Description
Reporting to: Head of Operations / General Manager
About the company
Our client is a well-established international trading business headquartered in Dubai, with strong operations spanning Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The company has built a reputation for large-scale commodity movement, supply chain excellence, and long-term commercial partnerships across global markets. With growing trade volumes and expanding shipping activity, they are investing heavily in freight procurement strategy, carrier partnerships, and logistics optimization to strengthen their international supply chain capabilities. This is an opportunity to join a commercially aggressive, entrepreneurial, and globally connected organization where logistics plays a direct role in profitability.
Role overview
We are seeking an experienced Freight Procurement Manager to lead freight sourcing, carrier negotiations, and contracting strategy across global containerized shipments.
The successful candidate will be responsible for:
Securing competitive freight rates
Building strong shipping line/broker partnerships
Managing freight contracts and tenders
Optimizing landed freight cost
Monitoring freight market intelligence
Supporting trading execution across key international lanes
This is a strategic role requiring both commercial sharpness and operational execution capability.
Key responsibilities
Lead end-to-end freight procurement across containerized trade lanes
Negotiate commercial freight contracts with shipping lines, brokers, NVOCCs, and freight forwarders
Run RFQs/tenders to benchmark market pricing
Build diversified carrier network and reduce supplier concentration risk
Monitor freight indices, capacity trends, bunker surcharges, and route economics
Partner with internal commercial/operations teams on shipment execution planning
Manage demurrage, detention, freight claims, and service disputes
Optimize freight spend through consolidation, routing strategy, and long-term agreements
Ensure compliance with shipping regulations, sanctions, and documentation standards
Develop procurement reporting frameworks and freight governance processes
Mentor junior logistics/operations staff
Requirements
Must have:
5–7 years in freight procurement/chartering/shipping procurement
Strong ocean freight market knowledge (containers)
Experience negotiating directly with carriers/brokers
Deep understanding of Incoterms, BL conditions, freight costing
Strong Excel/ERP/freight systems exposure
Commercial negotiation strength
Analytical freight modelling capability
UAE/GCC exposure preferred
Fluent English communication
Preferred industries:
Commodity trading
Agri commodities
FMCG imports/exports
Bulk liquids
Shipping/freight forwarding
Global supply chain operations
Benefits
Competitive salary package with performance-based incentives
A high-impact role within a well-established, internationally active commodity trading company
Exposure to global freight markets across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa
Opportunity to shape and lead the freight procurement function in a growing business
Dynamic, multicultural work environment in Dubai with a flat, entrepreneurial structure