Excise, Customs and Compliance Manager in City of Westminster

Apply on JLP Jobs – the official careers website for John Lewis Partnership, John Lewis & Partners, and Waitrose & Partners.

About the role

We are seeking a highly experienced and proactive Customs and Excise Manager to join our team in a newly created, pivotal role. This is an exceptional opportunity for a self‑starter to be instrumental in shaping our excise duty operation. You will have high visibility and direct impact on our financial and operational efficiency, making this a challenging yet highly rewarding role for a seasoned professional looking to own the excise function. You will have the character and drive to take ownership of a new function, scoping out the role and defining the operational and compliance landscape. The successful candidate will be instrumental as the partnership\’s subject matter expert on all aspects of spirits and alcoholic beverage excise duties, ensuring absolute compliance and operational excellence.

• Expected salary – Salary up to £80,000 – £85,000 depending on experience.
• Contract type – Permanent contract.
• Working pattern / flexible working – Hybrid, a mixture of office and home based on personal needs while balancing the business.
• Location – Remote with travel to Pimlico and/or Waitrose DCs as required.

Key responsibilities

• Full ownership of the excise duty process, providing technical leadership and operational guidance.
• Monitor changes in UK excise duty legislation and advise the business on necessary adaptations to maintain 100% compliance.
• Act as the primary point of contact with HMRC for excise matters. Responsible for obtaining and maintaining all necessary excise authorisations and communicating the partnership’s plans and operational procedures to HMRC.
• Oversee and manage the existing duty drawback process, seeking opportunities for optimisation and efficient claim resolution.
• Act as the internal subject‑matter expert for all excise‑related queries, supporting finance, distribution and supply chain teams.
• Bring external expertise to the partnership, establishing and driving \’good\’ and \’great\’ processes, continually seeking to guide and shape this specialised area of the business.
• Identify and implement improvements to current customs and excise‑related financial and operational processes.
• Line‑manage the dedicated Excise Analyst role, focusing entirely on Waitrose excise duty operations.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Significant experience of excise regime experience and a proven track record of dealing with excise matters.
• Ability to engage efficiently with internal and external stakeholders at different levels.
• Excellent attention to detail and good written communication skills.
• Proficient in Excel and/or Google sheets.
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to a changing environment.
• Basic knowledge of excise principles and warehousing.
• Previous management experience.
• Previous experience in an excise role.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Level 3 Certificate in Excise Practices and Procedures.
• Proven experience of creating excise movements on EMCS.
• Experience in retail logistics, particularly with spirits, highly advantageous.
• Knowledge of excise documentation requirements (e.g., W5D, W1).
• Good knowledge of excise stock management and reconciliation.
• Good knowledge of duty suspension procedures.

The partnership

We’re the largest employee‑owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt, and diversify. Never knowingly undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food‑lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can thrive. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre‑employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third‑party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application, please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work‑life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.