Commodities Middle Office Manager

Location:
London

Role:
Commodities Middle Office

About Albany Beck

Albany Beck is a specialist financial services consultancy, providing expertise across Investment Banking, Capital Markets, Technology, Operations, Risk and Transformation. We partner with leading financial institutions to deliver specialist consulting services, operational improvements and strategic transformation programmes.

Role Overview

Albany Beck is seeking an experienced Commodities Middle Office to support a leading global investment bank's Energy Trading Operations function in London.

This is a senior role responsible for overseeing the end-to-end trade lifecycle across physical and financial commodity products, with a particular focus on Oil, Natural Gas, LNG and Power.

The successful candidate will combine strong hands-on Commodities Middle Office experience with operational leadership, risk management and process improvement capabilities.

The role will cover both day-to-day operational oversight (Run the Bank) and strategic transformation initiatives (Change the Bank), ensuring robust controls, efficient trade processing and effective management of physical commodity settlements.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end trade lifecycle for physical and financial commodity transactions, including trade capture, validation, confirmations, reconciliations and settlement.
• Provide senior Middle Office support across Energy products, including crude oil, refined oil, natural gas, LNG, power, emissions and associated OTC and exchange-traded derivatives.
• Manage physical commodity settlements, including inventory management, logistics, scheduling, nominations, storage and delivery obligations.
• Oversee physical delivery processes, including vessel movements, pipeline scheduling, terminal operations, inventory positions and supporting shipping documentation.
• Ensure effective controls across trade confirmations, settlements, pricing, reference data, reconciliations and exception management.
• Work closely with Front Office Trading, Risk, Finance, Technology, Settlements and external counter parties to resolve operational issues and mitigate risk.
• Oversee the management of complex OTC and exchange-traded derivatives, including futures lifecycle events, option expiries, clearing and settlement obligations.
• Monitor operational performance through KPIs and KRIs, ensuring timely trade confirmations, settlements, regulatory reporting and resolution of outstanding exceptions.
• Maintain a strong operational risk and control framework, identifying process weaknesses and implementing sustainable improvements.
• Ensure compliance with applicable UK and European regulatory requirements, including UK EMIR, MiFID II/MiFIR, REMIT and commodity position reporting.
• Support operational requirements relating to commodity exchanges and clearing houses, including ICE, LME and EEX.
• Lead process improvement and transformation initiatives focused on automation, operational efficiency, risk reduction and straight-through processing.
• Support new commodity product launches, ensuring appropriate operational processes, controls and infrastructure are established.
• Provide leadership and mentoring to junior team members, promoting accountability and operational excellence.

Required Experience

• Extensive experience within Commodities Middle Office, Energy Trading Operations or Physical Commodity Operations, ideally gained within a global investment bank.
• Strong knowledge of physical and financial Energy products, particularly Oil, Gas and Power.
• Demonstrable experience managing physical energy settlements, including logistics, scheduling, nominations, inventory and delivery obligations.
• Strong understanding of the complete commodity trade lifecycle, including trade capture, confirmations, reconciliation, clearing and settlement.
• Experience supporting OTC and exchange-traded commodity derivatives, including futures, options and physical delivery contracts.
• Knowledge of commodity market infrastructure, trading platforms, exchanges and clearing houses.
• Strong understanding of Middle Office controls, operational risk management, P&L validation and intersystem reconciliations.
• Experience working with Front Office Trading, Risk, Finance, Technology and Operations teams.
• Understanding of relevant UK and European commodity trading regulations, including EMIR, MiFID II/MiFIR and REMIT.
• Proven experience delivering operational improvements, process automation or transformation initiatives.
• Previous experience operating at VP…