Merchant

Description

Organizational Background:

Columbia Grain International, LLC is a full-service grain and pulses company headquartered in Portland, OR. We own and operate over 60 facilities such as grain elevators and processing plants across WA, ID, MT, NE, and ND to deliver a wide variety of grains, pulses, and oilseeds to a diverse and wide-ranging number of markets both domestically and internationally.

At all levels of our organization, the employees of Columbia Grain represent some of the most experienced and knowledgeable in the industry. The partnerships that Columbia Grain employees have with the farmers and communities surrounding our facilities has created relationships that have lasted for years and given us the ability to consistently produce high quality products to take to market.

Position Description:

The Grain Merchant is primarily responsible for buying and selling bulk grain utilizing shuttle freight, DETs, COTs, single rail cars, and trucks. The Grain Merchant will work with the other members of the team to work toward operational goals while maintaining quality and efficiencies.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Trade major product line commodities for the company rail as a profit/loss center.
• Monitor export and domestic markets and arbitrage opportunities.
• Hedge purchases/sales of commodities through an on-line order entry system.
• Coordinate grain shipments with elevator managers, other merchants, and customers.
• Project freight needs and corresponding coverage in deferred positions.
• Monitor railroad and barge performance, events, tariffs, and rail incentive programs.
• Communicate with other company departments, vendors, and customers.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Skills, Knowledge, Education and Experience:

• Bachelors degree in agriculture or business-related field, or 4 years industry experience.
• Strong conceptual and problem-solving skills to evaluate problems and apply knowledge to identify appropriate solutions; ability to resolve issues effectively and efficiently.
• Strong customer service orientation and ability to establish solid working relationships.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers and other employees.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to interact with all levels of management.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptive to successfully achieve the function of the position.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, storage, interest, commissions, ratios and conversions quickly and accurately.
• Good work ethic (team environment, both safe and quality), efficient and willingness to perform all required work with good attendance.

Benefits Offered:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and RX benefits
• Company paid life insurance and disability
• Flexible spending plans
• Employee assistance program
• 401K retirement savings plan
• Paid holidays, vacation and sick leave

Successful completion of initial and ongoing employment screens, including but not limited to criminal background and vehicle record as required.

Columbia Grain is an Equal Opportunity Employer