Clearance & Transportation Team Leader

Join the Team at ABYAT – Your Gateway to Retail Excellence!

About us

Are you ready to be part of the largest retail store in the Middle East? ABYAT, spanning an impressive 22,000 square meters and offering over 22,000 products, is your one-stop destination for all things home improvement and more. From elegant tiles and captivating wallpapers to state-of-the-art lighting solutions and stylish kitchen fixtures, we pride ourselves on offering a diverse array of top-quality products under one roof.

Established locally with a vision for excellence, ABYAT has been setting benchmarks since its inception in September 2005. With an unwavering focus on our customers, we've crafted an experience that revolves around their needs, from our meticulously designed store layouts to our unparalleled service offerings.

Expanding beyond our roots in Kuwait, ABYAT is now making waves in Saudi Arabia and setting our sights on Qatar and the UAE. As we continue to grow, we're seeking passionate individuals to join our dynamic team and contribute to our journey of success.

Position: Transportation & Clearance Team Leader

Location: KSA, Dammam – Warehouse
Type: Full-time

As a Transportation & Clearance Team Leader at ABYAT, you will play a key role in managing end-to-end transportation and customs clearance operations for inbound and outbound shipments. You will ensure accurate documentation, regulatory compliance, and efficient shipment movement from declaration stage through customs release and final delivery.

This role is responsible for supervising the clearance team, coordinating with customs brokers, transporters, and authorities, and ensuring shipments move smoothly across seaport, airport, and cross-border operations while maintaining operational efficiency and visibility across the logistics cycle.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and supervise daily customs clearance activities for import, export, transit, bonded warehouse, and cross-border shipments.
• Ensure shipments are cleared efficiently through seaports, airports, and land borders.
• Ensure all shipping and customs documents are accurate, complete, and compliant with customs regulations before submission.
• Verify HS code classification and declaration accuracy in coordination with brokers and internal teams.
• Monitor inbound and outbound shipments from document readiness and declaration stage until customs release and final delivery.
• Follow up on shipment declarations, clearance status, and transportation arrangements to ensure timely shipment movement.
• Coordinate with customs brokers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, transporters, and customs authorities to ensure smooth clearance processes.
• Manage bonded warehouse entry and exit activities and ensure compliance with bonded zone requirements.
• Handle escalations related to clearance delays, rejected declarations, penalties, or shipment holds.
• Follow up on industrial exemptions, duty refunds, factory invoices, and other customs-related documentation requirements.
• Supervise and manage the customs clearance team by assigning workload, monitoring performance, and ensuring operational efficiency.
• Provide guidance and operational support to team members to maintain productivity and accuracy.
• Proactively communicate shipment status, delays, and expected release timelines with Supply Chain and other internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate with warehouse, procurement, finance, and commercial teams to support smooth logistics operations.
• Arrange trucks with approved transporters after customs clearance and coordinate shipment dispatch from ports or bonded facilities.
• Monitor shipment movement to ensure on-time delivery to the warehouse or final destination.
• Track transportation status through internal systems and ensure shipment visibility until final delivery completion.
• Monitor operational performance and drive improvements in clearance efficiency and logistics operations.
• Ensure reduction of customs penalties, declaration rejections, demurrage, and detention exposure.
• Improve customs clearance cycle time and maintain high documentation accuracy.

Qualifications:

• 5–8 years of experience in customs clearance, logistics, import/export operations, or supply chain.
• Hands-on experience managing end-to-end customs clearance processes and shipment follow-up.
• Hands-on experience using FASAH, ZATKA, and Saudi customs portal systems for declaration processing and shipment clearance.
• Experience coordinating with customs brokers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, and transporters.
• Experience working in high-volume logistics or retail environments.
• Experience supervising operational teams and managing daily task allocation.
• Strong knowledge of HS code classification and customs documentation requirements.
• Experience managing bonded warehouse operations and bonded zone procedures.
• Knowledge of GCC cross-border shipment handling and land-border coordination.
• Experience following up on customs exemptions, duty refunds, and special customs cases.
• Experience using ERP systems such as SAP (preferred), Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics.
• Bachelor’s degree in Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, International Trade, or a related field.

Apply now and take the first step towards an exciting career with ABYAT!