Lewis and Waitrose Brands for the John Lewis Partnership.

In the role, you will lead strategic and operational trade compliance, driving end-to-end import and export controls, Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) governance, complex Excise duty regimes (specifically across Waitrose Beers, Wines, Spirits, and food/non-food imports), and the oversight of the Partnership’s multi-hundred-million-pound duty deferment accounts.

Combining sharp commercial acumen with deep regulatory insight, you will act as a trusted advisor to Heads of Merchandising, Buying, Supply Chain, and Finance. You will ensure commercial importing and sourcing strategies are legally compliant, duty-efficient, and optimised to protect margins and cash flow while safeguarding stock availability and speed-to-shelf.

You will lead the evolution of the combined Customs & Excise function—designing future-fit processes, embedding scalable technologies, and aligning operational controls with industry best practices. As a people leader, you will empower, upskill, and stretch your team, creating an agile, high-performing compliance capability that supports the business through regulatory change and complex trading environments.

• Salary up to - £68,800.00 - £122,000.00.

•  We are looking for candidates up to, depending on experience 100K

• Contract type - This position is a Permanent Role

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team work 3 days a week in the office. - Please note you must be based in the UK for this role to be able to support Hybrid Working

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•  Location - This role is based at our London Head Office campus in Pimlico. However, occasional travel to Bracknell Head Office may be required.

• This role will require a 2-stage interview process.

Key responsibilities

• Responsible for all Customs activities including CFSP customs entries, classification, valuation, evidencing controls and governance processes to meet the standards and requirements expected of an Authorised Economic Operator. Maintain up-to-date documentation of activities touching the international supply chain across John Lewis and Waitrose.

• Ensuring relevant product codes are linked to a commodity code. For JL this includes import, intrastat, International Wholesale and International Online.  For Waitrose, this includes non-food imports and intrastat.  Meet appropriate availability targets

• Ensuring all CFSP entries are submitted and the month-end is closed off in accordance with HMRC timelines.

•  Managing and reporting on Assists calculations, including collating the annual statement of intent from every John Lewis and Waitrose buyer, calculating monthly RFID, GIL label duty & VAT liabilities 

• Setting up new systems and processes which make our operations fit for the future

• Ensuring all Customs activities for Waitrose, including the correct treatment of BWS and food and non-food imports.

• Ensuring all Excise movements are correctly recorded and declared to HMRC for Waitrose. 

• Overseeing and controlling the Waitrose Customs & Excise deferment accounts and releasing the payments to HMRC

• Obtaining and maintaining all the necessary authorisations for John Lewis & Waitrose (AEO, Excise Warehouse, CFSP, PVA

• Act as a main point of contact for HMRC for any Customs and Excise-related queries.

• Advise on strategic business decisions to improve margin and cash flow for the Partnership (implementation of new FTAs, mass excise duty payments).

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Substantial, hands-on experience managing complex end-to-end import, export, and excise compliance within high-volume retail or FMCG environments. Detailed technical knowledge of UK Customs tariffs, CFSP, AEO governance, duty deferment systems, Free Trade Agreements, Rules of Origin, and Excise regulations (specifically BWS and food/non-food imports).

• Excise Systems & Movements: Practical, operational expertise using EMCS (Excise Movement and Control System) to manage goods under duty suspension, duty-paid movements, and release for consumption.

• Extensive, hands-on experience managing UK Excise Duty regulations and operational compliance within retail, FMCG, or logistics, with specific emphasis on Beers, Wines, and Spirits (BWS).

•  Strong financial and analytical capability with a proven track record of leveraging trade data (MSS, customs entries, audit reports) to drive duty savings, optimise cash flow (e.g., managing high-value deferment accounts), and inform commercial/sourcing strategies.

• High-Value Financial & Deferment Governance: Proven track record of managing and reporting on large-scale Duty Deferment Accounts (managing liabilities and executing accurate monthly/annual declarations and payments to HMRC.

• Outstanding communication and negotiation skills, with a track record of acting as the principal contact for HMRC and external regulatory bodies. Proven ability to translate complex legislative updates into actionable business advice for senior decision-makers (Heads of Merchandising, Buying, and Finance).

• Direct experience obtaining, maintaining, and auditing HMRC Excise authorisations (e.g., Excise Warehouse, Registered Consignee/Consignor status)

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Desirable skills/experience you may have 

• Professional qualification in Customs Compliance or International Trade (e.g., UK Customs Academy Level 4/5, Institute of Export & International Trade, or equivalent).

• Understanding of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) controls, IPAFFS, Defra guidelines, and Border Control Post (BCP) processes for imported foodstuffs alongside excise products.

• Experience leading or developing high-performing technical teams (e.g., Analysts and Managers) through process redesign and systems transformations.

• Practical experience managing Customs Declaration Service (CDS) and EMCS (Excise Movement and Control System).

• Experience implementing or optimising dedicated Excise management software(DMS) and ERP/WMS integrations for EMCS and duty calculation automation.

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We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview. 

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