Global Trade & Customs Advisory Leader

Grant Thornton•Arlington, VA

About The Position

The Global Trade & Customs Advisory Leader is a senior leadership role responsible for driving growth, delivery excellence, and market positioning of the firm’s Global Trade practice. The role combines deep customs and global trade technical expertise with executive-level client advisory, revenue generation, and practice leadership responsibilities. The Director leads complex, multidisciplinary engagements, serves as a trusted advisor to senior client executives, and helps expand the firm’s Global Trade footprint through go-to-market leadership, solution development, and talent development.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, International Business, Finance, Information Systems, or a related field.
At least 12 years of experience in customs and global trade, including significant experience in a professional services environment.
Deep technical expertise in U.S. and international customs and global trade regulations.
Proven experience leading Global Trade technology implementations and large-scale advisory engagements.
Demonstrated success in revenue generation, client relationship management, and practice growth.
Strong executive-level communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Serve as a senior advisor to C-suite and executive-level trade, tax, supply chain, and finance leaders at multinational clients.
Lead large-scale, complex Global Trade & Customs Advisory engagements, including multi-country and multi-workstream programs.
Provide strategic guidance on import/export compliance and governance; tariff classification, valuation, and origin strategy; free trade agreements and duty optimization; and trade remedies, enforcement risk, and regulatory change management.
Ensure delivery of high-quality, defensible work products aligned with regulatory requirements and firm risk standards.
Review and approve engagement scope, deliverables, and conclusions for technical accuracy and defensibility.
Act as a senior escalation point for complex technical and regulatory matters.
Ensure compliance with firm independence, quality, and risk management policies.
Lead, mentor, and develop Global Trade professionals across all levels.
Build and scale Global Trade talent capabilities, including technical training and career development initiatives.
Collaborate across a matrixed organization with Tax, Supply Chain, Technology, and Advisory leadership.
Drive revenue generation, client relationship management, and overall Global Trade practice growth.