Commercial Director

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Lead commercialisation and ensure that production investments are supported by credible markets, customer demand and a realistic contracting path.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

· Lead offtake, LOI and MOU negotiations.

· Develop product-specific market and pricing strategies.

· Acquire international customers and strategic partners.

· Validate selling prices, delivery terms, logistics models and customer specifications.

· Assess commercial risk before investment decisions.

· Coordinate customer-qualification programmes with technical teams.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITY

· Strong B2B commercial and sales experience in industry, chemicals, energy or commodity/material markets.

· Experience negotiating international offtake or long-term supply agreements.

· Good understanding of contracts, pricing and contribution margins.

· Evidence of opening new markets and building customer pipelines.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

· Activated carbon, biochar, chemicals, methanol or specialty-materials market experience.

· Knowledge of African and European export markets.

KEY SUCCESS MEASURES

· Qualified customer pipeline and signed commercial commitments.

· Validated pricing before FID.

· Customer qualification completed before major scale-up.

RECRUITMENT PRINCIPLE

We are looking first and foremost for hands-on implementers with a proven record of taking real industrial or infrastructure projects from planning through procurement, construction, commissioning and operation.

The roles are part of an international renewable-energy, circular-economy, biorefining and industrial side-stream utilisation investment programme with Côte dIvoire as the principal implementation country. The portfolio includes both fast-start production projects and later large-scale industrial investments.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

A reasonable level of working English is essential. French language skills are a major advantage.

EXPECTED WORKING STYLE

· Practical, decisive and delivery-oriented.

· Fact-based, using measurable results and documented data.

· Prepared to challenge supplier assumptions and verify operating references.

· Able to work in a multicultural environment and build local capability.

· Understands that pilot testing, customer qualification and phased scale-up are central risk-management tools.

EMPLOYMENT AND LOCATION

Employment form, work location and travel requirements will be defined role by role. Some positions may begin in Finland or elsewhere in Europe, but several key roles will require significant presence in Côte dIvoire during implementation phases.