Middle Office - Risk and Operations Job London area,Greater London England UK,Finance & Banking

Middle Office Risk and Operations Analyst – Physical Commodities

A leading global financial markets business is looking to hire a Middle Office Operations Analyst to join its Risk function, supporting a growing commodities trading business.

This is a specialist opportunity for someone with genuine experience of physical commodity trading and the operational lifecycle of physical trades
.

We are particularly interested in individuals who have worked within an energy trading house, integrated energy company, oil major, commodity merchant or similar physical commodities environment
, with a strong understanding of how physical trades are booked, managed, valued and ultimately delivered.

This is not a traditional financial services Middle Office role.
Hands-on experience of physical commodities and trade booking is essential.

The Role

Working within the Risk function, you will provide oversight and control across the physical commodities trading lifecycle, working closely with Trading, Operations, Finance and other control functions.

You will be responsible for ensuring that physical commodity transactions are accurately captured and reflected within the firm's trading and risk systems, with appropriate consideration given to pricing, volumes, delivery terms, logistics and associated costs.

The role will involve:

Reviewing and validating the booking of physical commodity trades within the relevant ETRM/trading systems
Ensuring trade economics, volumes, prices, delivery locations and contractual terms have been captured accurately
Understanding the end-to-end lifecycle of physical commodity transactions
Reviewing trade amendments, cancellations and booking changes and ensuring appropriate controls are maintained
Identifying discrepancies between physical contracts, trade bookings and operational records
Working with Trading and Operations to investigate and resolve booking and lifecycle issues
Understanding the impact of freight, shipping, transportation, storage and other physical costs on trade economics
Supporting the accurate reflection of physical fees and charges within trading and risk systems
Monitoring trading activity and identifying unusual or potentially incorrect bookings
Supporting risk reporting, exposure analysis and P&L processes
Performing reconciliations and investigating breaks between trading, operational and risk systems
Working with Finance and Operations around settlements, invoices, accruals and physical commodity costs
Supporting appropriate controls around physical trade capture and lifecycle management
Helping to identify process weaknesses and implement improvements
Providing effective challenge where trade bookings or operational processes do not accurately reflect the underlying physical transaction

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who understands physical commodities from an operational perspective
, rather than someone whose experience is limited to financial products.

You are likely to have gained your experience within:

An integrated energy company or oil major
A physical commodity trading house
An energy merchant
An oil, gas, LNG, power or refined products business
A commodity-focused financial institution with significant physical trading activity

Relevant backgrounds could include companies operating across oil, refined products, gas, LNG, power, freight or other physical energy commodities
.

Experience in Middle Office, Trade Operations, Commercial Operations, Trading Operations or Risk Operations
Strong understanding of physical commodity trading
Practical experience of trade booking / trade capture
Understanding of the physical trade lifecycle from execution through to delivery and settlement
Experience working with an ETRM or commodity trading system
Understanding of physical commodity pricing, volumes and delivery terms
Exposure to freight, shipping, transportation, storage or other physical trading costs
Strong reconciliation and control skills
Ability to investigate discrepancies and understand the underlying commercial reason for a break
Experience working closely with Traders and other front-office stakeholders
Strong Excel and analytical capability

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be someone who can look at a physical commodity trade and understand what has actually been traded, how it should be booked, what the associated physical costs are and how the transaction should flow through the firm's risk and operational infrastructure
.

You don't necessarily need to have worked in a financial…