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)