About Front End and the Role

Front End Limited Company is establishing a new minerals and metals trading venture, with a strategic focus on critical minerals and rare earth elements. We are seeking a Senior Trader Minerals Metals & Critical Materials to join our team in a full-time capacity in Al Khobar, Eastern Region. This role is a founding commercial position within the new venture.

Role Mandate and Venture Establishment

The successful candidate will manage an active trading book from the outset. Concurrently, this role involves contributing to the establishment of the venture's core infrastructure, including its counterparty network, banking relationships, logistics framework, and the development of its trading team. This position requires a commercially proven trader capable of both executing deals and building the foundational platform around them.

Core Trading and Origination Responsibilities

• Originate, structure, and execute physical trades (spot and term) across base metals, minor metals, critical minerals, and rare earth elements.
• Develop and manage counterparty relationships with miners, processors, refiners, smelters, and end-users across GCC, Africa, Central Asia, and Asia-Pacific.
• Negotiate and close off-take, pre-pay, tolling, and supply agreements.
• Manage desk P&L, position management, and market risk within agreed mandates.
• Monitor global supply/demand fundamentals, pricing, and geopolitical developments affecting critical materials.

Venture Build-Out and Operational Development

• Define the venture's trading strategy, product focus, and go-to-market approach.
• Establish the trade lifecycle, risk framework, and operating model in coordination with finance, legal, compliance, and operations teams.
• Build banking relationships and secure structured trade finance facilities (*, LCs, borrowing base, receivables finance, inventory finance, pre-pay).
• Set up logistics, warehousing, inspection, assay, and insurance partnerships.
• Recruit, mentor, and structure the trading team as the venture scales.

Stakeholder Engagement and Candidate Profile

The role involves developing relationships with Saudi government bodies, regulators, and sovereign/quasi-sovereign entities aligned with Vision 2030 mining objectives. The Senior Trader will also represent the venture with industry associations, mining companies, and ecosystem partners regionally and globally. Candidates should possess 8–15 years of physical trading experience, demonstrating an entrepreneurial mindset combined with the discipline of an experienced trader. Comfort with ambiguity and the operational realities of an early-stage venture is essential, alongside commercial sharpness paired with operational rigor. The ability to communicate effectively and represent the firm credibly in senior external settings is required.

Qualifications and Compensation

Candidates should hold, or have working familiarity with, certifications and standards relevant to physical commodities trading. Front End offers a competitive base salary, complemented by performance-linked compensation tied to desk P&L.