COMPLIANCE OFFICER (furniture industry)

ROLE OVERVIEW

• Reporting directly to the Chief Operations Officer, the Compliance Officer owns product safety and regulatory compliance for Harbour's European business, covering both EU and UK market requirements — two distinct regulatory regimes since Brexit.
• The role has a particular focus on upholstery and soft furnishings (cushions, foam fill, fabric) sourced from our Asia factory network, an area of known regulatory sensitivity for both EU and UK clients.
• Based in Ho Chi Minh City alongside our factory partners, this is a newly defined position reflecting the complexity of importing furniture and soft furnishings into Europe: EU product safety law, UK-specific fire safety regulations, chemical/textile compliance, and the customs mechanics of moving stock into both EU member states and the UK as separate customs territories.
• KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Product Safety & Regulatory Compliance –    Own compliance with the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) across all product lines sold into EU markets –    Own compliance with UK-specific requirements, most critically the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations — covering fire-retardant treatment of foam fillings, permanent fire safety labelling, and match/cigarette resistance testing for upholstered items including cushions –    Manage the compliance gap between EU and UK requirements for upholstered goods, since fire safety standards for foam and fabric differ meaningfully between the two regimes –    Coordinate directly with Asia-based factories to ensure cushion filling, foam, and fabric composition meet destination-market requirements before shipment, rather than discovering gaps at the European warehouse or point of sale –    Own REACH compliance (chemical substances in foam, textiles, and treatments) and any applicable EU textile labelling requirements –    Manage CE marking / UKCA marking requirements where applicable to specific product categories –    Coordinate recall or corrective action processes for any product safety issues identified in-market
• Customs & Trade Compliance –    Manage the customs mechanics of receiving stock from Vietnam and redistributing across EU member states and the UK as separate customs/VAT territories –    Maintain correct tariff classification, country-of-origin documentation, and import paperwork for both EU and UK-bound shipments –    Support the compliance obligations of Harbour's EU contracting entity for EU/UK sales –    Monitor regulatory developments affecting furniture imports into the EU and UK (tariffs, safety standard updates, customs rule changes)
• Supplier & Supply Chain Compliance –    Work directly with Asia factory partners to build compliance requirements (fire safety treatment, chemical compliance, labelling) into production specifications upfront –    Establish a pre-shipment compliance checklist for upholstered/soft-fill items specifically, given this is the current area of exposure –    Maintain documentation (test certificates, material declarations) in an audit-ready state for both EU and UK authorities
• Cross-Functional –    Act as the internal point of contact for EU/UK compliance questions across sales, operations, and the European warehouse team –    Prepare periodic compliance risk briefings for the COO, with particular attention to the cushion/upholstery fire safety gap until resolved –    Recommend process and specification changes to close current compliance gaps on Asia-sourced soft furnishings

• Required –    3+ years of experience in product compliance, ideally covering furniture, upholstered goods, textiles, or consumer soft-fill products –    Working knowledge of UK Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations and EU GPSR –    Familiarity with REACH and EU chemical/textile compliance requirements –    Understanding of EU/UK customs mechanics post-Brexit –    Strong documentation and cross-border coordination skills, comfortable working closely with Asia-based factory contacts
• Preferred –    Direct experience with foam/upholstery fire safety testing and certification processes –    Experience working with an EU holding entity structure –    Fluency in English required; additional European language a plus –    Background in furniture, home goods, or textiles specifically (versus general consumer goods)