Coal Operator

Role Summary

The Coal Operator is responsible for the end-to-end execution and administration of physical coal transactions once trades are concluded by the trading desk. Working closely with traders, counterparties, shipping and chartering teams, inspection agencies, and internal finance and compliance functions, the Operator ensures each cargo moves from origin to destination accurately, on time, in line with contractual terms, and in full compliance with regulatory and internal requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the full operational lifecycle of physical coal cargoes.
• Review, and administer physical contracts, nominations, and shipping instructions, ensuring alignment between trade terms and executed documentation.
• Coordinate vessel and logistics arrangements with the chartering/freight desk and shipowners — nominations, laycans, and loading/discharge operations across relevant vessel classes.
• Prepare, verify, and manage shipping and trade documentation — bills of lading, certificates of origin, certificates of quality/quantity/weight — and support Letters of Credit and documentary collections alongside the trade-finance team.
• Monitor laytime and calculate, negotiate, and settle demurrage/despatch claims with counterparties and shipowners.
• Manage cargo, quality, and shortage claims through to resolution.
• Coordinate with terminals, port agents, and stevedores on berthing, stockpile management, loading/discharge sequencing, and any blending or transshipment requirements.
• Track physical positions and inventory; reconcile with traders and middle office; ensure timely and accurate entry into the trade/operations system.
• Manage provisional invoicing on load-port certificates and final invoicing on final quality/quantity results, coordinating pricing, price adjustments, and payments with finance and resolving discrepancies with counterparties.
• Oversee customs, import/export licensing, and origin/documentation requirements across relevant jurisdictions, coordinating with agents and freight forwarders to avoid clearance delays.
• Ensure all activity complies with sanctions, KYC, responsible-sourcing/due-diligence, and any applicable environmental or emissions-reporting requirements, escalating issues as appropriate.
• Maintain clear, proactive communication with counterparties, terminals, agents, surveyors, and internal stakeholders across multiple time zones.

Technical qualifications and skills

• Good knowledge of contractual terms (Commercial terms/Credit terms/Inco terms/Shipping terms/Legal clauses).
• Knowledge of required quality specifications and comparison of specifications purchase vs. sale.
• Knowledge of blending will be an added advantage but not a must
• Knowledge of Charter-Party terms will be an added advantage but not a must
• Experienced in handling multiple loading/discharging and STS operations.
• Experienced in handling storage.
• Knowledge of Bill of Lading terms, Insurance terms, Customs documentations in particular and other Shipping documents in general.
• Knowledge of credit tools (Doc L/C vs. SBL/C vs. Pre-payment vs. open account)
• Understanding of L/C terms and UCP of Letters of Credit.
• Understanding on when financing/LC top-up is required will be an advantage.

Profile

• 1–3 years' experience in physical commodity operations (dry bulk or coal experience a strong plus).
• Master’s Degree or higher, preferably in international trade, supply chain, or a quantitative/analytical field
• Strong analytical and numerical ability, with confidence handling data and building or maintaining tracking and calculation spreadsheets (advanced Excel; exposure to statistical tools such as R, Stata, or SPSS an advantage for demurrage, cost, and position analysis).
• Pleasant personality with the ability to build up cordial relationship among different departments and offices to enable efficient and effective communication and co-ordination is essential
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple time-sensitive workflows simultaneously.
• Collaborative, proactive, and able to perform under pressure in a fast-moving trading environment.
• Adhere to company’s defined procedures, compliance and contribution to its improvement on a continued basis.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English and Mandarin, to work effectively with mandarin speaking counterparties, suppliers.
• Pro-active in problems solving together with the team.
• Flexible, being able to adapt to different scenarios.