Director, Global Trade and Duty Optimization

Heaven Hill Brands•Louisville, KY

2h•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Global Trade and Duty Optimization is accountable for Heaven Hill's enterprise duty drawback program and related global trade tax opportunities. The role leads program strategy, governance, compliance, financial reporting alignment, and execution to maximize lawful recovery while establishing a strong control environment and audit readiness. The Director partners closely with Tax, Accounting, Legal, Compliance, and other business stakeholders to ensure drawback recoveries are identified, documented, claimed, reconciled, and appropriately reflected in company financial records and reporting. The role balances value creation with financial stewardship, translating trade and customs complexity into measurable business value while maintaining compliance and controls. This is an office-based position in Louisville, Kentucky, primarily based in an office, with travel to production, warehouse, distribution, logistics, broker, or other relevant locations as needed. The original travel estimate is around 10%.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Tax, International Business, Supply Chain, Logistics, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
At least 5 years of experience leading duty drawback programs, customs compliance, global trade, tax recovery initiatives, import/export operations, customs brokerage, or other complex cross-functional trade programs.
Experience working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), drawback claims and rulings, customs brokers, government agencies, external trade advisors, and legal counsel.
Ability to influence decision-making and drive execution across functions without direct reporting authority.
Strong business, financial, and operational acumen, with the ability to balance value creation, compliance requirements, and organizational risk.
Proven experience managing complex cross-functional initiatives and delivering measurable financial results.
Strong understanding of duty drawback, customs compliance, import/export processes, and recovery program management.
Ability to evaluate complex operational, supply chain, and commercial scenarios and translate them into compliance and recovery opportunities.
Strong financial, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to reconcile large and complex datasets.
Strong control, documentation, and audit-readiness mindset.
Experience establishing governance frameworks, documentation standards, reconciliation processes, and compliance controls.
Ability to lead enterprise initiatives and drive results through influence rather than formal authority.
Strong business judgment balancing financial opportunity, compliance requirements, operational practicality, and organizational risk.
Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to translate technical issues into clear business implications and recommendations.

Nice To Haves

Experience in beverage alcohol, spirits, consumer packaged goods (CPG), manufacturing, or another highly regulated industry.
Licensed Customs Broker, Certified Customs Specialist, or another relevant trade compliance credential.
Experience with global trade optimization strategies, tax recovery programs, and trade technology solutions.

Responsibilities

Own the enterprise duty drawback strategy, roadmap, and operating model; identify and prioritize recovery opportunities and establish governance from opportunity identification through documentation, claim submission, recovery, and ongoing compliance.
Evaluate import, export, manufacturing, inventory, and supply chain activity to identify lawful duty and excise tax recovery opportunities; develop quantified business cases, forecasts, and executable plans while preventing overclaims, underclaims, and avoidable leakage.
Serve as the internal subject matter leader for duty drawback and related customs requirements; establish policies, procedures, controls, approval processes, and audit protocols supporting compliant claims and defensible positions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other relevant authorities.
Partner with Accounting on the appropriate accounting treatment of drawback recoveries, documentation of accounting conclusions, and alignment among customs documentation, claims, accounting records, and financial reporting.
Establish documentation, data, and record-retention standards to support eligibility, claim substantiation, audit readiness, and financial reporting; drive reconciliation, data quality, and traceability across systems and functions.
Partner with operational and commercial teams to evaluate the effect of sourcing, manufacturing, inventory, import, and export decisions on drawback eligibility and recovery opportunities, and incorporate drawback considerations into business decisions early.
Coordinate cross-functional execution by clarifying responsibilities, requirements, timelines, and decisions; influence process owners, remove execution barriers, escalate issues, and build shared accountability.
Direct customs brokers, drawback specialists, freight forwarders, external advisors, and counsel as appropriate, integrating their expertise into the operating model while retaining clear internal ownership of decisions, controls, documentation, and performance.
Establish dashboards and management routines covering eligible opportunities, claims submitted, recovery realized, forecasted recovery, claim cycle time, documentation completeness, exceptions, compliance risk, and potential leakage.
Monitor and reconcile submitted claims, approved recoveries, cash receipts, and recorded balances for completeness, accuracy, and audit readiness.
Communicate technical issues as clear business implications and recommendations for senior leadership.