Job Description

Main purpose

Impala Terminal Rotterdam (ITR) is a strategically significant storage asset for Trafigura, and this role sits at the heart of its commercial and operational success. As Terminal Operations Specialist, you will be the primary bridge between Trafigura's trading and operations teams and the ITR Customer Service organisation — ensuring seamless, safe day-to-day terminal performance while maximising Trafigura's interests as both a major customer and shareholder.

This is a high-visibility, cross-functional role that combines deep operational expertise with commercial awareness. You will join at a critical moment as the terminal comes online and ramps up to full operations, giving you the opportunity to shape processes, relationships, and performance frameworks from the ground up.

Key responsibilities

Relationship Management & Contract Ownership

• Serve as the customer contract owner and the primary escalation point
• Build deep relationships, developing a thorough understanding of terminal design, layout, constraints, and ways of working as well as how our trading business operates.
• Conduct contractor oversight of Trafigura-appointed cargo inspectors, acting as the four-eyes check on cargo quality risk, line contamination, and sample management
• Attend vessel operations as required
• Develop and maintain a pipeline of customer requirements for terminal development in conjunction with terminal commercial teams.

Performance Management & Reporting

• Provide granular customer-perspective feedback, performance management and asset optimisation with particular focus on the ramp-up period
• Provide customer sign-off on operational KPIs and lead participation in routine KPI and performance review sessions
• Establish and maintain a contamination and inventory risk register, identifying risks across the terminal, barriers to manage them, and an audit schedule
• Monitor operational limits and report to operations desks in trading
• Communicate maintenance schedules between teams, manage conflict conversations, and notify trading desks promptly of unplanned maintenance events — providing supporting evidence to the demurrage team as required
• Challenge ways of working and drive structural operational performance improvements

Technical Training & Knowledge Management

• Utilise technical knowledge to proactively influence trading strategies and support asset optimisation
• Develop a comprehensive technical training pack for Trading Operators interfacing with asset, covering:
  • MLA and pump/line allocation (including high-benzene and inter-manifold lines)
  • Standard operating procedures for line content tracking, compatibility, displacements, and flushes
  • Dead leg and contamination risk identification
  • Positive segregations and documented operational limits (annual throughput, roof landings, butane import, methanol, 1,3-butadiene)

Multi-Customer Operations

• Support 3rd party leasing
• Review technical and operational considerations and flag limit implications for proposed operational changes
• Establish multi-customer operating procedures with ITR, including line quality management and jetty planning

Invoicing & Commercial Administration

• Act as the escalation point for invoice disputes
• Coordinate and distribute recharge allocations

Required qualifications

• Proven experience in in an operations environment — trading operations, shipping, or asset operations.

• Strong knowledge of the storage and management of clean petroleum products: distillates, jet, naphtha, gasoline, and ethanol

• Solid understanding of oil products terminal operations

• Demonstrated experience managing third-party relationships and service providers
• Experience in business negotiations and contract performance management

Preferred qualifications

• Physical blending experience

• Dutch language skills (additional languages an advantage)

Attributes for success

• Entrepreneurial mindset — thrives in a build-it-from-scratch environment and is energised by the opportunity to shape processes and ways of working from the ground up
• Commercial and operational acumen — comfortable operating at the intersection of commercial and operational priorities, with the credibility to engage senior leadership across both functions
• Collaborative team player — works effectively across teams and disciplines, contributing to a high-performance culture while bringing others along
• Self-starter with initiative — proactively identifies problems and drives solutions without waiting to be directed; takes ownership and follows through
• Expertise-driven — brings deep, demonstrable knowledge in their field and is motivated by doing the work well, not just managing it

Department overview

Impala Terminals Rotterdam (ITR) is a strategically significant storage asset within Trafigura's Oil Division, currently ramping up to full operations. The team sits at the intersection of Trafigura's trading, operations, and customer service functions, acting as the primary interface between internal stakeholders and the ITR Customer Service organisation.

With the terminal in its early stages, this is a build-and-shape environment — one where individuals have genuine scope to define processes, relationships, and performance standards from the ground up. It is a high-visibility, cross-functional function that rewards deep operational expertise, commercial awareness, and a strong sense of ownership.

Equal opportunity employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in a diverse workforce! We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, medical condition or handicap, disability, or any other legally protected status.