Senior Trade Manager
Senior Trade Manager - Shipping
Hours: Full-time, Permanent (with 1 days WFH)
The Role
We are seeking a Senior Trade Manager to join a busy and growing shipping operation. This is a commercially focused position responsible for managing quotations, pricing, bookings, and the end-to-end coordination of inbound shipments.
The successful candidate will act as a key liaison between customers, freight forwarders, overseas offices, shipping lines, and ports, ensuring the smooth movement of cargo whilst maintaining excellent service levels and operational efficiency.
Key Responsibilities
- Prepare and manage customer quotations and pricing proposals.
- Coordinate international bookings with shipping lines, carriers and freight forwarders.
- Manage inbound shipment activities from origin through to final destination.
- Liaise daily with overseas offices, agents and port authorities to ensure smooth cargo movement.
- Monitor shipment schedules and proactively resolve delays or operational issues.
- Ensure all shipping documentation is accurate and completed within required timelines.
- Track cargo movements and provide updates to customers and internal stakeholders.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with freight forwarders, carriers and logistics partners.
- Support the continuous improvement and streamlining of shipping and logistics processes.
- Assist with cost control, rate negotiations and service performance monitoring.
- Ensure compliance with shipping regulations, customs requirements and company procedures.
- Previous experience within a shipping, freight forwarding, logistics, or supply chain coordination role.
- Strong understanding of international shipping processes and freight documentation.
- Experience handling quotations, pricing, and commercial shipping activities.
- Ability to liaise confidently with overseas offices, ports, carriers and freight forwarders.
- Excellent organisational skills with strong attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple shipments and priorities simultaneously.
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
- Commercially minded with a proactive approach to problem-solving.
- A stable employment background is essential (preferably from shipping or forwarding)
- Proven track record within commercial shipping, logistics, freight forwarding or import operations.
- Demonstrable experience coordinating international shipments from booking through to delivery.
- Ability to work effectively within a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent telephone manner
- Knowledge of multimodal transport (sea / road).
- Vessel & Containers exposure
- Experience working with shipping or freight management systems.
- Knowledge of customs procedures and import compliance requirements.
- Experience within a commercial shipping or freight forwarding environment.
We are looking for a reliable and professional individual who enjoys coordinating complex shipping operations, building strong stakeholder relationships and ensuring shipments move efficiently from origin to destination. A stable career history and a hands-on approach to problem-solving are key requirements for this role.
NB: NO sponsorship is offered.
This listing is from Reed. View original listing ↗