Commercial Partnership & Quality Manager

Role Overview

We have an exciting opportunity for someone to join us as a Commercial Partnership & Quality Manager to work in a truly customer-focused and commercially driven environment. Working closely with our trading and commercial teams, this role will position quality as a key driver of customer value, retention and business growth across North America. The successful candidate will combine deep coffee quality expertise with strong commercial acumen, acting as a trusted partner to customers and internal stakeholders while leading quality operations and laboratory activities.

This role provides excellent long-term development potential for an individual eager to influence customer strategy, shape differentiated coffee offerings and contribute to the continued growth of a global coffee trading business.

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.

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.

This role will be working from our Volcafe office based in New York. The proposed basic salary will be $100-140k.

We are part of Hartree Partners, LP a leading global merchant commodities firm facilitating the flow of energy, metals, agriculture, and environmental products across the full commodity supply chain, connecting producers and consumers. Hartree was founded in 1997, is jointly owned by senior management and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, LP, and employs around 5,000 individuals worldwide.

Key Accountabilities

• Act as a quality ambassador in customer meetings, commercial discussions, tenders and key account reviews, supporting customer engagement and business development activities.
• Partner with Trading and Sales teams to develop and present differentiated quality propositions that support customer acquisition, retention and growth.
• Participate in customer cuppings, tastings and quality-focused negotiations, providing expert guidance and strengthening long-term commercial partnerships.
• Build strong relationships with key customers to understand evolving quality expectations, specifications and areas of risk, ensuring customer needs are effectively translated into commercial solutions.
• Support the resolution of quality-related matters through a customer-focused and commercially balanced approach that protects relationships and business outcomes.
• Develop and maintain quality frameworks aligned with the requirements of both mainstream and specialty customer segments.
• Translate customer expectations and market trends into practical, commercially viable quality specifications and programs.
• Partner with Trading and Origin teams to develop differentiated coffee offerings, flavour profiles and customer-specific quality solutions aligned with market demand.
• Support the development of customer-facing narratives that connect coffee quality, origin and sustainability with commercial value.
• Act as a strategic business partner to Commercial, Specialty, E-Commerce and Marketing teams, providing quality expertise to support product development, customer initiatives and growth opportunities.
• Provide expert oversight of green coffee evaluation processes including sampling, grading, cupping and sensory analysis, ensuring consistency across mainstream programs, specialty lots and Genuine Origin offerings.
• Monitor quality trends, identify opportunities for improvement and recommend actions aligned with commercial priorities and customer requirements.
• Lead quality laboratory operations and support teams, ensuring reliable execution of quality activities and alignment with customer commitments, trading priorities and commercial timelines.
• Maintain robust quality controls, processes and calibration standards to support trading activities, customer specifications and operational excellence.

Skills and Expertise

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in coffee quality, trading, commercial quality management or a related field.
• Deep understanding of green coffee quality, grading, cupping, sensory analysis and quality evaluation methodologies.
• Proven experience working directly with customers and commercial teams in a client-facing environment.
• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to connect quality decisions to customer value, margin enhancement and business performance.
• Experience across both mainstream and specialty coffee segments.
• Experience supporting tenders, commercial negotiations, customer presentations and key account development activities.
• Experience managing or overseeing quality operations, laboratory environments or quality assurance processes is preferred.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence decision-making across functions.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills with a customer-centric approach.
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional environment and influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Passion for coffee quality, innovation and continuous improvement, with the ability to translate technical expertise into commercial advantage.

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

Volcafe shares the values of our parent company, ED&F Man Commodities. 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 Commitment

We are committed to maintaining a work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. We provide equal opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, sex, gender, age, religion, ethnic or national origin, marital or civil partner status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

To apply you must have the right to work for the provided location.

We are not accepting unsolicited CV/resume’s from recruitment or search agencies for this vacancy. Any CVs/resume’s submitted without a prior agreement in place with our talent acquisition team, will be considered the property of Volcafe, and no fees will be paid.