Senior customs officer

Senior customs officer - overview

As a senior customs officer, you’ll use your excellent organisational skills and legislative knowledge to manage operational teams and coordinate a range of services. Learn more about a career in the customs service, find out what it involves and what you’ll need to study and do to get a role.

Learn what the role involves below.

What does a senior customs officer do?

As a senior customs officer, you’ll be skilled at looking at the bigger picture, anticipating problems and finding solutions before issues negatively impact services.

You’ll enjoy being responsible for teams of staff and have good communication and networking skills, working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.

You’ll be knowledgeable in trade and customs law and confident in making sure that rules are enforced.

This senior role will sometimes involve shift work to ensure a service is provided 24 hours a day. Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding at times.

What will your days involve?

Daily tasks will vary but could involve:

Advising on regulations regarding taxes, duties and immigration requirements
Enforcing regulations and examining goods entering the country to confirm the correct duty is paid
Making sure passengers have the correct documents and rights to cross national borders
Advising on the recruitment, training and monitoring of staff
Liaising with other senior officials and/or government departments to determine staffing, financial and other short- and long-term needs
Preparing reports for organisations like insurance companies and the Home Office, among others