Trading Director

Young's Seafood; Malton; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food processing company in the UK seeks an ambitious Trading Director to spearhead their pork trading activities. This role involves negotiating high-value contracts, executing strategic trading strategies, and analyzing market dynamics to maximize profitability in a competitive landscape. Candidates should possess proven experience in commodity trading and negotiation skills. The company offers a competitive package with benefits and a collaborative culture focused on sustainability.

Benefits

Competitive package with bonus

Collaborative culture

Recognition for performance

Qualifications

• Proven experience in pork or commodity trading within the food industry.
• Success in developing profitable trading strategies and structuring deals.
• Deep understanding of market dynamics and foreign risk management.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate high-value pork trading contracts with suppliers.
• Develop and execute trading strategies to achieve margin targets.
• Analyze market dynamics for rapid trading decisions.

Skills

Pork or commodity trading

Negotiating high-value contracts

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Job description

The Role

Sofina Foods is seeking an ambitious, strategic Trading Director to lead our pork processing division's trading and brokering activities. This role goes far beyond market execution - you will be the primary negotiator and broker of high-value contracts, shaping sourcing, pricing, risk management and supplier partnerships that underpin our competitive edge. You'll draw on your background in meat trading and understanding of dynamic foreign markets to open new channels, mitigate risk, and seize opportunities in real time. You will partner with senior stakeholders across Sales, Operations, Finance and Logistics, reporting directly to the CCO, with clear scope to expand your remit over time.

The Ideal Candidate

This is a role for someone who's not just seeking their next job, but their next leadership chapter:

• Proven experience in pork or commodity trading and brokering within the food industry, with a track record of negotiating high-value meat contracts
• Demonstrable success developing profitable trading strategies, structuring deals and mitigating risk in fast-moving foreign markets
• Deep understanding of pork market dynamics, global supply-chain levers, regulatory landscapes and currency exposures
• Exceptional analytical, financial-modelling and forecasting skills, with the agility to adapt models in real time
• Natural influencer - outstanding negotiation, communication and stakeholder-management skills at all levels
• Strategic thinker, decisive under uncertainty, relentlessly focused on results, continuous improvement and capturing spread opportunities

Why Sofina Foods?

• Competitive package with bonus, benefits and recognition for performance
• Lead a dynamic, growth-focused trading function in an agile business driving market leadership in pork and broader protein categories
• Collaborative culture where high-impact negotiating, brokering initiatives and commercial innovation are celebrated and rewarded
• Strategic influence: contribute to high-level decision-making and shape the future direction of our trading and brokering function
• Purpose-driven mission: work for a company committed to sustainability, quality and delivering exceptional food products worldwide

Equal Opportunities

Sofina Foods is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences - regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Negotiate & Broker high-value pork trading contracts across domestic and international suppliers, securing optimal terms, pricing and volume commitments.
• Develop & Execute trading strategies for pork products - sourcing, pricing, risk mitigation and contract structuring-to achieve margin, volume and growth targets.
• Analyse & Forecast global meat-market dynamics, regulatory shifts and currency exposures; build agile financial models to convert insights into rapid trading decisions.
• Cultivate Supplier Partnerships, optimizing supply-chain efficiency, securing alternative and emerging market channels, and brokering win-win agreements.
• Drive Cross-Functional Alignment with Sales, Operations, Finance and Logistics to ensure inventory, production and customer-delivery objectives are seamlessly met.
• Define, Track & Report KPIs-trade margins, volume throughput, contract performance - and deliver data-driven performance insights and strategic recommendations to senior management.

Summary

A unique opportunity to own and drive Sofina Foods' pork trading strategy, combining high-stakes negotiation and brokering, deep meat-trading expertise and foreign-market insight to maximise profitability and resilience in a £100m+ portfolio.