Manager-Trade Operations & Logistics

Job-Role: Manager- Trade Operations & LogisticsJob-Location: PAN IndiaExperience required: 12+ years

The role will have global functional responsibility for the company’s physical trade execution and logistics framework, with particular emphasis on Africa–Asia container freight. The role requires someone whose primary professional competence is shipping and logistics: a person who understands the freight market, can deal confidently and directly with shipping lines and forwarders, has practical customs and clearing knowledge, and can take ownership of complex execution problems.Existing teams in origins will continue to manage day-to-day documentation and shipping activities within their respective areas. The person will provide overall functional leadership, market intelligence, standards, coordination, mentoring and senior-level intervention, while building, streamlining and institutionalizing the company’s logistics and execution processes.

Key Responsibilities1. Shipping, Freight & Logistics• Develop a strong understanding of organization’s freight position across major Africa–Asia trade lanes and establish reliable market benchmarks for freight rates, service levels and commercial terms.• Build and manage direct relationships with major shipping lines, freight forwarders, clearing agents and other logistics providers across key origins and destinations.• Negotiate freight rates, volume arrangements, routing, equipment availability, allocations, free time, detention/demurrage terms, destination charges and other logistics conditions.• Determine where organization should contract directly with carriers versus use forwarders or intermediaries, and consolidate volumes where this improves negotiating leverage.• Maintain practical intelligence on carrier performance, schedules, transit times, port constraints, seasonal capacity, equipment availability and logistics-market developments.• Develop the capability to challenge service providers rather than simply relay their advice, and intervene directly when commercial relationships or senior escalation are required.2. End-to-End Trade Execution Control• Maintain overall visibility over physical execution from contract readiness through shipment, documentation, transit and completion, with particular attention to material delays and exceptions.• Provide functional leadership across distributed execution teams without unnecessarily duplicating work already performed effectively by existing staff.• Take particular ownership of non-routine and cross-origin shipments where responsibility is unclear, including third-party and FOB transactions.• Coordinate with Commercial, Africa sourcing/origin teams, Finance/Risk and Geneva operations so that operational decisions remain aligned with contractual, commercial and financial commitments.• Ensure material execution issues are identified early, assigned to an owner and followed through to closure rather than becoming message-passing exercises.3. Customs, Clearing & Cross-Border Logistics• Develop and maintain working knowledge of customs practices, import/export requirements, HS classifications, duties, inspections, certificates and port/clearing conventions across organization’s principal origins and destination markets.• Build relationships with capable clearing agents and customs/logistics specialists and assess their quality, cost and reliability.• Challenge unusual customs or clearing advice, obtain independent verification where necessary, and coordinate specialist or legal input for complex matters.• Support the business in understanding the logistics and customs implications of entering new origins, destinations or products.4. Documentation & Execution RiskSet and monitor documentation and execution-control standards while routine document preparation remains with the existing documentation and operations teams.Apply independent judgement to documentation and execution risks, particularly for third-party and FOB transactions, and escalate suspected fraud, irregular documentation, customs issues or material contractual deviations before the company becomes exposed.Review complex issues involving bills of lading, title/control of goods, consignee changes, documentary discrepancies, cargo release, inspections, warehouse/shipping documents and last-minute amendments.Work with Finance/Risk and Commercial on material documentary, counterparty and execution exposures.5. Claims, Delays & Exception ManagementAct as the senior operational owner for material shipment delays, detention/demurrage, customs holds, missing or disputed documents, freight claims and other logistics exceptions.• Coordinate facts, financial impact, responsibilities and corrective actions across internal teams and external providers, escalating to the management only where material commercial, capital or risk judgement is required.• Support resolution of operational aspects of supplier/customer defaults, cargo claims, quality/quantity disputes and insurance matters in coordination with the relevant commercial and risk owners.• Track recurring causes of execution losses and implement corrective actions.6. Team Leadership, Systems & Continuous ImprovementProvide functional leadership, mentoring and performance oversight across the company’s distributed trade-operations, documentation and logistics teams, building greater accountability while developing existing team members.Establish practical SOPs, checklists, responsibility matrices, escalation rules and controls appropriate for a growing physical commodity trading business.Work with the CTRM implementation team to ensure shipment, documentation, claims, logistics cost and exception workflows are captured effectively in the system.Create concise management reporting that makes both strong performance and operational weaknesses visible before management has to ask. Identify opportunities to improve capital efficiency and trading margins through better logistics terms, faster execution and reduced operational leakage.• Over time, assess where deeper internal logistics capability—such as centralized freight procurement, forwarding, clearing or other logistics services—could create economic value, without adding unnecessary complexity or fixed cost.Candidate Profile• Approximately 10–15 years of relevant experience, ideally around 12+ years, in international shipping, freight, logistics or physical trade execution.• Strong hands-on knowledge of Africa–Asia container freight markets and practical experience across African origins.• Established relationships with major shipping lines and familiarity with leading freight forwarders serving Africa–Asia corridors.• Demonstrated ability to negotiate freight and logistics terms directly and to understand the economics behind carrier, forwarder and clearing arrangements.• Practical customs and clearing knowledge beyond routine coordination, with the confidence to challenge clearing agents and investigate unusual requirements or costs.• Experience handling complex shipment exceptions, claims, detention/demurrage, documentation problems, customs matters and difficult service-provider situations.• Commercial and analytical mindset: able to benchmark rates and performance, identify leakage and translate logistics improvements into measurable economic value.• Strong judgement, integrity and ability to operate independently across countries and functions.• Hands-on and entrepreneurial; comfortable building capability in a growing organization rather than relying on a large existing infrastructure.• Experience in agricultural commodities or another physical trading/export-import environment is preferred, but exceptional shipping/logistics candidates from carriers, forwarding or related sectors will be considered.

Stronger direct shipping-line and logistics-provider relationships produce better freight, free-time, service and escalation outcomes.Material shipment and documentation problems are identified earlier and resolved by the function without routine management intervention.Existing origin and documentation teams become more capable, coordinated and accountable without unnecessary additional management layers.Freight, detention/demurrage, claims, delays and documentation discrepancies are measured and progressively reduced.Logistics becomes a core company capability that supports multiple commodities and geographies as organization grows.Indicative Performance MeasuresFreight cost versus relevant market benchmarks; free-time and detention/demurrage performance; on-time shipment performance; documentation discrepancy rate; logistics claims and leakage; average resolution time for material exceptions; carrier/forwarder performance; logistics cost versus budget; and reduction in routine founder intervention.Working RelationshipsThe role reports to the CEO and will work together with the commercial leadership. It will work closely with the Geneva Operator, origin shipping teams, documentation teams, Finance/Risk, Accounting and external logistics providers. Initial reporting lines within the distributed execution team may remain unchanged while the person establishes the operating framework and demonstrates effective functional leadership.