The Finance Manager will oversee end-to-end finance operations for petroleum trading, including trading P&L oversight, working capital and cash flow management, controls around credit and settlements, month-end close, statutory compliance, and business partnering with trading and operations teams. The role requires hands-on experience with trade finance instruments, counterparties, and commodity trading accounting.

Key Responsibilities

Trading Finance & Performance

• Oversee daily/weekly tracking of trading performance, including gross margin, pricing, and volumetric variance analysis.

• Review and explain trading P&L, inventory movements, and timing differences (cargo/parcel accounting, pricing adjustments, demurrage, claims).

• Partner with traders and operations to ensure accurate deal economics and timely capture of costs and revenues.

Working Capital, Cash Flow & Liquidity

• Manage cash forecasting aligned with cargo schedules, payment terms, and hedging/FX exposures.

• Optimize working capital: receivables, payables, inventory financing, and prepayments.

• Monitor and control FX impacts, bank positions, and payment prioritization consistent with trading cycles.

Credit Control, Settlements & Risk Support

• Coordinate with commercial teams to enforce counterparty credit limits, payment terms, and exposure monitoring.

• Oversee trade settlement processes: invoicing, collections, supplier payments, and reconciliation of contract terms.

• Support documentation flows with trade operations (contracts, B/L, CoQ/CoA, terminal docs) to ensure billing accuracy and reduce disputes.

Trade Finance & Banking

• Manage relationships with banks and lenders for trade finance facilities (LCs, SBLCs, guarantees, invoice discounting, TR/UPAS, etc., as applicable).

• Ensure compliance with facility covenants, KYC requirements, and documentation standards.

• Prepare bank reporting packs and support negotiations for facility renewals.

Financial Reporting & Controls

• Lead month-end close, ensuring timely and accurate management accounts and variance commentary.

• Maintain robust internal controls over revenue recognition, inventory valuation, accruals, and provisions.

• Coordinate audit processes and statutory filings, ensuring tax and regulatory compliance.

Team Leadership & Process Improvement

• Lead and develop the finance team (AP/AR/treasury/trade settlements, as applicable).

• Drive process standardization and automation (ERP, trading systems, reporting dashboards).

• Implement policies and SOPs to reduce operational risk and improve cycle times.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field (Master’s preferred).

• Professional qualification: ACCA / CPA / CA / CIMA (strongly preferred).

• 7–12+ years of progressive finance experience, with 3+ years in commodity trading and/or petroleum downstream/trading.

• Strong understanding of trading P&L, inventory accounting, and working-capital-intensive operations.

• Practical knowledge of trade finance instruments and settlement workflows.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen; able to partner effectively with traders and operations teams.

• High attention to detail with the ability to manage deadlines in a fast-paced trading environment.

• Advanced Excel skills; ERP experience required ([SAP / Oracle / Dynamics / Odoo / NetSuite], as applicable).

• Strong communication and stakeholder management; able to present to senior leadership and banks.

• High integrity and control mindset (segregation of duties, approval frameworks, audit readiness).