Import Coordinator
Thousands of manufacturing businesses in the UK rely on a smooth and uninterrupted flow of imports to ensure productivity is maximised. The same applies to retailers and wholesale companies too. Warehousing can take up some of the slack, but in many cases, wherever imports are optimised and storage is minimised, efficiency is at its peak. Ensuring all this happens is the import coordinator (no pressure then).
The import coordinator will be in constant contact with suppliers all around the world, making sure stocks and production levels are adequate for the projected needs of their employer. And that’s just the start of the journey – import coordinator jobs tend to require oversight of the freight import process, and that means being on the ball with transportation, usually via third party carriers.
Many import coordinator jobs will also require a degree of understanding of the paperwork and customs requirements to bring goods into the country from the various jurisdictions they deal with, although the job is often purely logistical, with the legals being covered by other specialists.
The skills required
Import coordinator job descriptions often ask for accomplished jugglers – people who can have dozens of ongoing tasks at any moment and retain a firm grasp on all of them. While you’ll usually be helped in this with software and a team of import assistants, you’ll be expected to know exactly what is coming in and how they tally with your employer’s demands.
Language skills will often be required, particularly if the employer deals with a single country. But even if your native tongue is enough to excel, you’ll still need advanced communication skills to make sure your instructions are understood – your business relies on it.
Some employers are looking for specialists in road, rail, air or sea imports, as the logistics, speed, volumes and regulations are often specific to that mode of freight transportation. Always check the description carefully.
Import Coordinator Jobs in Mansfield
Situated roughly half way between Sheffield and Nottingham, Mansfield is a town with a history of being a market town and the centre of a thriving mining industry. The town has forests in almost every direction outside its borders, and was in times gone by a favourite stopping place for royals on their hunting excursions. On the map Mansfield bears all the hallmarks of a market town, with several major roads emerging to connect the surrounding farms and villages. Nowadays the M1 passes the town’s west, and railways connect it to Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester.
The town gained notoriety among other mining communities when its mines did not take part in the bitter miners’ strike in the 1980s. However the move was not to prove a long-term saviour of the industry, as today no mines survive. Mansfield was, not surprisingly, home to the famous Mansfield Brewery, but it was taken over in 1999 and production ceased on the site. Mansfield is now a fairly typical post-industrial town, with the service sector and some light industry taking prominence.
The town was the centre of the swimming universe in 2008, however, when local girl Rebecca Adlington won two gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle races. At the time of writing, after London 2012, her 800 m record of 8:14.10 still stands as the world and Olympic record.
The Mansfield urban area is quite large, with a population of around 150,000, which in itself makes it a decent candidate if you’re looking for Import Coordinator jobs. The town also benefits from several large cities and towns within half an hour, so anyone willing to commute will stand an even greater chance of success.
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Jobs and candidates incoming at Cast UK
If you’re looking for the perfect import coordinator, we at Cast UK specialise in transport and logistics, and have fantastic talent pools with diverse skill sets in our networks & database with diverse skill sets. Why not give us a call on 0333 121 3345?
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