Business Unit Head - Agri Commodities

Head – Pulses & Agri Commodities\n\nLocation: Thrissur, Kerala\nOrganization: ESAF Co-operative\n\nAbout the Role\n\nESAF Co-operative is seeking an accomplished and entrepreneurial leader to head its Pulses & Agri Commodities business. The role demands a seasoned professional with a proven track record of building and scaling profitable commodity businesses, strong market intelligence, and deep expertise in procurement, processing, trading, and value-chain management of pulses and other agricultural commodities.\n\nThe successful candidate will drive end-to-end business strategy across sourcing, trading, processing integration, wholesale distribution, private label development, and export opportunities, while ensuring sustainable growth, profitability, and operational excellence.\n\nKey Responsibilities\n\n•⁠ ⁠Lead and grow the Pulses & Agri Commodities business as an independent profit center.\n•⁠ ⁠Develop and execute sourcing, procurement, trading, and sales strategies across domestic and international markets.\n•⁠ ⁠Build strong procurement networks with farmers, FPOs, aggregators, mandis, traders, and institutional suppliers.\n•⁠ ⁠Drive commodity trading operations with a strong understanding of market dynamics, pricing trends, demand forecasting, and risk management.\n•⁠ ⁠Oversee integration with processing facilities, ensuring efficiency, quality, yield optimization, and supply continuity.\n•⁠ ⁠Develop and expand private label and branded commodity offerings.\n•⁠ ⁠Identify and develop export market opportunities for pulses and agri commodities.\n•⁠ ⁠Establish robust quality assurance, food safety, and regulatory compliance systems.\n•⁠ ⁠Drive commercial performance, working capital efficiency, collections, and profitability.\n•⁠ ⁠Build and lead a high-performing team while implementing scalable processes and systems.\n•⁠ ⁠Monitor commodity markets, crop patterns, government policies, and industry developments to identify business opportunities and mitigate risks.\n\nDesired Candidate Profile\n\n•⁠ ⁠Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in pulses, grains, spices, or agri commodities business.\n•⁠ ⁠Demonstrated success in managing and growing a commodity trading, procurement, processing, or distribution business.\n•⁠ ⁠Strong understanding of commodity markets, procurement ecosystems, mandi operations, pricing mechanisms, and supply chain management.\n•⁠ ⁠Hands-on experience in processing operations, quality standards, yield management, and plant integration.\n•⁠ ⁠Proven ability to manage large procurement volumes and develop sourcing networks.\n•⁠ ⁠Experience in wholesale, institutional sales, private label development, or export business will be highly preferred.\n•⁠ ⁠Strong commercial acumen with a track record of delivering revenue growth and profitability.\n•⁠ ⁠Excellent leadership, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.\n•⁠ ⁠Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to identify and capitalize on market opportunities.\n\nWhat We Are Looking For\n\nWe are looking for a business builder—not just an operator. The ideal candidate should have successfully managed a commodity business, understand the pulse value chain from farm to market, and possess the vision and execution capability to build one of India’s leading agri-commodity platforms.\n\nInterested candidates may send their profile to:\nContact: +91 97784 17089