Commodity Risk Management Analyst

Dow has an exciting opportunity for a Commodity Risk Management Analyst. This position is offered in Horgen, Switzerland.

As one of the largest producers of ethylene and propylene, Dow consumes significant volumes of feedstocks and natural gas. This consumption exposes Dow to the volatility of the oil, gas and petrochemical feedstock markets. The Feedstocks & Energy Global Commodity Risk Management (CRM) team requires deep understanding of these commodities and their markets in order to monitor and mitigate the impact of price volatility.

The key role of the Commodity Risk Management Analyst is to develop commodity market knowledge and insight. This person is a member of the Feedstocks & Energy Global CRM team. The candidate will support the team by creating, developing and maintaining models that allow the commodity risk traders to take strategic market actions. Their work will be used to identify long and short-term opportunities and strategies for mitigating Dow’s exposure in volatile commodity markets. The risk analyst will also assist in reporting market positions and providing internal & external compliance & financial disclosures.

This role will require daily interaction with commercial and finance teams, corporate treasury and controllers groups, and external parties. This role is an excellent training opportunity for future Feedstocks & Energy roles in trading and/or commercial management.

The ideal candidate for this job has strong analytical skills with modeling experience, can handle time pressures and multiple tasks, and possesses a curiosity about how commodity markets work. Excellent communication skills, exemplary interpersonal interactions and commercial leadership aspirations are other important qualities.

As the risk analyst grows in their understanding of the company’s positions and market fundamentals, they will become an increasingly integral part of the strategic decision making process for risk management activities, including decisions of where to locate new petrochemical facilities, the long term physical acquisition of feedstock, and capital project / asset sale initiatives.

Examples of Goals Typical for this Job:

• Actively seek improvement to risk management models, processes and systems.

• Develop new or improve current models, apply advanced statistical analysis that would lead to deep analyzes and understanding of the upstream industry.

• Work with Risk Analysts, Risk Managers, and Commercial Managers to develop detailed market information and views on commodity markets of interest to Dow.

• Maintain market curves for volatilities, prices, and interest rates and work with Price Administrators to ensure all data flows through reporting systems.

• Develop basic and advanced skills on Bloomberg, Reuters or other market intelligence platform.

• Perform periodic news, data queries and macro-economic search for market research and fundamentals analysis.

• Collaborate across Commodity Risk Fundamentals team to develop tools and analyses to be leveraged by the business in strategic decision making.

Critical Global and Functional Competencies:

• Market fundamentals analysis - The analyst will be expected to learn and apply statistics and math modeling to market fundamentals. The analyst will be responsible for analyses including supply and demand fundamentals, pricing models, and cash flow analysis. Developing an advanced knowledge of statistical modeling using Excel based models will be essential.

• Ability to handle pressure and adapt to change quickly - Commodity markets are volatile with large price changes often occurring daily. Incumbent must be able to handle the pressure and stress of constant change and be able to quickly adapt to keep pace with maintaining reporting requirements that are essential to executing Dow’s risk management strategies.

• Abstract thinking - Ability to distill and summarize abstract concepts used for rapid decision making. These concepts might apply to risk management techniques or fundamental beliefs on particular commodity markets. Must also summarize and describe complex data on Dow’s exposures and the financial and physical positions used to manage them.

• Learning - Incumbent must be a quick learner and willing to proactively tackle a steep learning curve. Risk management concepts are highly specialized and are often "passed down" from more experienced practitioners. The risk analyst must seek out these methods from the risk managers.

• Interpersonal skills - Maintaining good interpersonal people skills within the stressful framework of navigating volatile commodity markets is essential. The incumbent must concisely communicate complicated concepts to a wide variety of stakeholders and effectively tailor the message based on audience. The analyst must be comfortable challenging opinions and appropriately addressing conflicting viewpoints. Presentation skills are critical.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree

• 3+ years of relevant experience

• A minimum requirement for this Switzerland-based position is the ability to work legally in Switzerland on a permanent basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters & higher education is preferred.

• Previous experience in Hydrocarbons & Energy, financial analysis or advanced analytics would be a plus.

• Professional financial market certificates (e.g. CFA) is a benefit.

Dow Offers:

• A robust total rewards program, including: competitive base pay, variable pay that rewards individual, team, and Company performance, and comprehensive benefits
• On-going learning opportunities within a diverse, inclusive and rewarding work environment
• Career experiences that can span different Dow businesses and functions with opportunities for personal and professional growth
• The chance to work within a global company and interact with colleagues from around the world
• Opportunities that spark your imagination and ignite your passion to help others

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company, with a purpose to deliver a sustainable future for the world through our materials science expertise and collaboration with our partners. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer care. Dow operates 106 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $39 billion in 2020. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries.