Consultant – Commodity Trading & Shipping

About Ampersand World

Ampersand World is a specialized recruitment and advisory firm operating in trading-related professions (commodities, energy, shipping, and international markets), at the intersection of markets, organizations, and leadership.

Our positioning is entrepreneurial, market-driven, and relationship-focused. Each Consultant operates as a true business partner, combining commercial acumen, strategic insight, and long-term relationship building.

Joining Ampersand means entering a demanding, high-autonomy environment where performance, credibility, and impact are directly linked.

Your Role

This position is designed for experienced professionals from commodity trading, shipping, or related sectors who are ready to leverage their market knowledge, network, and commercial instinct in a new direction, and contribute building teams, shaping organizations, and creating long-term value at the intersection of markets and talent.

If you have spent years navigating grain desks, energy books, metals origination, or shipping operations, and you find yourself increasingly drawn to the human and organizational dimensions of your industry, this opportunity may be your next career move.

As a Consultant – Commodity Trading & Shipping, you will use your deep understanding of market dynamics, key players, and organizational realities to identify, structure, and execute strategic recruitment mandates across your sector.

You will engage at the highest level with trading houses, industrial players, financial institutions, and senior decision-makers, bringing the credibility of a peer rather than the pitch of an outsider.

Concretely, you will:

• Develop and originate your own portfolio of clients and mandates, drawing on your existing network and market reputation
• Read and analyze the organizational dynamics specific to your market: leadership transitions, team-building strategies, and high-stakes hiring decisions
• Identify business opportunities through proactive market mapping and strategic outreach
• Engage in high-level conversations with executives, managers, traders, and key decision-makers
• Structure, qualify, and execute strategic recruitment mandates end-to-end
• Build and maintain trusted, long-term relationships based on credibility, discretion, and value creation
• Negotiate terms of engagement and commercial conditions
• Act as a strategic bridge between markets, organizations, and top talent
• Manage your assignments with full ownership and accountability

You will be responsible for your own activity, revenue generation, and performance; operating with significant autonomy within a collaborative team environment.

Who We Are Looking For

We are selectively recruiting professionals from commodity trading, shipping, or closely related sectors who are ready to bring their expertise to bear in a different, more strategic way.

You are likely to recognize yourself if you have:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in commodity trading, shipping, origination, or commercial roles within these sectors
• Deep expertise in at least one market: grains/agribusiness, energy, metals, or maritime/shipping
• A sharp commercial instinct and a mature approach to long-term relationships
• Natural credibility with senior and demanding interlocutors — you speak their language because you have lived it
• A genuine interest in organizations, leadership dynamics, and professional trajectories
• Strong listening skills and the ability to read between the lines
• High resilience, drive, and results orientation
• Excellent command of English and French
• Previous experience in recruitment or consulting is an asset.

What matters most is your market credibility, your relational intelligence, and your appetite for a new challenge.

This role is not for you if you…

• tend to wait for direction rather than creating your own opportunities
• are uncomfortable with ambiguity, long cycles, or complex mandates
• need strong hierarchical oversight and constant validation
• approach challenges reactively rather than with a solutions-driven mindset
• lack curiosity for human and organizational dynamics

What We Offer

• A unique transition opportunity, purpose-built for experienced market professionals
• Stimulating and entrepreneurial environment with direct impact on your results
• High level of autonomy and responsibility from day one
• Exposure to senior decision-makers across the commodity and shipping ecosystem
• Opportunity to actively shape a growing, specialized firm

If you are motivated by ownership, challenge, long-term value creation, and ready to redirect your expertise into a new arena, we would be pleased to discuss this opportunity with you.

How to Apply

Please send us your CV along with a few lines explaining how you would approach such a high-intensity, high-impact role in a company going through strategic structuring.

Confidential applications and referrals are welcome.

Important Note: We take great care in reviewing every application and, on average, respond within three weeks. However, if your background does not fully match the experience required or if you are transitioning into a new field, please note that due to the high volume of applications, we may not be able to respond individually.