Role Overview
Volcafe Specialty has an exciting opportunity for an experienced and high calibre Senior Specialty Trader. The successful candidate will work closely with the General Manager and the coffee trading team to grow our specialty coffee portfolio throughout the US. You’ll forge strong relationships with specialty coffee roasters, develop innovative marketing strategies, and represent Volcafe’ s sustainability mission at industry events.
Business Overview
Volcafe Ltd is one of the world’s leading international green coffee trading companies, operating in over 20 countries globally. Our expertise spans green coffee procurement and preparation, sustainability, blending, quality control, risk management and export as well as importing and distribution. We supply the world’s major coffee roasters and retail distributors with their green coffee requirements, with significant strategic growth ambitions for the future. We are part of ED&F Man Commodities, a world leading trader of agricultural products including coffee, sugar, molasses and animal feed.
Volcafe works across the whole green coffee supply chain to make coffee business better, together with our partners and employees. We have built and operate sustainable coffee supply chains across all our origins, addressing key economic, social and environmental issues in coffee farming communities. Our Volcafe Way farmer support programme engages with thousands of coffee farmers and provides a holistic response to the challenges they face.
Volcafe Specialty was founded in 2001 and has been a relied upon supply chain partner to the specialty coffee industry working with roasters just starting out in the business through roasters opening multiple cafes around their city, their state and the nation. We see ourselves as an integral supply chain link between producers and coffee roasters, enabling us all to make the coffee business better.
Key Accountabilities
- Build and strengthen partnerships with specialty coffee roasters to drive revenue and achieve strategic goals.
- Develop and implement targeted marketing strategies to promote Volcafe Specialty at key industry events.
- Collaborate with the traffic, finance, quality, and communications teams, to streamline processes and enhance and improve the customer experience.
- Track and report KPIs (e.g., sales growth, client retention) to measure performance and build customer strategic plans.
- Lead outreach through webinars, virtual sessions, and in-person cupping events to engage the specialty coffee customers.
- Cultivate and expand key client relationships to track interactions, opportunities, and drive sustainable growth.
- Provide actionable market intelligence to inform trading strategies and leadership decisions.
- Support trading operations, including hedge account management, report generation, certification audits (e.g., Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade), and price fixations.
Skills and Experience
- Substantial and progressive experience working in green coffee sales or specialty coffee trading.
- Passion for specialty coffee and alignment with Volcafe’ s values and mission.
- Fluent in English; additional languages (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese) – highly advantageous.
- Effective communication skills, with confidence in client-facing phone and in-person interactions.
- Proven ability to exceed sales targets in a competitive market.
- Strong commercial acumen with a track record of managing client portfolios.
- Knowledge of coffee contract terms, export/import processes, quality, grading, and cupping.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a small team of experts.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Power BI).
- Experience of Microsoft Dynamics CRM – advantageous.
- Willingness to travel globally at short notice.
We recognise that talent comes in many forms, and we value potential just as much as experience. If this role excites you but you don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply.
Our Offer
We provide a fast-paced, stimulating and truly global environment, which will stretch your abilities and channel your talents. We also offer competitive salary and benefits combined with outstanding career development opportunities in one of the global leaders in soft commodity trading.
Our Values
Respect, Integrity, Meritocracy, Client Focus, Entrepreneurship
Our values define who we are. They are the fundamental beliefs that determine our actions and guide our behaviour. They influence the way we communicate and collaborate, and define the way we engage with our clients, partners, and communities. Our values are underpinned by a set of essential behaviours, which form part of our performance management approach. Delivering on our objectives is very much about ‘what’ we do, but these essential behaviours also provide a guide and measure for ‘how’ we do things. Our performance essentials are Take Initiative, Self‐Management, Deliver Results and Collaboration.
Our Commitment
We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive and diverse work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment and are focussed on actively building and developing diverse teams. All qualified applicants will receive equal treatment without regard to race, colour, sex, gender, age, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, marital or civil partner status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment (identity, gender expression), genetic information or any characteristic protected by local law.
