Brenntag Nordic – Customs & Excise Tax Team Lead

Are you a compliance-oriented professional with a strong business mindset? Do you have a solid understanding in the areas of customs and excise tax regulations and the ability to connect them to business operations and processes to ensure maximum efficiency? Are you passionate about maintaining order and accuracy in systems and processes where data is constantly evolving? Are you a team player who wants to become team lead of a Nordic Excise Tax Team operating across multiple countries? Are you ready to join a global market leader within chemical distribution? Then keep reading!

About the Role

Brenntag Nordic is part of the Brenntag Group, the global market leader in chemical distribution. Brenntag provides B2B solutions for industrial and specialty chemicals by serving as a vital link between producers and end customers.

Brenntag Nordic works with complex products that are bought and sold in large volumes on the global market and which, due to their nature, are often subject to taxes and duties such as excise taxes and customs duties under applicable legislation. Our business is built on supplying customers with these products in a safe and compliant manner, making it essential that we fully understand the regulatory environment in which we operate.

The purpose of this role is to support the commercial operations in the Nordics by ensuring efficient processes and accurate system configurations, enabling the business to confidently buy and sell these types of products. A key aspect of the role is staying aligned with business developments and adapting internal processes and logistics flows to changes in legislation, product compositions, and other relevant factors.

You report to the Excise Tax Manager EMEA and will be the team lead of a Nordic Excise Tax Team with two direct reports. You and your team will be working with a wide range of excise-tax-related tasks, system maintenance, internal controls, excise tax reporting, as well as finance and excise tax projects and initiatives. The role involves independent work, close collaboration with Nordic colleagues, and team leadership.

Brenntag Nordic’s headquarters is located in the newly built Point Hyllie, just outside Malmö – a modern office building with direct access to public transportation, shopping, and restaurants (Emporia), only 10 minutes from Copenhagen Airport and 5 minutes from Malmö Central Station.

This position can be based at Brenntag Nordic’s headquarters in Malmö or at the office in Stockholm. Employees based outside Malmö are expected to visit the Malmö office regularly, approximately 4–6 days per month, typically spread across 2–3 visits planned well in advance. The position also includes some other travelling, around 2-3 days/month.

Key Responsibilities

Examples of areas of responsibility include:

• Identify, document and assess Customs and Trade Preference-related processes across the organization to improve transparency and support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Prepare and reconcile monthly excise tax reports, ensuring taxes are reported and paid in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Continuously verify that customers purchasing excise-taxable products hold the required excise tax permits and authorizations.
• Monitor EMCS reporting to ensure completeness and accuracy, making corrections when necessary.
• Maintain controls relating to the company’s handling of excise-taxable products and ensure compliance with established processes.
• Train and collaborate with employees working with excise-taxable products, highlighting risks and fostering alignment across functions.
• Support the adaptation of internal systems and processes in response to changes such as organizational developments, logistics flows, product compositions, legislation, and regulations; ensure that SAP modules affected by excise taxes remain accurate and complete.
• Understand and manage the various regulatory frameworks within the field, including EU legislation.
• Participate in investigations, answer questions, solve issues, report deviations to your manager, and liaise with authorities and external consultants.

As a Customs/Tax Excise Team Lead, you will hold an exciting position within the company, working closely with the commercial organization and the entire value chain from procurement to sales together with the Nordic Excise Tax Team.

The role offers a varied workload, combining ongoing control and reporting activities with complex problem-solving. You will plan your own workday and manage your responsibilities independently while collaborating closely with your manager, the Finance Team, and multiple functions across Brenntag.

You will have significant opportunities to influence both your role and the business, making it important that you are proactive and self-driven. We offer flexible working hours and believe strongly in maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Education

• University degree or equivalent qualification in Accounting, Finance, Tax, and/or Law.

Experience and Knowledge

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in relevant roles working within one or more of the areas of customs, excise tax, trade compliance etc.
• Experience working with product documentation, tax returns, EMCS administration, permit-related matters, and knowledge of national and international regulatory frameworks is an advantage.
• Experience handling chemical products is a distinct advantage.
• Experience from a larger accounting firm, tax authority, or a larger preferably international company working across functions and business areas is considered beneficial.
• Experience working with ERP systems, preferably SAP, as well as Business Intelligence tools.
• Fluent in English and at least one Nordic language, both written and spoken.
• Team leadership experience is an advantage, but not a requirement.

Personal Profile

• Ethical and principled
  You believe in doing things correctly, fairly, and in accordance with regulations.
• Practical and pedagogical
  You are hands-on and able to translate regulations and legislation into understandable processes, controls, and system solutions.
• Solution-oriented
  You work efficiently and have a strong ability to identify and resolve problems.
• Organized
  You structure your work effectively and consistently meet deadlines.
• Detail-oriented
  You are meticulous, detail-focused, and possess strong quantitative skills.
• Communicative
  You can clearly convey information and explain complex concepts in an understandable manner.
• Analytical
  You are able to see both the bigger picture and the critical details.
• Team player
  You are collaborative, supportive, and easy to work with.

About Brenntag 
Brenntag is the global market leader in full-line range of chemical & ingredient products and value-added services. Our more than 18,100 employees provide tailor-made application, marketing and supply chain solutions. Our full-line portfolio comprises specialty and industrial chemicals and ingredients of a world-class supplier base. Building on its long-standing experience, unmatched global reach and local excellence, Brenntag works closely alongside its partners to make their business more successful. Brenntag operates a unique global network with around 600 locations in more than 70 countries.

Your Application

Brenntag Nordic collaborates with Academic Search International in this recruitment process. Please apply via the “Apply Now” button below, where you can submit your application, cover letter, and CV. Please submit your CV in english. All information will be handled confidentially in accordance with Academic Search’s Privacy Policy and the GDPR. Consequently, applications can only be accepted through this channel.

For more information about the position, please contact:

Per Malmberg, Senior Consultant
+46 (0)701 653 100
per.malmberg@academicsearch.se

or

Johanna Strandberg, Researcher
johanna.strandberg@academicsearch.se

We look forward to receiving your application as soon as possible. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, so we encourage you to apply at your earliest convenience.