Lead Trader – Down Stream Oil & Gas

Lead Trader – Down Stream Oil & Gas

Prowess Outsourcing Limited, a recruitment and consulting company, is recruiting suitably qualified candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Lead Trader – Down Stream Oil & Gas

Location: Lagos, Nigeria, with travel to operating states and depots as required

Employment Type: Full Time

Reports to: Head, Trade Operations & Business Development

directs to: Senior Trader(s) and Trade Analyst(s) on the Nigeria desk (small span of control)

Department: Trading & Commercial

Scope

• Nigeria trading and origination only - crude oil, refined products, and gas within the Nigerian market. West African markets can be focused post Nigeria.

Role Purpose

• The Lead Trader - Nigeria sits between the Head, Trade Operations & Business Development and the Senior Trader, owning the day-to-day running of the Nigeria trading book and origination pipeline. The role combines hands-on deal origination and business development within Nigeria with first-line supervision of a small trading team - translating the strategy and mandate set by the Head into consistent execution of the multi-market strategy on the ground.

Responsibilities

Deal Origination & Business Development (Nigeria):

• Originate and develop new trading opportunities and client relationships within Nigeria, across crude oil, refined products (PMS, AGO, DPK, LPG), and/or gas.
• Build and maintain a portfolio of Nigerian clients, suppliers, and counterparties, including corporate, commercial, and industrial accounts.
• Negotiate and close trades and commercial agreements within the pricing, credit, and risk mandate set by the Head, Trade Operations & BD, escalating larger or strategic opportunities upward.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities within Nigeria - new clients, new product lines, or new depot/logistics arrangements - and bring fully-scoped opportunities to the desk.

Trading Desk Supervision:

• Supervise and coordinate the day-to-day work of the Senior Trader(s) and Trade Analyst(s) on the Nigeria desk, allocating trades and workload appropriately.
• Review and quality-check trade execution against contracted terms, pricing, and risk limits before escalation or sign-off is needed from the Head.
• Coach and develop junior team members, providing day-to-day guidance on deal structuring, negotiation, and risk judgement.
• Identify arbitrage and hedging opportunities within the Nigeria book and work with the Head on any hedging or paper trading activity relevant to the Nigeria desk.

Market Intelligence & Risk (Nigeria):

• Monitor Nigerian oil & gas market conditions, pricing benchmarks, and regulatory developments (e.g., NMDPRA, NUPRC, fuel pricing and deregulation policy) that affect the Nigeria trading book.
• Manage commercial risk, counterparty exposure, and credit terms on the Nigeria book within approved limits, flagging any material risk issues to the Head promptly.
• Provide regular, accurate reporting to the Head on Nigeria desk performance, pipeline, and market developments.

Operations, Documentation & Compliance:

• Ensure trades on the Nigeria desk are properly documented - contracts, lifting schedules, product specifications, and compliance records - and coordinate with operations, logistics, risk, and finance for efficient execution.

• Ensure Nigeria desk activity complies with internal risk policy and relevant regulatory requirements, maintaining effective working relationships with Nigerian regulators as needed for day-to-day trading matters.

• Monitor delivery and logistics performance on Nigeria trades, working to minimise demurrage and delivery delays.

• Key Performance Indicator

KPI Area:

Measure of Success:

• Nigeria Origination & Business Development: Value and quality of new Nigerian client/counterparty relationships and trading opportunities originated.

• Trading Volume & Revenue (Nigeria): Growth in Nigeria trading volumes and revenue against target.

• Trading Margin: Margin achieved on the Nigeria book versus target/projected margin.

• Desk Supervision & Team Performance: Quality and consistency of trade execution across the Senior Trader/Analyst team; effectiveness of coaching and escalation judgement.

• Cost & Logistics Efficiency: Demurrage incidents and logistics cost on the Nigeria book kept within target levels.

• Compliance & Documentation: Timeliness and accuracy of trade documentation; no material compliance issues on the Nigeria desk.

• Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Economics, Business, or a related field.

• Relevant professional certifications an advantage, such as: fundamentals of oil trading and incoterms (e.g., CITAC); shipping fundamentals; or international petroleum shipping and freight markets.

• 7–10 years of experience in oil and gas trading within the Nigerian market, including demonstrated deal origination and business development experience.

• Strong existing network of Nigerian trading counterparties, suppliers, and clients.

• Working knowledge of Nigerian downstream regulatory requirements (NMDPRA, NUPRC) and hedging/arbitrage fundamentals.

Key Competencies:

• Origination instinct - proactively finds and develops new Nigerian trading and business opportunities rather than only executing what's handed down.
• Working-level leadership - supervises and coaches a small team effectively without yet carrying full desk-level P&L or budget ownership.
• Nigeria market fluency - deep, current understanding of Nigerian downstream regulation, pricing dynamics, and key counterparties.
• Sound judgement on escalation - knows what to decide within mandate and what to bring to the Head.
• Contract negotiation - secures well-structured terms across both trading and new business development conversations.
• Operational rigour - keeps the desk's documentation, compliance, and delivery tracking accurate under day-to-day tradin