How to hire a customs compliance director

How to hire a customs compliance director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step customs compliance director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a customs compliance director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new customs compliance director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the customs compliance director you need to hire. Certain customs compliance director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A customs compliance director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customs compliance directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents customs compliance director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Customs Compliance Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Customs Compliance Director		$41-92
   Manager, Quality Management, Corporate Compliance	Depending on the industry, there are a lot of functions you need to comply with if you want to become a manager of quality management and corporate compliance. Commonly seen in banks, manufacturing, processing, automotive, and textile companies, this job position is responsible for monitoring, implementing, and oversees the quality of a product... Show more	$35-71
   Head Of Ethics And Compliance	A company's head of ethics and compliance is in charge of implementing policies and regulations to ensure a safe and efficient work environment. They typically manage staff, set department goals and timelines, establish guidelines and protocols, and develop strategies to optimize operations... Show more	$42-95

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customs Compliance
   • Customs Brokers
   • Import Export
   • CBP
   • DOT
   • HTS
   • Government Agencies
   • Internal Audit
   • Customer Service
   • Drawback
   • Foreign Trade
   • Regulatory Compliance
   • EU
   • US Customs

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage senior and junior surveillance/investigation analysts responsible for conducting AML surveillance and investigations.
   • Provide oversight for coordination and response to regulatory actions, regulatory inquiries, statistical data requests, exams and audits.
   • Develop and implement an OCC compliant third-party management program.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your customs compliance director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A customs compliance director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, customs compliance directors' average salary in hawaii is 37% less than in vermont.
   • Seniority. Entry-level customs compliance directors 55% less than senior-level customs compliance directors.
   • Certifications. A customs compliance director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a customs compliance director's salary.

   Average customs compliance director salary

   $129,442yearly

   $62.23 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level customs compliance director salary

   $86,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 31, 2026

4. Writing a customs compliance director job description

   A customs compliance director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a customs compliance director job description:

   Customs compliance director job description example

   Coupa Software (NASDAQ: COUP), a leader in business spend management (BSM), has been certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work organization. We deliver “Value as a Service” by helping our customers maximize their spend under management, achieve significant cost savings and drive profitability. Coupa provides a unified, cloud-based spend management platform that connects hundreds of organizations representing the Americas, EMEA, and APAC with millions of suppliers globally. The Coupa platform provides greater visibility into and control over how companies spend money. Customers - small, medium and large - have used the Coupa platform to bring billions of dollars in cumulative spend under management. Learn more at www.coupa.com. Read more on the Coupa Blog or follow @Coupa on Twitter.
   
   Do you want to work for Coupa Software, the world's leading provider of cloud-based spend management solutions? We're a company that had a successful IPO in October 2016 (NASDAQ: COUP) to fuel our innovation and growth. At Coupa, we're building a great company that is laser focused on three core values:
   1. Ensure Customer Success - Obsessive and unwavering commitment to making customers successful.
   2. Focus On Results - Relentless focus on delivering results through innovation and a bias for action.
   3. Strive For Excellence - Commitment to a collaborative environment infused with professionalism, integrity, passion, and accountability.
   
   Responsibilities:Customer Success Directors represent the primary point of contact from Coupa to customers after customer go-live. As such, they provide three critical functions:Work with / coach customer teams to drive customer success strategies and to achieve customer success goals.Provide communication to customers regarding Coupa, new product capabilities and other critical information.Provide a consistent point of contact for customers and a “concierge” into other needed Coupa functions and resources.Specific goals center on the following:Customer success Customer referenceability Customer renewal and growth of annual contract value.Customer solution expansion
   Key activities include:Participate in customer success metrics workshops Develop customer success roadmap Conduct scheduled customer check-ins Drive periodic business reviews Manage renewals Monitor customer performance.Manage customer relationships Establish role as trusted advisor“QB” Coupa internal resources as needed Share best practices ideas, product information, and relevant Coupa news.Support/drive customer campaigns
   Requirements:Strong P2P or S2C domain expertise Strong background in customer / client management.Entrepreneurial AttitudeNegotiation SkillsExperience with demonstrated success in the following: Managing client expectations Developing and maintaining executive relationships and associated influencing strategies Project management including managing disparate, cross-functional, cross-enterprise project teams Ability to have value-based conversation with business executives Strong organizational skills Strong communication skills including professional writing skills, verbal skills and experience presenting to executive teams. Background in software and SaaS solutions a plus. Minimum bachelor's degree required - master's degree a plus.
   #LI-Remote
   
   At Coupa, we have a strong and innovative team dedicated to improving the spend management processes of today's dynamic businesses. It's our people who make it happen, and we strive to attract and retain the best in every discipline.
   
   We take care of our employees every way we can, with competitive compensation packages, as well as restricted stock units, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), comprehensive health benefits for employees and their families, retirement and savings plans with employer match, a flexible work environment, no limit vacations for exempt employees, non-exempt employees are on an accrual basis for PTO, catered lunches…And much more!
   
   As part of our dedication to the diversity of our workforce, Coupa is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity without regard for race, ethnicity, gender, protected veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.
   
   Please be advised, inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right customs compliance director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with customs compliance directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit customs compliance directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customs compliance director job on Zippia to find and recruit customs compliance director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting customs compliance directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new customs compliance director

   Once you've selected the best customs compliance director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new customs compliance director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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