Facility Trade Manager

The Facility Trade Manager develops and executes regional trade strategies to improve profitability and optimize space utilization across a group of facilities. Partnering with Trade, Origination, and Operations teams, this role aligns commercial decisions with facility capabilities, executes sales and contracts, coordinates outbound logistics, manages local customer and supplier relationships, and oversees forecasting and profit-and-loss reporting. As a player-coach, this role will also be responsible for team staffing, developing talent and establishing trade discipline for the facility trade and regional origination teams to strengthen team capability and long-term performance.

This regional leader interprets markets, formulates and communicates market opinions, and takes disciplined risk/reward positions for Scoular. The role strengthens the division’s cross-country book in partnership with enterprise rail and truck teams, leverages company trading resources, participates on Product Line Teams, and ensures inventory risks and premium and spread perspectives are communicated consistently across the region.

The position connects business unit strategy, operational execution, and enterprise initiatives by establishing trading discipline, identifying growth opportunities, and building strategic partnerships. Success requires strong market insight, leadership capability, commercial acumen, and the ability to drive profitable growth in a dynamic agricultural marketplace.

• Define and communicate a regional facility trade strategy aligned with regional and enterprise objectives, including clear accountability for profitability, space utilization, contract execution, and other key performance metrics.
• Partner with Facility Merchants and divisional Trade teams to develop merchandising and commodity trading strategies—including hedging and futures spread management—that maximize revenue and achieve profit objectives within established risk limits.
• Collaborate with Origination, Trade, and Operations teams to improve trade-unit efficiency and profitability, optimize facility space and supply, expand existing markets, and develop new market opportunities.

• Identify, analyze and execute profitable trading opportunities and facility sales in partnership with Facility Merchants and Trade teams, using market intelligence, risk management tools, and strategies that maximize market conditions and facility operations.
• Communicate market intelligence, trends, and trade strategies to Origination teams while leading options and futures spread deployment planning.
• Manage counterparty relationships to enable timely, opportunistic trading and make final decisions regarding time value and quality arbitrage.
• Develop accurate and timely forecasts and budgets, and clearly explain and articulate variances.
• Assess freight spreads, basis movements, geographic dislocations, transportation constraints, seasonal patterns, weather, crop conditions, and demand to identify market opportunities.

• Build strategic relationships with customers, suppliers, brokers, and transportation partners, representing the company in key commercial and industry engagements.
• Partner with Operations, Origination, and Trading teams to align customer needs with market opportunities and negotiate profitable commercial and transportation agreements.

• Lead, coach, and develop trade and origination teams through clear expectations, accountability, mentoring, market education, and progressively complex assignments.
• Foster collaboration, curiosity, disciplined risk-taking, continuous improvement, and effective sharing of market intelligence across commercial functions.
• Build succession plans and develop future leaders within the rail trading organization.

• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Transportation, or a related field; equivalent industry experience may be considered.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in agricultural commodity trading, grain merchandising, freight trading, or a closely related commercial role.
• Strong understanding of rail freight markets, railroad operations, freight contracts, rail logistics, and agricultural commodity flows.
• Demonstrated record of profitable commercial decision-making and risk management.
• Demonstrate a collaborative, enterprise-first mindset to drive Company results.
• Proven critical thinking skills and ability to develop, communicate and implement trade strategy.
• Experience leading teams and developing high-performing commercial talent.
• Strong negotiation, communication, analytical, and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to make sound decisions in a fast-paced, changing market environment.
• Strong financial acumen, including the ability to evaluate margins, spreads, exposure, and risk/reward tradeoffs.