Operations Manager

OPERATIONS MANAGER
PETROLEUM & CHEMICAL TRADING

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with operational involvement in Hamriyah Free Zone
Employment Type: Full-time | Joining: Immediate / short notice preferred
Salary: Up to AED 20,000 per month, based on experience, plus performance-based commission
Employer: Petrolodex

ABOUT THE ROLE
We are a Dubai-based petroleum and chemical trading company is hiring an experienced Operations Manager to oversee and improve local and international physical-trade operations. The company supplies petroleum products and chemical commodities to fuel distributors, construction companies, government-related entities, transportation fleets, aviation, marine, and industrial buyers. Its trading portfolio includes EN590 diesel, gasoline/mogas, Jet A-1, fuel oil, LPG/LNG, bitumen, base oils, lubricants, crude oil, petrochemicals, and chemicals. This is a hands-on role for an experienced petroleum-trading operations professional who understands how to turn commercially agreed transactions into safely executed, profitable, correctly documented, and compliant deliveries. The Operations Manager will work closely with the Founders/CEO and Head of Business Development. The role will manage trade execution, supplier and buyer coordination, shipping and logistics, documentation, Hamriyah Free Zone activities, credit-control coordination, compliance processes, and operational reporting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the end-to-end operational execution of physical petroleum and chemical trades, from confirmed contract to delivery, payment, and post-trade reconciliation.
• Coordinate with suppliers, refineries, allocation holders, buyers, traders, inspection companies, shipping agents, freight providers, terminals, tank farms, transport companies, banks, and internal stakeholders.
• Support operational activity for EN590 diesel, gasoline/mogas, Jet A-1, fuel oil, LPG/LNG, bitumen, base oils, lubricants, crude oil, petrochemicals, and chemicals.
• Oversee transaction documentation, including sales and purchase contracts, pro forma invoices, commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, certificates of origin, certificates of quality and quantity, inspection reports, shipping instructions, release orders, and customs-related documents.
• Coordinate loading, discharge, product storage, tank-terminal activity, trucking, port procedures, vessel nominations, shipping schedules, cargo delivery, and customer updates.
• Support Hamriyah Free Zone trading and storage operations, including coordination with terminal operators, tank farms, shipping agents, customs stakeholders, transport providers, and local service partners.
• Work with UAE mainland and free-zone entities and maintain practical working relationships with ports, customs, shipping agents, inspection companies, logistics providers, banks, and trade-finance contacts.
• Monitor deal progress, identify potential delays or risks, and resolve operational issues before they affect delivery, payment, margin, or customer satisfaction.
• Coordinate quantity and quality inspections with recognised third-party inspection companies such as SGS, Intertek, Bureau Veritas, or equivalent providers.
• Handle operational claims and discrepancies related to quantity, quality, delays, missing documents, product shortages, contamination, demurrage, detention, or delivery disputes.
• Ensure all deals follow approved procedures for counterparty onboarding, KYC, AML, sanctions screening, document verification, and internal approvals.
• Support the trading and business-development teams by ensuring that proposed deals are operationally feasible, correctly documented, commercially viable, and properly structured.
• Work with finance and credit-control teams to track payment terms, receivables, supplier payments, Letters of Credit, SBLCs, Bank Guarantees, documentary collections, and other trade-finance arrangements.
• Support transaction-level margin monitoring by tracking product cost, freight, storage, inspection, logistics, financing, operational expenses, and delivery-related charges.
• Help implement and maintain clear SOPs, approval workflows, operational checklists, document-control processes, and management dashboards.
• Maintain accurate transaction records and update the company CRM, initially using a platform such as Pipedrive.
• Provide regular reports to management on active deals, operational status, delivery schedules, documentation, payments, risks, claims, margins, and required actions.
• Assist in developing reliable supplier, buyer, logistics, inspection, storage, and service-provider networks in the UAE/GCC and international markets.
• Travel within the UAE and internationally when required for meetings, terminals, ports, suppliers, buyers, inspections, or operational matters.

FIRST 90-DAY PRIORITIES

• Review active transactions, workflows, operational documents, supplier/buyer coordination, and team responsibilities.
• Improve the structure and control of local operations connected to Hamriyah Free Zone.
• Create or strengthen SOPs for deal execution, KYC, documentation, shipping, logistics, payment security, delivery, and post-trade reconciliation.
• Improve visibility of current transactions through a structured CRM and operational reporting process.
• Identify avoidable operational costs, delays, documentation gaps, and margin leakage.
• Strengthen relationships with UAE logistics providers, terminals, tank farms, shipping agents, inspection companies, banks, and trade-finance contacts.
• Support the trading team to execute qualified opportunities safely, efficiently, and profitably.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 5+ years of proven experience in petroleum, fuel, chemical, energy, or physical commodities trading, with a demonstrated and verifiable record of successful transactions, commercial performance, and/or trade execution.
• Existing UAE experience is mandatory; candidates without UAE/GCC market exposure will not be considered.
• Prior experience in a petroleum trading company, oil-products distributor, refinery marketing operation, bunker supplier, chemical trader, shipping company, terminal operator, or commodity-trading environment is strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of physical-trade execution for petroleum products, chemicals, or related commodities.
• Direct practical experience coordinating suppliers, buyers, shipping agents, freight providers, transport companies, port agents, terminals, tank farms, inspection companies, and finance teams.
• Familiarity with UAE free-zone and mainland business environments, port procedures, customs processes, storage operations, road transport, and local logistics operations.
• Experience with Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, Fujairah, Jebel Ali, Khor Fakkan, or comparable UAE oil-and-gas trading/logistics environments is highly advantageous.
• Working knowledge of Incoterms, particularly FOB, CIF, CFR, DAP, EXW, TTO, and TTV.
• Experience with shipping and trade documentation, including bills of lading, certificates of origin, certificates of quality/quantity, cargo documents, release orders, invoices, and inspection reports.
• Knowledge of Letters of Credit, SBLCs, Bank Guarantees, documentary collections, payment terms, buyer credit exposure, and trade-finance coordination.
• Familiarity with quantity and quality inspections, demurrage, detention, cargo claims, and delivery dispute resolution.
• Working knowledge of KYC, AML, sanctions screening, anti-bribery requirements, counterparty due diligence, and document verification.
• Experience managing or coordinating teams across operations, trading support, logistics, finance/credit control, procurement, or compliance.
• Strong Excel, reporting, CRM, and transaction-tracking capability. Experience with Pipedrive or another CRM/ERP system is an advantage.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, logistics, international trade, finance, petroleum/chemical engineering, or a related discipline is preferred.
• Relevant certifications in trade finance, shipping, logistics, petroleum trading, supply chain, or compliance are advantageous.
• Fluent English is mandatory. Arabic is strongly preferred. Other languages are beneficial.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The ideal candidate is a commercially aware operations professional—not solely an administrator. You will understand that a profitable fuel transaction depends on reliable suppliers, credible buyers, enforceable contracts, secure payment structures, accurate documents, realistic logistics planning, compliance checks, and fast issue resolution. You should be organised, detail-oriented, commercially practical, confident dealing with senior external stakeholders, and able to work effectively in a fast-moving trading environment. A credible network in the UAE petroleum, logistics, terminal, shipping, inspection, banking, or trade-finance ecosystem will be an advantage.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

• Current residence in the UAE.
• At least 5 years of proven petroleum, fuel, chemical, energy, or physical commodities trading experience with a verifiable track record of successful transactions, trade execution, commercial contribution, or client/supplier relationship development.
• Proven UAE/GCC experience in petroleum, fuel, chemicals, commodities, shipping, logistics, or physical-trade operations.
• Direct physical-trade, logistics, shipping, terminal, supply-chain, or commercial-operations experience.
• Familiarity with trade documentation, Incoterms, logistics coordination, and payment-security processes.
• Experience with KYC, AML, sanctions, counterparty due diligence, and compliance controls.
• Ability to manage multiple active transactions, deadlines, documents, stakeholders, and operational risks.
• Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving ability.
• Willingness to travel when business needs require.
• Salary expectations within the advertised range.

COMPENSATION

Base Salary: Up to AED 20,000 per month, dependent on directly relevant UAE petroleum-trading and operations experience.
Commission: Performance-based commission to be agreed based on defined KPIs, successfully executed and collected transactions, margin contribution, and/or approved commercial performance measures.
Employment Type: Full-time UAE-based role.
Joining Date: Immediate or short-notice candidates are preferred.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Interested candidates should submit a CV that clearly states:
Current location in the UAE; current and expected monthly salary in AED; notice period and availability to join; at least 5 years of petroleum, chemical, commodities, shipping, or trade-operations experience, including examples of successful transaction execution or commercial contribution; products handled and markets/trade corridors managed; UAE/GCC operational experience; experience with refineries, suppliers, buyers, terminals, storage, ports, shipping agents, trucking, inspection companies, or trade-finance banks; experience using Incoterms, shipping documents, LCs, SBLCs, BGs, KYC/AML, sanctions screening, and counterparty due diligence; and team-management responsibilities and systems/CRM experience.

Pay: Up to AED20,000.00 per month

Work Location: In person