Senior Manager, Customs & Trade Compliance

Role Purpose

The Senior Manager, Customs Trade Compliance APAC owns and oversees the customs

and trade compliance function across the APAC region for all VF brands and

relevant VF business entities, with a particular focus on China, Japan and South

Korea. The role is responsible for defining the regional customs compliance

strategy, establishing governance standards, mitigating risk, and ensuring

import and export activities are executed in compliance with applicable laws,

regulations, internal policies and audit expectations. This position leads a

team of 8 customs trade compliance professionals and is responsible for creating

a high-performing, engaged and accountable team culture. The role builds

capability across the team through coaching, feedback, performance management,

succession planning, talent development and empowerment, while fostering a

growth mindset and encouraging continuous learning.

The Senior Manager is expected to lead with clarity, trust, inclusion and

resilience, using strong communication skills to set direction, explain

priorities, provide timely feedback, listen actively, manage expectations and

ensure team members feel informed, supported and equipped to deliver both

operational excellence and strategic compliance outcomes. A key part of the role

is to act as a collaborative business partner and connector across Customs Trade

Compliance, Logistics, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, IT, Global Trade

Compliance, APAC country teams, customs brokers and external service providers.

The role bridges the gap between compliance requirements and operational

execution, ensuring that customs priorities are embedded into logistics

planning, shipment flow, systems, data, cost management and business decision

making. The Senior Manager owns regional customs projects, oversees customs

audits and authority interactions, drives strategic planning for duty

optimization and trade programs, and ensures that systems, data, controls and

processes support business growth while protecting VF’s compliance position.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and oversee the APAC customs trade compliance program across VF brands

and business entities, with focused accountability for China, Japan and South

Korea.

• Be responsible for regional compliance governance, policies, procedures and

control frameworks to ensure import and export activities comply with

applicable customs laws, regulations and internal standards.

• Oversee HTS classification, country of origin, customs valuation, duty rate

assignment and related ruling strategies across all relevant brands and

product lines.

• Own strategic planning for APAC customs compliance priorities, including risk

assessment, audit readiness, process improvement, duty optimization and

capability building.

• Lead, coach and develop a team of 8 customs trade compliance professionals,

setting clear objectives, building succession strength, promoting a growth

mindset and creating an inclusive, accountable and high-performing team

environment.

• Be responsible for team engagement, performance management, career

development, workload prioritization and capability building to ensure the

team can support regional compliance requirements and future business growth.

• Bridge the gap with the Logistics department by aligning compliance

requirements with operational execution, shipment planning, shipment flow,

broker performance, issue resolution and service-level expectations.

• Partner closely with Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, IT, Global Trade

Compliance and APAC country teams to integrate customs compliance

considerations into business planning, systems changes, cost initiatives,

sourcing decisions and operational processes.

• Facilitate cross-functional governance forums, escalation discussions and

improvement initiatives to ensure clear ownership, timely decision making and

aligned execution across departments.

• Communicate customs priorities, risks, decisions and trade-offs in a clear

and structured way to team members, senior leaders and cross-functional

stakeholders, ensuring transparency, alignment and timely escalation.

• Oversee customs-related systems, master data, files and databases relevant to

import and export activities, including SAP, Infor and other trade compliance

platforms.

• Be responsible for regional audit readiness, including preparing files,

leading responses to internal audits and external customs audits, and

ensuring timely remediation of findings.

• Oversee Free Trade Agreement utilization, duty reduction opportunities,

special customs programs and other trade preference initiatives across APAC.

• Own regional customs data analysis, KPI reporting, duty and savings

reporting, and compliance dashboards to drive informed decision making.

• Manage customs brokers, consultants and third-party service providers,

ensuring service quality, SOP adherence, escalation management and continuous

improvement.

• Represent VF with customs authorities and external partners where

appropriate, ensuring professional, consistent and compliant communication.

• Drive continuous improvement, operational efficiency and scalable compliance

solutions through new applications, process redesign and cross-functional

collaboration.

Number of Subordinates Directly Reporting to this Position:  8 customs trade

compliance professionals

Number of Subordinates Indirectly Reporting to this Position:  As assigned

through regional projects, broker governance and cross-functional compliance

initiatives

People Leadership Scope:  Owns day-to-day and long-term leadership of the APAC

customs trade compliance team, including hiring input, onboarding, coaching,

performance feedback, development planning, engagement, succession planning,

workload balancing and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and

continuous improvement. Communication is a core leadership expectation,

including clear goal setting, regular one-to-one conversations, constructive

feedback, active listening, transparent updates, conflict resolution and the

ability to connect team members to the broader business strategy.

Experience, Education and Competency Requirements

Minimum Relevant Experience: 10+ years

• Bachelor in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, International Trade, Customs or

related discipline with 10+ years of progressive customs trade compliance

experience.

• Strong APAC customs compliance experience, with practical knowledge of China,

Japan and South Korea customs environments.

• Proven experience owning regional customs programs, managing audits, leading

compliance transformation and working with customs authorities, brokers and

consultants.

• Apparel, footwear, retail, consumer goods or complex supply chain industry

experience is desired.

Minimum People Leadership Experience

• 5+ years leading professional teams, including demonstrated experience in
• coaching, performance management, succession planning, talent development, team
• engagement and leading through change in a regional or matrix environment.

Internal Communication and Stakeholder Management

• Partners frequently with APAC country teams, Logistics, Supply Chain,

Finance, Legal, IT, Global Trade Compliance, senior management and

operational leadership at all levels. The role requires strong

cross-functional influence, the ability to translate customs requirements

into practical business actions, and the capability to align departments

around shared compliance, cost, service and risk objectives. The role also

requires clear, concise and audience-appropriate communication, including the

ability to explain complex customs topics to non-specialists, prepare

executive updates, facilitate difficult discussions, listen to stakeholder

concerns and drive decisions through fact-based communication.

Required Competencies

• Strong people leadership skills with the ability to inspire, coach, develop,

empower and hold a professional team accountable while building trust and

psychological safety.

• Ability to set a clear team vision, translate strategy into team priorities,

create alignment across countries and ensure disciplined execution through

regular follow-up and feedback.

• Inclusive leadership style with the ability to build collaboration across

cultures, create space for different perspectives and support a team

operating across APAC markets.

• Strong talent-development mindset with the ability to identify strengths,

address capability gaps, delegate effectively and prepare future leaders

within the team.

• Strategic planning capability and ability to translate regional customs risks

into clear priorities, roadmaps and measurable outcomes.

• Growth mindset with a continuous improvement orientation and willingness to

challenge current ways of working.

• Ability to bridge the gap between compliance requirements and logistics

execution while maintaining strong business partnership.

• Strong collaboration and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to

build trusted partnerships across Logistics, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal,

IT, Global Trade Compliance and APAC country teams.

• Ability to lead through influence in a matrix environment, resolve competing

priorities across functions and create alignment around compliant, efficient

and scalable solutions.

• Executive communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly,

concisely and confidently across countries, cultures, functions and seniority

levels, including senior leadership, operational teams and external partners.

• Strong leadership communication skills, including active listening,

transparent decision communication, constructive feedback, conflict

resolution, expectation management and the ability to motivate and align

teams through change.

• High integrity, sound judgement and accountability for decisions impacting

compliance, cost, service and reputation.

• Strong analytical thinking, risk assessment and problem-solving skills in a

dynamic regional environment.

Leadership Behaviors

• Change leadership and ability to guide teams through transformation, process

redesign and system-enabled improvements.

• Trusted partner mindset with customer focus, business acumen and ability to

balance compliance protection, operational efficiency, logistics execution,

cost management and stakeholder expectations.

• Communicates with clarity, empathy and credibility, ensuring messages are

tailored to the audience and that teams and stakeholders understand

expectations, decisions and the rationale behind them.

• Resilience and composure when working under pressure, managing urgent

shipment issues or responding to authority requests.

Additional Requirements

• Deep knowledge of APAC customs processes, trade compliance controls,

import/export operations and business processes.

• ERP and trade system knowledge, including SAP, Infor and customs compliance

data management.

• Language skills: fluency in English required; practical knowledge of Chinese
• Advanced PC and reporting skills, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, e-mail,

internet research and data analysis tools.

• Travel Required: 20-30% across APAC as business needs require.

R-20260422-0002