Head of Development Trading IT

Main Purpose:
As the Head of Development of Trading IT, you will be responsible for overseeing the successful planning, execution, and delivery of technology initiatives to support our business operations. You will lead a team of IT professionals, leveraging your expertise in both IT and commodity trading to deliver robust and scalable end-to-end Trading Platform that meets the evolving needs of our organization. You will play a pivotal role in driving IT transformation and delivering high-performance systems that enable us to maintain a competitive edge in the market.



Knowledge Skills and Abilities, Key Responsibilities:



Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Applied Math or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Extensive experience (10+ years) in software development with a focus on IT projects in the commodity trading domain.
• Proven track record of leadership and management in software development teams, with a strong emphasis on agile methodologies and best development practices.
• Deep understanding of trading workflows, market data feeds, execution algorithms, and risk management principles in commodity trading.
• Demonstrated technology leadership abilities, including business and software architecture, technology strategy, technology operations, software engineering and continuous improvements, with experience leading cross-functional distributed teams in a dynamic multi-cultural environment
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex business requirements into technical solutions.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and persuade at all levels of the organization.
• Experience with cloud computing, containerization, and microservices architecture is highly desirable.
• Demonstrable experience of interacting with senior-level management to influence tactical and strategy decisions and to
• Ability to exercise judgment and evaluate options under circumstances not covered by procedures or precedents;
• Proven ability to independently solve problems and must be willing to take ownership of issues and drive them through to completion
• Familiarity with technology stacks commonly used in commodity trading systems (e.g., ETRM platforms, market data feeds, trading algorithms).
• Strong sense of customer focus
• Excellent teamwork skills and an ability to influence and engage others.
• High Level of professionalism, energy and sense of urgency to make things happen
• Ability to apply conceptual solutions, with a pragmatic approach, in multiple functional areas, to achieve business objectives

Key Responsibilities

• Technology Strategy and Leadership:
  • Work together with CTO to develop and execute a technology strategy to modernize existing IT landscape with an objective to develop best-in-class end-to-end Trading Platform that meets the company's business goals and objectives.
  • Provide strategic leadership and vision for the Development team working on the Trading Platform, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.
  • Collaborate with CTO to evaluate new technologies and tools to enhance our trading infrastructure, improve efficiency, and capitalize on new opportunities.
  • Champion innovation and experimentation within the Development team, encouraging creativity and continuous improvement
  • Encompass the development processes and building strong teams with focus on delivery of high-quality solutions on time and on budget
  • Mentor and coach team members, empowering them to achieve their full potential and contribute effectively to project success.
  • Define clear objectives, priorities, and performance metrics for the development team, and ensure alignment with business goals

• Development:
  • Work with CTO and software architecture team to define and promote architectural principles and patterns that guide the design and implementation of scalable, resilient, and secure IT solutions
  • Oversee the design, development and implementation of technology solutions to support trading platform and risk management systems.
  • Drive the development process from concept to deployment, ensuring adherence to best practices in software engineering, scalability, reliability and performance optimization.
  • Collaborate closely with stakeholders and cross-teams to prioritize projects, define technical specifications, and deliver solutions that meet business needs
  • Ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data assets through robust data governance and security measures

• Collaboration and Stakeholder Management:
  • Collaborate closely with traders, risk managers, analysts, and other stakeholders to understand business requirements and priorities.
  • Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels, providing regular updates on project status, risks, and dependencies.
  • Build strong relationships with internal and external partners, vendors, and service providers to drive successful project delivery.

Key Relationships and Department Overview:


Trafigura is committed to building and maintaining world class IT applications and infrastructure. The Trading IT group directly supports the Trafigura trading business, and this business has started a far-reaching programme to enhance and improve its trading applications using an innovative architecture to support business growth across the full range of business lines and geographies, and to enable the sharing of systems across different businesses. The programme team is dispersed across multiple locations, supporting both business and development hubs.



Key Relationships

• CTO of Trading
• Business Users & Managers
• IT programme - Functional & technical architecture & solution groups, delivery teams included delivery leads, PMs, developers, testers, business analysts, training team, application support team.

Reporting Structure


Reporting directly to CIO of Trading



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.