About this role
General Manager, USA Operations & Business Services Houston, Texas
Vanden is looking for a hands-on General Manager to establish and scale the operational and financial foundations of our growing US business.
This is a rare opportunity to build an operating platform from the ground up. You will create the processes, controls, systems and team needed to turn commercial opportunities into consistently profitable outcomes.
This is not a purely strategic leadership role. You’ll need to be comfortable getting into the detail, solving problems quickly and establishing the practical operating rhythm required for a new business to scale.
What you’ll be responsible for
• Building scalable operational, financial and reporting processes
• Overseeing execution from trade confirmation through to cash collection
• Establishing controls around credit, payments, cargo release and working capital
• Ensuring excellence across logistics, documentation and customer service
• Developing the organisational structure and hiring plan for the US operation
• Recruiting, leading and developing a high-performing team
• Working closely with commercial and global colleagues to support profitable growth
• Identifying potential constraints and implementing practical solutions before they restrict the business
What we’re looking for
You’ll bring substantial senior-level experience leading operations and establishing scalable processes, controls and teams..
Experience within commodity trading, chemicals, polymers, recycling, freight forwarding or a related industry would be particularly valuable.
You will also have:
• Strong commercial and financial judgement
• A solid understanding of contract-to-cash processes
• Experience establishing operational controls and business processes
• The ability to introduce structure without unnecessarily slowing the business down
• Experience leading teams across multiple locations or time zones
• The confidence to challenge constructively and protect business standards
• A highly organised, accountable and hands-on approach
At Vanden, we value people who are resilient, collaborative, customer-focused, inquisitive, reflective and resourceful—people who take initiative, value the team above themselves and follow through on their commitments.
If you’re excited by the opportunity to build, lead and scale a high-performing US operation, we’d like to hear from you.