Chief Trading and Risk Officer

ECN; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 3,500,000 - 5,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Apollo Africa, part of Reunert, seeks a Chief Trading & Risk Officer to lead and grow the trading and risk function as part of the executive team. The role will build and operationalise the trading platform, secure licences, and implement robust risk controls as the business moves from pre-operational to live trading.

Responsibilities include market access, regulatory engagement, and leading a small team while reporting to the Apollo CEO and Reunert Group risk and audit.

Qualifications

• Six-plus years of post-graduate experience across electricity operations, wheeling, metering and trading.

Responsibilities

• Design, procure and implement ETRM and supporting systems from origination to settlement.

Skills

Engineering

Finance

Economics

Business

Built Environment

Quantitative discipline

Energy markets

Risk management

Project finance

Contracts

Trading

Leadership

Education

Undergraduate degree in Engineering, Finance, Economics, Business, Built Environment

Postgraduate qualification in project finance, energy markets, risk management, contracts

Job description

Industry: Electricity, Energy & Water Supply

Job category: Directors and Chief Executives

Location: Cape Town

Contract: Permanent

Remuneration: Market Related

EE position: No

Introduction

Reunert is seeking an exceptional Chief Trading & Risk Officer (CTRO) to join the executive leadership team of its subsidiary, Apollo Africa, at a pivotal stage of growth and transformation. The CTRO leads Apollo's trading and risk function as a member of the Apollo executive. The role is accountable for building Apollo into a fully operational electricity trader — creating and maturing the trading platform and controls, securing the regulatory licences and market authorisations Apollo requires, operationalising signed power purchase agreements into the trading desk, and establishing the risk framework that protects Apollo as transaction volumes grow. It removes the single point of failure currently sitting in the Trading and Risk Manager and provides the executive authority needed to lead a control-critical function as Apollo moves from pre-operational to live trading.

Trading operations and platform

• Design, procure and implement the ETRM and supporting systems; ensure straight-through processing from origination to settlement and integration with finance and reporting.
• Operationalise signed GPPAs and CPPAs into the desk — nominations, scheduling, settlements, invoicing, reconciliations, dispute management — and lead day-to-day trading execution.
• Build pricing, dispatch and portfolio optimisation models for bilateral, day-ahead and (in due course) SAWEM activity.

Market access, regulatory engagement and operationalisation

• Own Apollo's regulatory licensing and market authorisations — applications, conditions, compliance and ongoing engagement with NERSA.
• Drive market-access readiness as South Africa's trading framework develops — certification, market code compliance, nominations and settlement.
• Lead operational engagement with Eskom, NTCSA, municipal distributors and the market operator; secure and maintain wheeling, use-of-system, network access and metering arrangements.
• Represent Apollo in SAETA and industry forums on trading rules and market design, coordinating with Legal Counsel on formal regulatory matters.

Risk management, hedging and treasury

• Own Apollo's market, credit and counterparty risk framework — risk appetite, position and exposure limits, stress and scenario testing, KYC and credit assessment together with in-house Legal.
• Provide regular reporting on market, credit, liquidity and operational risk to the CEO, the Apollo Board and Reunert Group risk and audit.

Trading desk build and team leadership

• Lead and grow the trading and risk team, including developing the Trading and Risk Manager into the next layer of trading leadership.
• Establish desk culture, code of conduct, dealing mandates and continuous-improvement disciplines befitting a regulated trader.

Executive contribution and governance

• Serve on the Apollo Executive Committee; contribute to strategy, budget and major commercial decisions, and challenge the trading and risk implications of those decisions.
• Act as the primary trading and risk interface with the Apollo Board and the Reunert Group (Renewable Energy Cluster, Group Risk, Group Treasury, Group Internal Audit and external auditors).
• Identify and assess medium-term market opportunities as the industry develops, and build the analytical basis for entering them.

South African competitive electricity trading is a young industry, and the experience bar below reflects the depth of expertise currently available in this market rather than the bar that would apply in a mature trading jurisdiction. The successful candidate is expected to bring most of the following:

• Undergraduate degree in Engineering, Finance, Economics, Business, Built Environment or a related quantitative or technical discipline.
• Postgraduate qualification or specialist certification in project finance, energy markets, risk management, contracts or a related field.
• At least six years of post-graduate professional experience, with a track record across electricity operations, wheeling, metering and billing, project management, and energy or financial-market trading.
• At least three of those years in a senior leadership or executive role carrying a profit-and-loss, mandate or risk-ownership accountability.
• Hands-on experience inside a South African electricity trader, aggregator, utility, IPP or comparable platform, with exposure to NERSA-licensed trading, wheeling and CPPA / GPPA structures.
• Practical understanding of SAWEM, the NERSA trading rules, Eskom and municipal wheeling frameworks, and SAPP.
• Track record of constructive engagement with Eskom, NERSA, municipalities and industry associations such as SAETA or the Energy Council of South Africa.
• Cape Town based, or willing to relocate to Cape Town.

Key Personal Attributes

Apollo is a small, lean executive team operating in a control-critical environment. The attributes below are not optional extras — they are central to success in the role.

• Independent worker. Comfortable operating with limited oversight, taking ownership of outcomes end-to-end and bringing solutions rather than problems to the executive table.
• Deadline driven. Delivers against commercial, regulatory and reporting deadlines that move quickly and rarely shift. Manages multiple competing priorities without dropping any of them.
• Strong values and integrity. Holds the line on risk, governance and control even when commercially inconvenient. Trusted with sensitive trading, customer and counterparty information.
• Team player. Works closely with the CEO, the rest of the executive, the broader company and the Reunert Group functions. Builds bridges rather than silos.
• Leadership presence. Earns followership from a small but growing team and from senior stakeholders inside and outside Apollo. Develops people deliberately.
• Builder mindset. Energised by creating capability — systems, processes, controls, teams — from a low base. Comfortable with ambiguity and with a role that will evolve.
• Commercial judgement. Pragmatic, decisive, balances risk and opportunity sensibly, and knows when to escalation.
• Resilience and curiosity. Stays calm under pressure, learns continuously as the market changes, and engages constructively with regulators, system operators and counterparties.