Job Vacancies at COFCO International

Duties & Responsibilities

• Daily processing of purchase and sales contracts.
• Contract management (also receiving contract back from client)
• Managing open contracts.
• Matching Futures/Options traded on SAFEX and CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) market to physical contracts.
• Updating pricing sheets for clients.
• Understanding all inputs inserted into TradeOne (ERP system).
• Doing consolidated position reporting (Inventory, Purchase and Sales, Futures, and Options)
• Trade and contract management for Farming Agents
• SAFEX deliveries and assignments – Trade and Invoice
• Financing – Repos – Trade and Invoice
• Contract Position Recon
• Handling of queries send to Contract-Desk.

Qualifications

• Qualification degree required in Agricultural Economics and/or Finance and/or Risk
• Agricultural Products Market Dealers Examination (SAFEX Exam)

Critical Skills:

• Fundamentals understanding of market terminals and trading environments.
• Grains industry exposure is beneficial.
• Strong in numbers and reconciliations.
• Excellent communication skills (written, and verbal) in Afrikaans and English.
• Excellent attention to detail and high a degree of accuracy.
• Problem solver who creates strategies to prevent, address and mitigate risk.
• Team player who is able to work independently.
• Ability to work well in a fast-paced professional office environment with multi-tasking skills.
• The ability to be proactive and work under pressure.
• Competency in Microsoft applications and web-based applications.
• Aptitude for continuous system enhancements and automation.
• Positive attitude.
• Critical thinker with emotional resilience to overcome obstacles.

Function:

• Timely and accurate trade capture in Trading One (position management software) on physical and derivatives
• Responsible for the daily maintenance and follow up of all positions (past and forward, including but not limited to MTM: Mark to Market valuation and P&L: Profit n Loss exposure)
• Responsible for daily maintenance of open positions (physical trade applications, paper trade allocations, wash out proposals, MtM curve rolling/modifications, market daily prices verification and upload)
• Provide support to traders on a daily basis in the preparation and verification of position reporting (exposure and PNL)
• Assure proper internal communication between desks throughout (Front Office, Operations, Product, Freight and Finance teams)
• Meet requests for ad hoc information and reporting

NEW DEALS - PROCESSING

• Trade Slip to Contract:
• Per Contract Type
• Per Strategy
• Per PGU: Profit Generating Unit
• Per Commodity
• Pricing of basis trades

POSITION MANAGEMENT

• Reconciling new deals to draft position
• Reconciling new deals to final position

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND COST ACCRUALS ON CONTRACTS

• From Trade Slip to Contract:
• Processing of cost accruals at Contract Level
• Prepare contracts for sign off
• Issue system generated contracts
• Review physical contracts and positions
• Initiate washouts on under/over deliveries
• Report daily estimate P&L to Group: Head Office in Switzerland
• Data maintenance, Agents and Farming
• Maintain an accurate Farming environment for positions

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Ideal candidate must have or be:

• A minimum tertiary qualification, preferably a degree in BsC Agriculture Economy or BComm with Agricultural Economics, and proven work experience will be an advantage.
• Knowledge of the grain industry and agricultural economic services will support the application.
• Computer literate – MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• High attention to detail and the ability to summarize data in reports that will enable users to take decisions.
• The ability to be proactive, and work independent and under pressure.
• Good interpersonal- and organizing skills.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Assist Agriculture Economic Lead with:
• Constructing of Farming Unit Budgets.
• Budget projections and - analysis (actual vs budget) and reporting to relevant role players.
• Compiling and management of Farming Operations data, which include statistical - and historical analysis, and benchmarking.
• Processing of data to enable faster turn-around time on reporting as well as statistical analyses on data sets.
• Consolidation of information.
• An understanding of BI systems and ability to build and maintain BI Tools and other analytic solutions will support the application.
• Ad hoc duties as needed from time-to-time within the Farming Team.

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Minimum qualifications and experience

• Ideal candidate should have a tertiary qualification in Risk Management, Financial or Accountancy and/related; and
• Minimum 2 year’s demonstrated experience in a similar role. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of accepted accounting practices and principles.
• Exposure to derivative markets and risk management environments, as well as grains industry.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Review Trade Position Accuracy
• Review on Open Contracts
• Compile Daily PNL Report
• Daily Valuation of New Deals
• Daily FX Valuation
• Realized PNL valuation
• Ensure accurate recording and analysis of revenues and expenses
• Prepare supporting schedules according to monthly close schedule
• Prepare monthly account reconciliations per commodity
• Monthly intercompany reconciliations and recording of transactions
• Execute usual accounting functions, which include operating the general ledger system and

month-end close responsibilities

• Prepare commercial reports
• Preparation for internal and external audits
• Balance sheet reconciliations
• Payment review and approval
• Data validation and integrity
• Any ad-hoc duties that may arise from time-to-time

Essential skills

• Intermediate to Advanced MS Excel proficiency.
• Understanding of derivative markets and/or risk management.
• Excellent numerical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and high a degree of accuracy.
• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work well within a team environment.
• Ability to work under pressure while always maintaining attention to detail.
• Planning, organising and excellent time management skills.
• Critical thinker with emotional resilience to overcome obstacles.
• The ability to be proactive and work under pressure.
• Good interpersonal and organizing skills.
• Strong communication and listening skills.
• Positive attitude. 
• Computer Literacy (MS Office, Word, Outlook, web-based platforms). 
• Ability to work collaboratively at all levels within the business.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Aptitude for continuous system enhancements and automation.

Desirable skills

• Completed SAFEX examination: Agri Market Dealers.
• Exposure to grains industry.
• SAP experience.
• Experience using an ERP system.

General

• 18 days annual leave.
• Office based in Techno Park, Stellenbosch.
• Reports to Contract Desk Controller.
• Salary is market related basic salary with provident fund and medical aid benefits.
• Financial year end is December.
• Harvest and seasonal (high volume periods) are generally March to August/September.