Trader (Fixed Term Contract - 24 months)

Recruitment Portal; Cape Town, Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 800,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

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Job summary

PetroSA in Cape Town is seeking an entry-level trader for a fixed-term contract of 24 months. The role involves executing purchasing and sales activities, analysing markets, and supporting trading operations to optimise profitability in oil products and feedstock.

Responsibilities include risk management, pricing, and developing trading solutions across overland and third-party channels, with emphasis on governance and stakeholder collaboration.

Qualifications

• Advanced Diploma / Bachelor’s degree in Business/Finance/Commerce/Economics/Engineering/Science.
• 3–5 years’ experience within the supply and trading environment in the Petrochemical industry or commodity banking.
• Trading Operations and Overland experience will be an added advantage.

Responsibilities

• Execute purchasing and sales processes by actively engaging with the market and develop demand/supply scenarios.
• Perform pricing and risk analysis, support trading operations and reporting, optimise deal outcomes.
• Design and implement trading and stock optimisation strategies to maximise margins and profitability.
• Assist with risk management, hedging oil exposures, and ensuring positions align with policy.
• Develop service level agreements and governance procedures for timely, compliant trading activities.

Education

Advanced Diploma / Bachelor’s degree in Business/Finance/Commerce/Economics/Engineering/Science

Job description

Trader (Fixed Term Contract - 24 months)

PetroSA

Location Cape Town/Johannesburg

Employment Type Fixed Term Contract

Experience Level Entry Level

Category Marketing

Job Type All Candidates

Work Location Office-based

Application Deadline Oct 03, 2026

Job Purpose

Perform currentbusiness architecture to execute purchases, sales of petroleum products, feedstock,blend stock, and seek opportunities to optimise profitability, add value, buildoptimisation around the existing business and provide integration and alignmentwhere multiple stakeholders are involved in realising a business opportunity intrading deals in accordance with statutory and PetroSA’s policies andprocedures to ensure profitability is optimised and value added to theorganisation.

Job Description

• Execute thepurchasing and sales function/ process by being actively present in the market,using postulates to perform analysis, develop demand and supply scenarios, executephysical crude oil, product and derivative trades, and assist with theexecution of trading operations and reporting, ensuring a positive contributionfor trading deal outcomes including optimisation opportunities for refinery orassets belonging to the organisation, and building sound relationships withcounterparties to ensure sustainability is offered through profitable growthand the reduction of feedstock costs.
• Designand execute business solutions for optimisation of overland trading and third-party trading to ensure optimum margins are derived and to seek opportunitiesfor profit generation associated with overland and third-party trading.
• Execute the pricerisk function/ process by assisting withtrade reconciliation and broker validation, establish trading solutions ensuringrisk levels are within allowable limits, and that a clear link for physical and paperpositions exist for all new business architecture, to ensure risk exposure ismitigated and business targets are met.
• Design and executebusiness solutions for optimisation of strategic stock directives for thestrategic stock trading function/ process to ensure optimum margins are derivedfrom stock holdings and to seek opportunities for profit generation associatedwith strategic stock.
• Execute the supplier management function/process by communicatingfactors that might impact PetroSA’s business and identify possibleopportunities that can be further explored by the rest of PetroSA to ensureprotection against reputational risk and for the identification of profitablegrowth opportunities.
• Maintain existingrelationships/ partnerships and identify business threats and strengths thatcould impact PetroSA, analyse external global market/ external environmentalfactors and benchmarking for specific business opportunities to evaluate thebest outcome and fit with existing business to ensure market opportunities areidentified, sustainable partnerships and business solutions, embeddedness in themarket and PetroSA’s reputation is maintained as a professional organisationwith a high level of integrity.
• Develop and maintainan ongoing understanding of trading related standards for ports, facilities,and pipelines, implement policy directives, formulate procedures for approval andutilise the delegation of authoritylimits for deals in accordance with PetroSA’s policies and procedures to ensuregood corporate governance in the trading department, and compliance to currentpolicy directives and applicable legislations.
• Assist with the development of service levelagreements with internal stakeholders which are reviewed on a regular basis,set performance criteria critical to the servicelevel requirements in compliance to policies and procedures toensure service delivery standards are maintained and improved.
• Perform risk management by hedging physical oilexposures, implementing price risk management policies, and manage openpositions by using approved financial instruments to ensure the best price isachieved, profitable transactions and all market positions are covered.
• Manage and ensurethat business propriety systems can be utilised for new business opportunities,and develop sets of requirements for system upgrades that would be developedfor future use, to ensure effective financial reporting and existing businessprocesses are updated before projects/ opportunities are implemented.
• Maintain OPEX budgettargets relating to specific existing and new deals to ensure elements thatshow a high level of variance are corrected.
• Provide and ensure trading gives customers therequired information to ensure physical deals can be executed within therequired time periods.
• Assist in newbusiness development within other divisions in PetroSA specifically related tosupply chain optimisation or integration of new products and new markets toensure alignment of business drivers.
• Provide coaching andguidance to trainee traders to ensure knowledge transfer and capabilitydevelopment

Requirements & Qualifications

• Advanced Diploma (NQFLev7)/Bachelor’s degree in Business/Finance/Commerce/Economics/Engineering/Science
• 3 - 5 years’experience within the supply and trading environment in the PetrochemicalIndustry/or commodity banking
• Trading Operations andOverland experience will be an added advantage

PetroSA is committed to Equality, Employment Equity, and Diversity regarding employment opportunities. In accordance with our Employment Equity Plan, preference may be given but not limited to candidates from under-represented designated groups. PetroSA reserves the right not to make an appointment to posts as advertised. PetroSA encourages candidates living with disabilities to apply for positions.