Trade Compliance Manager Recruiters
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A trade compliance manager protects a plant from the day customs holds a shipment, a classification is challenged, or a government customer asks who handled a controlled drawing. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Manufacturing only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
The hiring decision
What makes this hire work on your plant floor?
A trade compliance manager protects a plant from the day customs holds a shipment, a classification is challenged, or a government customer asks who handled a controlled drawing. If your broker makes the calls, nobody owns your classifications, or your engineers email technical data to overseas suppliers without thought, the exposure is real. We search for compliance leaders who have run import and export programs in manufacturing, passed audits and been willing to stop a shipment.
We ask how they classify parts under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, who reviewed it, how they documented the reasoning and what happened when customs disagreed. For a manufacturer, bills of materials drive duty and origin, so we ask whether they built classification into item master data or kept it on a separate sheet.
We also ask how recent tariff changes affected their duty planning, and how they communicated the effect to procurement and finance. We want to know whether they ever filed a binding ruling request, reviewed antidumping exposure on a steel or aluminum input, or advised sourcing on a country of origin switch.
Before an introduction
What do we check before you interview?
Our recruiter conversations establish what the candidate says they personally handled, how they made decisions and why they would consider this opening. The brief identifies candidate-reported information, available supporting evidence and unresolved questions. Your team still assesses technical performance, site-specific safety requirements and the authority the person will need.
ITAR and EAR in a plant setting
We ask who they have trained and how they handled a suspected violation. Voluntary disclosure experience is something we ask about directly.
Audit and program building
We ask for the program they inherited and the one they left. Written procedures, recordkeeping, screening of parties, training, internal audits and broker oversight all form part of it. We listen for specifics, such as how often they audit and what they found.
Working with brokers, engineering and sales
Compliance people are often the department of no. We ask how they offered a path to yes, how they worked with engineers on technical data, and how they managed brokers and freight forwarders. We also check whether they have supported duty drawback or free trade zone programs, how they managed restricted party screening for customers and suppliers, and how they handled a customs inquiry or a request for information. The calm answer is usually the experienced one: they describe documents pulled, a timeline kept and a broker who was told what to say.
Need a Trade Compliance Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Direct search
Where are qualified people working now?
Our main source is trade compliance teams inside aerospace and defense manufacturers and electronics producers, where controlled technology and global supply chains require disciplined programs. We also look at senior compliance specialists who have handled the work at a plant level and are ready to own it, and logistics managers who have carried compliance as a second job.
We screen for licensed customs brokers or formal training only where it matters to your program. If you do both in house clearance and rely on a broker, the skill mix changes, and we raise that with you at the start. Many fine compliance managers have learned on the job, so we judge by what they classified, certified and defended, and which regulators they have worked with.
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
- USMCA and origin. We ask about rules of origin, how they certified product, how they collected supplier data and what they did when a supplier could not support a claim.
- USMCA and origin. A good manager can explain the duty cost of a sourcing decision before the purchase order is released, not after the invoice arrives.
- ITAR and EAR in a plant setting. For aerospace and defense work, we ask about registration, commodity jurisdiction, license and agreement management, and how they controlled technical data on the floor and in engineering.
Executive-search discipline, on every assignment
What do you get from the Six-Step Search?
Plant leaders, engineers and skilled technicians receive the same care in defining the work, researching relevant backgrounds and understanding the individual. Pulling a list and sending messages is not the hard part. The value is doing the research and qualification well enough to support a sound hiring decision.
Calibrate the work and the decision
We start with the operating problem, what the hire must improve and the decisions they will own. We agree what experience matters, who supports the role and what you can realistically offer. A maintenance leader inheriting reactive breakdowns needs a different brief from one building a reliability program.
Research relevant plants and people
We research manufacturing environments where people have handled comparable work. Process, equipment and decision authority matter more than a matching title. We look for relevant professionals, including people who are not applying, rather than treating an exported list as a completed search.
Make respectful, targeted contact
We explain why the work may be relevant and invite a conversation without pressure. We agree what information may be shared on a confidential search. Contact is the start of qualification, not evidence that someone wants the job or fits it.
Discuss the work they personally performed
Our conversations separate an individual's decisions and responsibilities from the team's results. We explore judgment under pressure, reasons for considering a move and practical expectations. For technicians, that includes equipment background, shift, commute and the support available. Candidate accounts are identified as such; a conversation is not a technical certification.
Write down fit, gaps and open questions
You receive a written candidate brief connecting the person's background to your operating problem. It explains motivation and practical fit, the gaps we have identified and what remains to assess. We distinguish candidate-reported information from supporting evidence rather than presenting every statement as independently verified.
Stay involved through interviews and offers
We use your interview feedback to clarify gaps and keep both sides informed about the work and expectations. We help address offer questions, counteroffers and practical concerns without promising an acceptance. Your team makes the hiring decision and assesses technical capability and site-specific requirements. A shortlist is an output of this work, not the whole service.
Need a Trade Compliance Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Which manufacturing settings need this role?
- Automotive (OEM, Tier 1, Tier 2)
- Aerospace & Defense
- Electronics & Electrical Manufacturing
- Semiconductors
- Industrial Machinery & Equipment
- Energy & Power Equipment
Questions about Trade Compliance Manager searches
Need a Trade Compliance Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Start your Trade Compliance Manager search
Need a Trade Compliance Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Pay snapshot
$141,900 annual national median for SOC 11-9199 Managers, All Other.
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.
May 2025 OEWS, released 2026-05-15. BLS release · Official occupation data
Open the full salary guideNeed a Trade Compliance Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What else affects this Trade Compliance Manager hire?
When is it paid?
Only after a candidate we introduced accepts your offer and starts work. Interviews and shortlists cost nothing.
How confidential is the search?
Very. Compliance leaders often know about sensitive programs, so we keep your name private until a candidate is engaged.
Can you contact people who are not searching?
Yes: Capable compliance managers rarely apply to postings. We contact them directly with details on regulations and program scope.
What about relocation?
Some roles can be partly remote, though many need a plant presence. We discuss that in the first call.
Would you consider import export compliance titles?
Yes: Import and export compliance manager and trade compliance specialist can fit, depending on the scope they have owned. Compliance people are often the department of no.
Need a Trade Compliance Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What should we discuss first?
What is your fee?
A percentage of first year base salary, agreed in writing before the search begins. No fee unless you hire.
Questions before starting a search
When do you pay a recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement sets the fee basis and payment terms. Sending an opening does not itself commit you to a fee or an exclusive arrangement.
How long does it take to see a short list?
We discuss the search conditions before describing a realistic next step. Shift, location, equipment match and the candidate's reasons for moving all matter. We do not promise a shortlist date before understanding the opening.
How do you handle counteroffers?
We ask what is driving the move before introducing a candidate. We discuss what might change if the current employer offers more money or a different job. Your team still decides whether that person's motivation fits the opening.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not bill hourly for a standard permanent search, repost a job-board ad as a search, or supply high-volume general labor. Retainers are not the default. Any different arrangement must be agreed in writing.
Read the contingency fee terms · Review Trade Compliance Manager