BRS Shipbrokers is a leading international shipping group, offering excellent intermediary services for virtually all types of vessels and cargos across 20 locations worldwide. With a portfolio of multinational clients, first-rate reputation for service and professionalism, this leading international group maintains close relations with many of the leading industrial producers, tradersand shippers worldwide.
Given continued growth and the increasing demand for new business, BRS Shipbrokers is seeking to recruit a highly experienced and skilled:
Trade Compliance Officer
Based in Geneva (office-based)
About the Role
Reporting to the Global Head of Tanker Chartering, you will oversee and manage all aspects of trade compliance, providing expert advice and support to commercial directors and other stakeholders within the company. As well as managing, and mitigating commercial risks associated with both new and existing trade activities within the BRS Group, you will oversee compliance related to complex commercial agreements, invoicing, and payment issues, particularly those arising from regulatory changes, sanctions, and restrictions that were not initially anticipated when agreements were signed.
The role involves thorough vetting procedures for new clients and counterparties, ensuring compliance with industry regulations, and offering actionable recommendations to guide decisions on new business. You will work alongside a team of compliance professionals based in Sofia and collaborate with external legal counsel and banking partners to navigate the complexities of trade compliance.
Key Responsibilities:
- Risk Management & Compliance Oversight: Manage and control commercial risks associated with new and ongoing trade activities, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, sanctions, and restrictions affecting agreements and invoicing/payment processes.
- Expert Compliance Advice & Support: Provide expert trade compliance advice to commercial directors and stakeholders, offering insights that support new business growth, while minimising compliance risks.
- Client & Counterparty Vetting: Lead the KYC (Know Your Customer) and due diligence process for new clients and counterparties, ensuring all compliance checks are thorough and aligned with regulations and business requirements. Provide risk assessments and actionable recommendations to facilitate decisions on new business engagements.
- Invoicing & Payment Issues: Oversee complex invoicing and payment issues arising from sanctions, restrictions, or regulatory changes that were not anticipated at the time of signing commercial agreements.
- Team Leadership & Coordination: Lead and manage a team of 5 compliance professionals based in Sofia, ensuring alignment with the company’s broader objectives and maintaining effective workflow and processes for compliance activities.
- Collaboration with Legal & External Experts: Work closely with external legal counsel and other regulatory experts to address complex sanctions and compliance issues. Maintain strong relationships with banks and their compliance teams to facilitate decision-making on trade involving sanctioned countries and other compliance-related concerns.
- Fast-Paced Decision Making: Ensure efficient vetting procedures (KYC, due diligence), capable of supporting quick decision-making in a fast-moving business environment.
- Regulatory Updates & Continuous Improvement: Stay up to date with changes in trade compliance regulations, communicate promptly and clearly if required and continuously improve internal compliance processes to meet evolving legal requirements and business needs.
Candidate Profile & Qualifications:
- Education: A well-rounded university education, ideally in economics, business, law, commercial law, or a related field.
- Experience: Minimum of 5–7 years of professional experience in trade compliance, ideally in the commodities, financial services or shipping sectors.
- Professional Qualifications: Globally recognised compliance certifications such as ACAMS, ICA, CISI, or equivalent are highly desirable.
- Passion for Trade Compliance: A deep passion for international trade compliance, with a solid understanding of current regulations, sanctions, and trade restrictions.
- Organisational Skills: Demonstrated ability to prioritize, manage deadlines, and work effectively in a fast-paced, demanding, and rapidly evolving environment.
- Stakeholder Management: Strong listening and relationship-building skills with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, both internally and externally.
- Problem-Solving & Service Orientation: Service-oriented with strong problem-solving ability, applying agile, pragmatic and commercially viable solutions to address compliance challenges.
- External Legal Counsel Experience: Experience working with external legal counsel and compliance experts to resolve complex trade compliance issues.
- Communication Skills: Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to draft, present, negotiate, and influence key stakeholders. Fluency in French is an advantage.
- Leadership & Team Management: Proven leadership skills, including the ability to manage, motivate, and develop a team of compliance professionals.
- Proactive & Flexible: A can-do attitude, proactive approach, and flexibility, with the ability to share compliance knowledge to facilitate business success.
- Interpersonal & Presentation Skills: Strong interpersonal skills, a natural communicator, and culturally sensitive with the ability to engage with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Technology Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with compliance screening and tools as well as trade-related software.
- Motivation to Work in Shipping: A keen interest in the shipping industry, with a preference for candidates based in or willing to relocate to Geneva.
If you are interested to join a dynamic international & multicultural team in GENEVA, please apply asap (updated CV in English) by email to : Anne Marie Ronayne at Terra Connecta – amronayne@terraconnecta.com