Director, Cocoa Derivatives, APAC

Barry Callebaut; Singapore; On-site; SGD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cocoa and chocolate manufacturer is seeking a Director for Cocoa Derivatives in APAC. This role involves developing derivatives strategy, managing risk in trading, and working with both internal and external stakeholders. Candidates should possess a degree in Business or Finance and have 8-10 years of experience in commodity trading, particularly in the cocoa industry. Strong analytical skills, stakeholder management, and fluency in English are essential for success in this position.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in commodity trading and operations.
• Experience with project management and cross-functional collaboration.
• Proven track record of P&L ownership.

Responsibilities

• Develop derivatives strategy for APAC cocoa business.
• Contribute to global sourcing and CR strategy.
• Manage the risk of hedge and proprietary trading books.
• Optimize risk exposure using plain vanilla and complex financial tools.
• Represent region as subject matter expert in cocoa market intelligence.

Skills

Fluent in written and spoken English

Proficiency in Python

Proficiency in R

Proficiency in Microsoft Programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Understanding of the commodities market

Strong business communication

Data analytics skills

Stakeholder management

Education

Minimum Degree in Business, Finance, Accountancy, or equivalent

Tools

SAP

Job description

Director, Cocoa Derivatives, APAC

Location: Singapore, SG, 068809

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future. We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide. We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond!

About the role

• Leading a team of traders (1 FTE), you will be supervising the regional risk positions (Bean Equivalent, Structure and Arbitrage) through effective hedging solutions across structure and arbitrage strategies within a pre-approved hedge mandate. Astute management of these risk positions will significantly lower the cost inputs of 180,000 MT bean grind as it ultimately impacts the costing and eventual sales prices of 30,000 MT of interco requirements and 50,000 MT products to third party.
• You are also responsible for a second pre-approved risk limit mandate, which relates to proprietary trading.
• Key stakeholders include internal stakeholders like; Cocoa Bean Sourcing Director Head of Research, VP Cocoa Asia, Group Risk, Combined Ratio team, Group Derivatives traders, and external stakeholders like banks, brokers and research firms.
• Strong emphasis on working capital management (forecast of Initial Margins, Variation Margins) through instruments (swaps, OTCs) and partnership with Treasury for credit/financing lines, and daily reconciliation of physical contracts and futures trades.

Key responsibilities include

• Develop the derivatives strategy for APAC cocoa business, encompassing structure exposure, optimize hedging and proprietary spec trading.
• Contribute to global sourcing and CR strategy calls.
• Responsible for the risk management of the hedge and proprietary trading books.
• Implement strategies that entail plain vanilla and complex financial tools to manage the regional cash flows and optimize risk exposure.
• Represent the region as the subject matter expert cocoa market intelligence.
• Active participating in global derivatives strategic meetings
• Willing to travel up to 10% of the time.

About you

• Minimum Degree in Business, Finance, Accountancy, or equivalent
• Fluent in written and spoken English, and preferably a second language
• Experience with computer systems like Python, R, Microsoft Programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), SAP
• Project management experience and cross-functional collaboration
• Proven track record of P&L ownership
• Have a strong understanding of the commodities market, preferably Agriculture and Cocoa/Chocolate industry
• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in commodity trading and operations
• Strong industry network comprising of clients, trading houses, banks, certification organizations (RFA, Fairtrade) and industry organizations (CAA, FCC).
• Strong business communication
• Keen sense of data analytics and interpretation
• Ability to multi-task and deliver in a high pressure environment
• Astute stakeholder management
• Be a good team player with a strong sense of integrity and commitment
• A passion for leadership and effective communication