Ocean Import Coordinator

Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Salary: £35,000
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm
Full-time, permanent

Are you an experienced Sea Freight Import Operator looking to broaden your knowledge and become a genuinely multimodal freight professional?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing international freight forwarder that provides sea, air, road, customs clearance, warehousing and distribution services.

You will initially take responsibility for sea freight imports, managing FCL and LCL shipments from origin through to final delivery. As you develop, you will receive training and exposure across sea freight exports, air freight and UK and European road freight.

The company offers a friendly, supportive environment where people are trusted to take ownership of their work. With the UK operation continuing to grow, there are genuine opportunities to develop and progress.

• £35,000 salary

• Monday to Friday working

• 8:30am to 5:00pm, with a one-hour lunch break

• 20 days' holiday plus bank holidays

• One additional holiday day after each completed year of service, up to 25 days

• Contributory pension scheme

• Health scheme available after six months

• Part-subsidised onsite parking

• Genuine training and progression opportunities

• Supportive and expanding international business

• Managing FCL and LCL sea freight imports from booking through to delivery

• Liaising with overseas agents, shipping lines, co-loaders and hauliers

• Monitoring vessel schedules, departures, arrivals and potential delays

• Checking import documentation for accuracy

• Arranging UK customs clearance

• Coordinating container releases, collections and final deliveries

• Managing port and shipping-line requirements

• Monitoring free time to minimise demurrage, detention and storage charges

• Keeping customers informed throughout every stage of their shipment

• Resolving operational issues quickly and professionally

• Checking supplier invoices and shipment costs

• Ensuring job files are completed accurately and correctly costed

• Building strong relationships with customers, suppliers and overseas partners

• Working closely with the sales and operations teams

• Previous freight forwarding operations experience

• Good working knowledge of sea freight imports

• Experience handling FCL and/or LCL shipments

• An understanding of the complete import process from origin to UK delivery

• Good knowledge of shipping documentation

• Strong customer service and communication skills

• The ability to manage multiple shipments simultaneously

• A proactive approach to identifying and resolving problems

• Confidence working independently and taking ownership of shipments

• Good general IT and freight-forwarding system skills

Experience in sea freight exports, air freight, road freight, customs, CNS, Destin8 or Multifreight would be beneficial, but it is not essential.

You do not need to know every mode from day one. The most important thing is that you have a solid foundation in sea freight imports and the ambition to learn.

Your sea freight import experience will form the foundation of the position. The company will then support your development across:

Sea Freight Imports → Sea Freight Exports → Air Freight → Road Freight → Multimodal Operations

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a few years of freight forwarding experience who is ready for a new challenge and wants to build a broader operational skill set.

This is a fully office-based position in Chelmsford. There is no home-working arrangement.

Apply today if you are ready to take ownership of your shipments, expand your multimodal knowledge and develop your career with a growing freight forwarder.

WR Logistics are a leading recruitment partner for the logistics and supply chain industry, recruiting across the UK, Europe, and the USA for permanent opportunities.

WR Logistics is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy