Vacatures

Operational Specialist – Sea Freight (m/f/d) in Antwerp

THE OPPORTUNITY

NAVIS is a Hamburg-founded, family-rooted forwarder and, since 2026, part of the De Well Group. Our Antwerp office is a small, professional team operating right at the heart of one of Europe’s largest and busiest ports, and we are looking for an experienced Operational Specialist to strengthen it.

Antwerp is not a satellite office to us. It is one of six NAVIS locations in Europe and a genuine gateway into our international network, ocean, air, road and customs, all under one roof. In a team this size, every person carries real responsibility from day one, there is no department to hide behind.

You will handle both air and sea freight, both import and export, working directly with carriers, customs and clients rather than through layers of hand-offs.

THE ROLE

As Operational Specialist you are the operational backbone of our Antwerp office. You run shipments from booking through to delivery, keep documentation accurate and on time, and are the point of contact our clients and partners can rely on when something needs sorting out quickly. Beyond day-to-day operations, we are genuinely open to growing this role further: for the right person, there is real scope to move into sales and marketing activities toward our network, agents and clients over time.

YOUR TASKS

• Sea freight operations: end-to-end handling of FCL and LCL shipments, import and export, from booking to delivery
• Documentation: preparation and verification of Bills of Lading, Air Waybills and other shipping and commercial documents
• Carrier bookings: booking and coordination of transport capacity with shipping lines, airlines and hauliers
• Customs coordination: close cooperation with customs brokers and authorities to ensure smooth, compliant clearance on both legs
• Shipment tracking: proactive monitoring of shipment status and timely, accurate communication to clients
• Exception handling: management of delays, damages and claims in coordination with carriers and insurers
• Cost control: checking of carrier invoices and cost positions against quotations and bookings
• Client relationships: day-to-day support of existing accounts and contribution to a consistently high service level
• Commercial involvement: growing involvement in sales and marketing activities toward our network, agents and clients as the role develops, with genuine room to shape this side of the position yourself
• Network coordination: close collaboration with NAVIS colleagues in Germany, Belgium and Spain on cross-border shipments

YOUR PROFILE

• Background: completed training in freight forwarding, logistics or a comparable field
• Experience: several years of hands-on operational experience in freight forwarding, ideally covering both air and sea freight
• Customs knowledge: good working knowledge of EU import and export customs procedures
• Way of working: structured, accurate and reliable, even when several shipments need attention at once
• Team fit: comfortable in a small team where you pick things up directly rather than routing them through several desks
• Languages: good command of Dutch and English; French and/or German are an advantage
• Systems: confident use of common forwarding and TMS software

WHAT AWAITS YOU

You take on real responsibility in a hands-on role, backed by an international NAVIS network and a team where decisions are made quickly. In addition:

• Location: central Antwerp, Sint-Michielstraat, close to the port and well connected
• Team and atmosphere: an experienced, close-knit team; short reporting lines, no large-corporate overhead
• Network: direct access to NAVIS locations in Germany, Belgium and Spain, and the wider De Well Group
• Development: active support for further training, including on customs and compliance topics
• Growth opportunity: a genuine path from operations into commercial work — sales and marketing toward our international network, agents and clients — for those who want to develop in this direction

YOUR APPLICATION

Would you like to find out more before applying? Give us a call. We’ll take the time.

We look forward to receiving your application, direct and without unnecessary formality.