Commercial Specialist

The Company

We operate a free zone and port facilitating global trade with Africa.

The Role

The commercial specialist supports revenue growth, commercial compliance, and client satisfaction within terminal operations. The role manages the commercial lifecycle, including proposals, pricing, contracts, billing reconciliation, revenue assurance, reporting, and market analysis, while identifying and preventing revenue leakage.

Reporting To

• Commercial Coordinator

Responsibilities

• Prepare and submit commercial proposals, bids, tenders, pro forma invoices, and tariff estimates for terminal services.
• Analyze pricing, revenue yields, and margins to recommend tariff adjustments and improve profitability.
• Manage client onboarding, including due diligence, credit reviews, and required legal and commercial documentation.
• Draft, review, track, and manage renewals of client contracts, lease agreements, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Serve as a key client contact, resolving enquiries related to tariffs, terminal access, operational procedures, and storage conditions.
• Reconcile operational records, vessel discharge sheets, manifests, and shift reports against agreed commercial and billing terms.
• Monitor cargo residence times, free days, demurrage, and laytime to identify discrepancies and proactively resolve billing disputes.
• Verify commercial and client invoices for accuracy across rates, volumes, weight-based charges, and applicable tariffs.
• Collaborate with Operations and Finance to identify and resolve billing anomalies, system errors, and variation orders.
• Maintain commercial data and prepare reports on throughput, revenue pipelines, margins, KPIs, and market trends to support business decisions.

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Maritime Studies, Supply Chain & Logistics, Economics, or a related field.
• 5–8 years’ experience in commercial operations, contract administration, rate estimation, or business development.
• Experience in maritime terminals, ports, free trade zones, logistics, or heavy industrial environments is preferred.
• Proven ability to manage complex workflows, support client retention, and maintain high customer satisfaction.
• Advanced Excel, data analysis, reconciliation, modelling, and reporting skills.
• Strong commercial and contract drafting skills.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Strong problem-solving and dispute-resolution skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams.