Requirements

Senior customs officer - requirements

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.

Know what you'll need to land a job below.

What qualifications do you need to be a senior customs officer?

A degree in any subject will help but one in a relevant social science will prove most useful. Subjects to consider include:

Please note this is a beta version. We'll continue to improve our suggestions here so that we show you the most relevant subjects.

Do you need a postgraduate qualification to be a senior customs officer?

Although it’s not essential to do a postgraduate course, it can help develop your skills and improve your career opportunities.

Examples of taught MScs and MAs at postgraduate level include:

Criminology and law
Finance, accounting and management
International human rights
International project management
International security
Migration studies
Policing, law enforcement and security

What skills do you need to be a senior customs officer?

As well as knowledge of public safety and security, you’ll need to be good at motivating and managing a team, thinking quickly and multi-tasking.

Hard skills usually include:

Auditing
Finance
Key performance indicators
Legislation and regulations
Risk analysis
Risk management
Social work

Soft skills include:

Communication
Customer services
Empathy
Innovation
Investigation
Leadership
Management
Operations
Planning
Teamwork

Do you need work experience to be a senior customs officer?

It's not possible to gain work experience for entry-level roles in the customs service due to various health and safety reasons, but you will usually need some on the job experience before getting a senior officer role.