Commodity Trading & Procurement Manager

. Key Responsibilities

A. Commodity Trading & Position Management

1. Own the daily commodity market view and trading plan across priority staples.
2. Identify buy hold sell hedge switch and spread opportunities based on market structure and internal demand/supply.
3. Develop position-taking frameworks for raw materials finished goods and strategic inventories.
4. Execute trades through approved counterparties mandis aggregators millers processors brokers and institutional suppliers.
5. Manage basis risk price risk inventory risk and counterparty exposure within approved limits.
6. Build disciplined entry/exit rules stop-loss principles and escalation protocols.

B. Procurement Strategy

1. Integrate commodity trading with annual seasonal and tactical procurement plans.
2. Build supplier pools by commodity geography quality reliability and price competitiveness.
3. Develop procurement calendars linked to crop cycles harvest windows and seasonal price patterns.
4. Negotiate contracts and commercial terms using market intelligence and competitive benchmarks.
5. Identify opportunities for direct farmer/FPO aggregator miller and large-supplier sourcing where commercially viable.
6. Create alternate sourcing strategies to reduce dependence on any single geography or supplier.

C. Market Intelligence & Research

1. Track mandi prices arrivals crop estimates weather acreage government MSP/policy stock levels import/export policy and global commodity indicators.
2. Develop daily commodity dashboards and weekly/monthly market outlooks.
3. Build price forecasting models and scenario analysis for 30/60/90/180-day horizons.
4. Track competitor procurement behaviour pricing and market positioning.
5. Translate external market signals into clear commercial actions for management.

D. Trading Economics & Margin Management

1. Build commodity-level P&L and contribution models covering purchase price processing freight finance cost inventory carrying cost and selling realization.
2. Identify margin leakage between commodity purchase production and customer realization.
3. Develop transfer-pricing / benchmark mechanisms for internal procurement and business units.
4. Recommend inventory levels based on demand market structure cash availability and expected price movement.
5. Work closely with Finance to measure realized vs. unrealized trading gains/losses and working-capital impact.

E. Cross-Functional Leadership

1. Partner with Procurement Plant Sales Finance Supply Chain R&D/QC and Leadership.
2. Provide commodity intelligence to support pricing decisions across GT Bulk Modern Trade Quick Commerce HoReCa and Private Label.
3. Align commodity positions with production plans SKU mix and customer commitments.
4. Create clear escalation mechanisms for exceptional market movements or risk events.

4. Initial Commodity Coverage

5. Key Deliverables First 90 Days

1. Day 030: Map all commodity exposures suppliers contracts inventory consumption historical prices and current risk positions.
2. Day 030: Establish daily commodity market report and management dashboard.
3. Day 3160: Build commodity-wise procurement and trading strategy counterparty universe and approved risk framework.
4. Day 3160: Identify immediate savings/trading opportunities and quantify potential annualized EBITDA impact.
5. Day 6190: Launch formal trading desk governance position reporting price forecasting and commodity P&L.
6. Day 6190: Present a 12-month roadmap to create a scalable staples trading platform.

6. KPIs / Success Measures

1. Commodity purchase cost improvement vs. benchmark / market index.
2. Realized trading contribution and incremental gross margin generated.
3. Procurement savings and avoided-cost value.
4. Forecast accuracy for key commodities and price windows.
5. Inventory turns and inventory carrying cost.
6. Working-capital released through better procurement timing.
7. Supplier diversification and strategic sourcing coverage.
8. Reduction in adverse price exposure and procurement volatility.
9. Trading P&L risk-adjusted return and adherence to approved limits.
10. Contribution to overall EBITDA improvement.

7. Candidate Profile

1. 10 years of experience in commodity trading agri-commodities staples procurement food ingredients or commodity-linked businesses.
2. Strong hands-on exposure to wheat rice pulses chana/besan or other Indian food commodities.
3. Deep understanding of Indian mandi ecosystems commodity cycles quality specifications and supply chains.
4. Strong commercial judgement with the ability to combine trading instinct with analytical discipline.
5. Experience in managing commodity positions suppliers counterparties and trading risk.
6. Strong Excel/data/analytics orientation; familiarity with commodity exchanges market-data platforms and forecasting tools is preferred.
7. High integrity confidentiality and disciplined risk-management mindset.
8. Entrepreneurial orientation with the ability to build a function from the ground up.

8. Role Structure Trade Lead / Consultant Options

The position may be structured either as (a) full-time Commodity Trading Desk Head responsible for building and operating the function or (b) Strategic Commodity Trading Consultant responsible for designing the trading architecture market-intelligence system risk framework supplier network and initial trading playbook before transitioning the function to an internal leader.

9. Ideal Leadership Characteristics

1. Traders instinct CFO-level commercial discipline.
2. Strong negotiation ability and market relationships.
3. Data-led but decisive under uncertainty.
4. Long-term relationship builder with suppliers and counterparties.
5. Comfortable challenging conventional procurement practices.
6. Absolute focus on profitable growth cash discipline and risk-adjusted returns.

10. Reporting & Interfaces

Reports to: CEO / Managing Director / Business Leadership

Core interfaces: Procurement Finance Plant & Operations Supply Chain Sales Quality R&D Strategy

11. Compensation & Engagement

Compensation should be structured competitively and may include a performance-linked component tied to measurable procurement savings trading contribution margin improvement working-capital benefits and achievement of agreed risk-adjusted returns.

Required Skills:

Commodity TradingRisk ManagementMarket AnalysisNegotiationSupply Chain ManagementFinancial ModelingData AnalysisStrategic PlanningStakeholder ManagementDecision Making