Job Information
About the Position
Introduction
Werfen is a growing, family-owned, innovative company founded in 1966 in Barcelona, Spain. We are a worldwide leader in specialized diagnostics in the areas of Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Transfusion, Autoimmunity, and Transplant. Through our Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) business line, we research, develop, and manufacture customized assays and biomaterials. We operate directly in 30 countries, and in more than 100 territories through distributors. Our Headquarters and Technology Centers are located in the US and Europe, and our workforce is more than 7,000 strong.
Overview
The Global Trade Compliance Officer is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously enhancing Werfen’s worldwide trade compliance strategy. This includes overseeing all aspects of Export Controls Management, Sanctions Enforcement, License Handling, Screening Programs, Transactional Risk Reviews, Third-Party Vetting, Policy Framework, Employee Training, Voluntary Disclosures, and Global Harmonization.
This role is based at Werfen’s global headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, and involves close collaboration with all Werfen subsidiaries and Technology Centers worldwide. The officer will work cross-functionally with global legal, compliance, supply chain, commercial, and IT teams to ensure the effective alignment of trade compliance across the business. Regular reporting to senior leadership is a core part of the role, with a focus on identifying global risks and driving strategic solutions.
The position is based at Werfen’s global headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, reporting directly to the Chief Compliance Officer.
Responsibilities
Key Accountabilities
- Export Controls Management: Lead and oversee the design, implementation, and maintenance of controls that ensure compliance with international export control laws (e.g., EAR, ITAR, EU Dual-Use Regulation, UK Export Control Order).
- Sanctions Enforcement: Ensure enterprise-wide compliance with global sanctions regimes (e.g., OFAC, EU, UK, UN), including real-time transaction screening and escalation protocols.
- License Handling: Oversee the end-to-end process for obtaining, renewing, and managing export and import licenses globally, ensuring alignment with operational needs and legal requirements.
- Screening Programs: Develop and manage automated and manual screening processes for customers, vendors, and transactions against denied party lists, embargoed countries, and restricted end-use/end-user categories.
- Transactional Risk Reviews: Conduct risk-based reviews of high-risk international transactions, contracts, and supply chain activities to identify and mitigate trade compliance exposure.
- Third-Party Vetting: Maintain and enhance a global due diligence program for distributors, agents, freight forwarders, and other third parties, ensuring compliance with trade and anti-corruption laws.
- Policy Framework: Establish and maintain a global trade compliance policy architecture, aligned with regulatory requirements and industry best practices.
- Employee Training: Design and deliver global training programs on trade compliance topics tailored to roles, regions, and risk levels; promote a culture of compliance through engagement and awareness initiatives.
- Voluntary Disclosures: Manage global self-disclosure processes to government authorities in coordination with internal and external counsel, ensuring full documentation and remediation.
- Global Harmonization: Lead initiatives to standardize trade compliance procedures, tools, and reporting across all Werfen regions, supporting operational efficiency and regulatory consistency.
- Monitoring: Establish and oversee a global trade compliance monitoring program, leveraging data analytics to detect gaps, monitor trends, and guide continuous improvement.
- Investigations: Conduct and manage investigations related to potential trade compliance violations, ensuring timely resolution and appropriate corrective actions.
- Regulatory Engagement: Represent Werfen in interactions with customs and export authorities worldwide; monitor regulatory developments and advise internal stakeholders.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Legal, Regulatory, Supply Chain, IT, Internal Audit, and Business Units to align trade compliance with broader corporate objectives.
- Leadership & Oversight: Lead and develop the trade compliance team; set clear objectives, support professional development, and foster high performance.
Networking/Key relationships
- Global Legal, Compliance, Regulatory, and Supply Chain teams
- Werfen subsidiaries and regional leadership teams
- External legal counsel and regulatory authorities
- IT, Internal Audit, HR, Supply Chain, Finance and Treasury
Qualifications
Skills & Capabilities:
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex issues clearly, concisely, and persuasively to varied audiences.
- Strong attention to detail, deadlines, and quality, with a structured and reliable work ethic.
- Decisive and composed under pressure; exercises sound judgment in complex or high-risk situations.
- Proactive, pragmatic, and solution-oriented mindset.
- High emotional intelligence with excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
- Agile and adaptable in dynamic, fast-paced global environments.
- Strong critical thinking and strategic planning abilities.
- Collaborative leadership style; fosters trust, cooperation, and transparency across global teams.
- Effective facilitator and conflict resolver with strong mediation skills.
- Highly organized, with strong prioritization and planning capabilities that optimize resources and efficiency.
- Demonstrated business acumen and understanding of organizational and talent development.
- Skilled in building positive, productive relationships across all organizational levels.
- Unwavering personal and professional integrity, with a clear commitment to ethical conduct.
Travel requirements:
Up to 30% domestic and international travel when required.
People Manager Core Competencies:
Building Talent
Planning and supporting the development of individuals’ knowledge, skills, and abilities so that they can fulfill current or future job responsibilities more effectively.
Customer Focus
Ensuring that the internal or external customer’s perspective is a driving force behind strategic priorities, business decisions, organizational processes, and individual activities; crafting and implementing service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs; promoting and operationalizing customer service as a value.
Decision Making
Identifying and understanding problems and opportunities by gathering, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative information; choosing the best course of action by establishing clear decision criteria, generating and evaluating alternatives, and making timely decisions; taking action that is consistent with available facts and constraints and optimizes probable consequences.
Driving for Results
Setting high goals for personal and group accomplishment; using measurement methods to monitor progress toward goals; tenaciously working to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction from that achievement and continuous improvement.
Driving Innovation
Creating an environment (culture) that inspires people to generate novel solutions with measurable value for existing and potential customers (internal or external); encouraging experimentation with new ways to solve work problems and seize opportunities that result in unique and differentiated solutions.
Emotional Intelligence Essentials
Establishing and sustaining trusting relationships by accurately perceiving and interpreting own and others’ emotions and behavior; leveraging insights to effectively manage own responses so that one’s behavior matches one’s values and delivers intended results.
People Manager Accountabilities:
Effectively carries out the expectations of Werfen People Managers as defined in Werfen’s Role of the Manager program. Among others this includes maintaining regular, at minimum once a month, and transparent communication with the team through effective use of formal one-on-one meetings with direct reports and team meets. Managing performance issues and conflict proactively; uses judgement in consulting with department leadership and Human Resources. Responsibility for the team´s compliance in terms of training, and fulfilment of their tasks and objectives as well as onboarding of new employees and development of the existing team.
If you are interested in constantly learning and being challenged on a daily basis, we encourage you to submit your resume or CV.
Werfen appreciates and values diversity. We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer M/F/D/V.
www.werfen.com
