Main Purpose:
The Business Transformation Lead plays a central role in executing Trafigura’s disciplined and structured approach to business transformation. Spanning new business onboarding, process efficiency, and strategic ad hoc initiatives, the role ensures that change initiatives are aligned with the Group’s strategic objectives, risk appetite, and operational scalability. This includes applying a standardized onboarding framework to new ventures, embedding cost accountability, and tracking post-implementation performance against business case projections.Knowledge Skills and Abilities, Key Responsibilities:
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Strong knowledge of commodity trading workflows (e.g., trade lifecycle, risk management, settlements, logistics, finance)
- Excellent project management capabilities; able to manage multiple concurrent initiatives under pressure
- Familiarity with ERP and trading systems (e.g., CTRM platforms), and enterprise architecture principles
- Experience in change management, stakeholder engagement, and transformation frameworks (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma)
- High proficiency in process mapping, business case development, and executive communication
- Strong financial acumen and ability to interpret cost allocation frameworks, investment thresholds, and profitability tracking
- Understanding of operational risk implications associated with business model complexity, and ability to advise on risk premiums in onboarding models
- Ability to work with ambiguity and rapidly evolving business models
- Strong understanding of post-implementation tracking mechanisms to ensure realized value against business case projections
- Circa 5 years of experience in Trafigura and 10 years of experience in the industry
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and coordinate new business onboarding projects, ensuring alignment of people, processes, and systems across all operational areas.
- Implement and oversee the standardized evaluation and approval process for onboarding new business initiatives, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and risk thresholds.
- Conduct end-to-end analysis of new trade flows and business models, defining fit-gap assessments and proposing efficient, scalable workflows.
- Track profitability and operational performance of new businesses against original business plan projections, coordinating periodic reviews with ExCom and senior stakeholders.
- Drive cost reduction initiatives by identifying inefficiencies, redundant processes, and automation opportunities across functions.
- Own the delivery of ad hoc transformation initiatives that fall outside of standard department remits, providing structure, governance, and execution support.
- Facilitate workshops and deep-dives with department heads to ensure readiness for change, define process, procedures & controls, and develop implementation roadmaps.
- Oversee business readiness for go-lives, including regulatory setup, systems configuration, and operational training.
- Ensure transformation initiatives are executed using a disciplined and structured methodology, promoting standardization and repeatability across the Group
Competencies
- Strategic and analytical thinking
- Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication
- Results-driven with a continuous improvement mindset
- Resilience, patience, and adaptability in fast-paced environments
- Leadership without authority — able to influence across all levels
- Ability to balance long-term vision with short-term constraints, maintaining steady progress toward complex goals.
Key Relationships and Department Overview:
Key Relationships
- Commercial Traders and Business Heads
- DD, Operations, Risk, Finance, Backoffice Functions and Compliance Teams
- IT & Systems Architecture teams
- Legal, Tax, Accounting and CHESS
- External service providers as required