Deputy Head of Operations

About the Role

We are looking for a Deputy Group Head of Operations to join our Global Operations Team.

This is a hands-on leadership role, combining day-to-day operational execution with the management and development of an operations team.

The role will support the Global Head of Operations and work closely with traders, shipping, demurrage, finance, risk and other internal stakeholders to ensure smooth, compliant and commercially focused execution of physical trading activities, mainly across Europe.

The successful candidate will bring solid experience in oil products operations, preferably with exposure to biofuels operations in Europe.

They will be comfortable operating in a fast-paced trading environment, able to lead by example, solve operational issues proactively and contribute to the continued growth and professionalisation of the Products Operations function.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as Deputy Head of Operations by actively participating in and leading key operational, strategic and process improvement projects.
• Lead, support and develop a team of operators, ensuring clear task allocation, effective workload management and appropriate back-up coverage.
• Remain hands-on in the execution of physical oil products and/or biofuels operations, including cargo movements, documentation, contract performance and operational follow-up.
• Act as a first point of escalation for operational issues, incidents and risks, ensuring timely resolution and clear communication with management and relevant stakeholders.
• Work closely with traders and internal functions to support the front-to-back trading lifecycle and ensure transactions are executed efficiently, accurately and in line with contractual obligations.
• Coordinate with shipping, demurrage, finance, accounting, risk and other departments to resolve operational, payment, documentation and claims-related matters.
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives, operational controls, system enhancements and the standardisation of procedures across the Products Operations team.
• Support training, knowledge-sharing and cross-learning within the team, helping to strengthen operational capability and resilience.
• Maintain a strong focus on compliance, controls, data quality and operational risk management across all relevant activities.
• Candidate Profile
• 5–10 years’ experience in commodity trading operations, ideally within oil products, refined products and/or biofuels.
• Strong understanding of European physical operations, logistics, documentation and the operational requirements of a trading environment.
• Good knowledge of operational risk, controls, contractual obligations and cross-functional coordination across the trade lifecycle.
• Confident communicator with the ability to build trust with traders, operators and support functions.
• Proactive, organised and solution-oriented, with strong troubleshooting and prioritisation skills.
• Good command of written and spoken English; additional European languages would be an advantage.
• Strong IT skills, including MS Office and experience with ETRM systems.
• Previous experience leading, supervising or coordinating a small team, with the ability to balance people management and hands-on operational delivery is an asset.

Benefits

SOCAR offers a competitive benefits package, including BUPA private medical and dental insurance, eyesight testing, group income protection (GIP), life assurance and a season ticket loan.