Logistics Manager External

RESPONSIBILITIES & AUTHORITIES: Take overall responsibility for all external logistics activities, including imports, exports, re-exports, and cross-trade by air, sea, and road, customs clearance, freight forwarding, and local deliveries, in line with IMSP-30 External Logistics Procedure and JAFZA regulations. Lead, guide, and supervise the Logistics Coordinator and Logistics Assistant Coordinator; assign daily priorities and monitor performance. Supervise and monitor day-to-day tasks: Driver scheduling, material passes, belt applications, MOFAIC attestations, Zajel customs declaration submissions, BOE submissions, and Dubai Trade customs reports. Air shipment bookings with couriers and freight forwarders, and timely international shipment status updates. Courier and freight forwarder billing checked against shipments and SAP TM records before processing. Marine insurance for import and export shipments. Vendor credit applications with forwarders and logistics service providers. Petty cash handling and uploading invoices on Alaan. Identify and recommend new freight forwarders; coordinate with Procurement for registration in the Approved Forwarder List, and evaluate forwarder performance. Decide the mode of shipment in consultation with Procurement and Project Managers based on urgency, cost, and volume. Authorise forwarder bookings and ensure documentation is accurate. Negotiate rates and develop strategies with forwarders, shipping lines, airlines, and transporters to reduce freight and logistics costs. Oversee customs documentation for import, export, re-export, and cross-trade from/to Jebel Ali Free Zone, ensuring compliance with JAFZA, Dubai Customs, and destination-country requirements. Handle export documentation procedures including commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, Dubai Chamber attestation, preferential certificates of origin through the Ministry of Economy, and MOFAIC legalization. Oversee Dubai Trade applications, including Bill of Entry/Exit, Local Goods Entry Pass, DP World and JAFZA/PCFC gate passes. Own the SAP S/4HANA Transportation Management (TM) process for all incoming shipments: Create Inbound, Create Freight Unit, Create Freight Order, Create Freight Settlement, Create PO, ensuring shipping and freight costs are captured accurately and the total landed cost is calculated. Ensure freight orders and freight settlement documents in SAP TM match forwarders' final invoices; resolve cost variances with Accounts before MIGO and MIRO are processed. Coordinate with Internal Logistics/Stores on shipment arrival, document handover, material inspection, and return of documents for SAP MIGO/MIRO processing. JOB SPECIFICATIONS: Operations use SAP S/4HANA as the standard ERP system, with SAP Transportation Management (TM) used to plan and settle freight, capture shipping costs, and calculate landed cost of incoming shipments. Strong hands-on knowledge of SAP S/4HANA TM (freight units, freight orders, freight settlement, charge calculation, landed cost) and its integration with SAP MM (PO, MIGO, MIRO). In-depth knowledge of JAFZA, Dubai Customs, and Dubai Trade procedures, HS code classification, Incoterms 2020, and import/export documentation. Proven experience managing freight forwarders, 3PL providers, shipping lines, and transporters, with strong negotiation skills. Minimum 5 years of experience in freight forwarding, import/export, or external logistics, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or managerial role in the UAE.