Commercial Manager

1.Company

SG Group of companies is a specialist solutions provider for the harbour craft sector. With the first company set up in 2013, the Group today comprises three companies – SeaCabbiePte Ltd, SG Shipping Pte Ltd and SG Smart Tech Pte Ltd. The Group is headquartered in Singapore with a supporting office in India, and operates a fleet of supply boats, harbour craft and passenger launches alongside a growing maritime technology and electric vessel business. We currently serve clients in Singapore and the Southeast Asia region.

2.Purpose of the Role

The Commercial Manager is responsible for growing the Group’s revenue base across all three entities –winning new customers and new lines of business, and converting idle or underutilized tonnage into contracted, cash-generating charters.

This is a deal origination and closing role rather than an account servicing role. The successful candidate will be measured on new revenue contracted, fleet utilization improved and charter days sold. The role reports to the Head of Commercial and works closely with Operations, Technical, Finance and the Group’s legal advisers.

3.Accountabilities

New Business Development

• Identify, qualify and convert new commercial opportunities across all three Group entities – offshore and sub-sea contractors, shipping agencies, terminal operators, bunker suppliers, marine construction and EPC firms, ship managers, and government and statutory buyers.

• Build and maintain a live opportunity pipeline with named prospects, deal values, probability weighting and expected close dates; report pipeline movement to the Head of Commercial on an agreed cycle.

• Lead the commercial response to tenders, RFQs and quotation requests – scoping, costing with Operations and Finance, pricing, drafting and submission.

• Develop entry into adjacent service lines identified by management, including market sizing, competitor pricing and go-to-market approach.

• Represent SG Group at industry events, port community forums and customer meetings, and maintain visibility with key decision makers across the Singapore port ecosystem.

• Gather and analyze market intelligence on rates, capacity and service offerings of competing harbour craft, launch and supply boat operators.

Chartersand Vessel Utilization

• Own fleet utilization as a commercial metric – track vessel-by-vessel employment, identify idle and cold-stacked tonnage, and return it to revenue-earning service.

• Source charterers and negotiate time charter, voyage charter and bareboat opportunities across the fleet.

• Prepare and negotiate charter party terms in consultation with the Head of Commercial and the Group’s legal advisers, including hire rate, duration, delivery and redelivery, manning and crewing responsibility, bunker arrangements, off-hire, substitution rights, insurance and total loss provisions.

• Prepare charter economics showing net contribution per vessel after operating cost, crewing and bunkers, and present recommendations with a clear commercial rationale.

• Monitor charter performance post-fixture – hire invoicing, off-hire claims, redelivery condition, and renewal or extension discussions.

• Escalate charter party disputes promptly with a documented commercial position and supporting records.

Commercial Governance and Support

• Ensure every quotation is costed against a defensible breakeven before release.

• Support contract execution – NDAs, service agreements, charter parties and framework agreements – working with the Group’s legal advisers.

• Maintain complete and orderly commercial records covering quotations, contracts, rate cards, correspondence and customer master data.

• Work with Finance on customer credit terms, invoicing accuracy and follow-up on ageing receivables for accounts owned by this role.

• Contribute commercial input to management reporting, budget setting and periodic rate reviews.

• Support the Operations team in delivering service quality where commercial input is required, and any other task as required by management.

4.Key Performance Indicators

• Annualised value of new customers and contracts won, against annual target.

• Percentage of owned and managed fleet on revenue-earning employment.

• Number of idle or cold-stacked vessels returned to charter within the year.

• Total contracted charter days across the fleet.

• Qualified pipeline value maintained at a defined multiple of target.

• Win rate on submitted quotations and tenders.

• Percentage of quotations released above the approved breakeven threshold.

• Time taken from verbal agreement to executed contract.

5.Qualifications

• Degree or diploma in Maritime Studies, Business, Shipping, Logistics, Engineering or a related discipline.

• Working knowledge of charter party structures and commercial terms – time charter, voyage charter and bareboat. Familiarity with BIMCO forms such as SUPPLYTIME and BARECON is an advantage.

• Proficiency in MS Office, Google Suite and CRM software. Must be able to build and interrogate a costing model in Excel –breakeven per trip or per day, bunker consumption, crewing cost and contribution margin.

6.Experience

• Minimum 5 years’ commercial, chartering, sales or business development experience in shipping, offshore, port services or marine logistics.

• Demonstrable record of winning new business –candidates should be able to name deals they personally sourced and closed.

• An existing network within the Singapore port and offshore community is highly advantageous.

• Familiarity with MPA licensing regimes for harbour craft, lighterage and passenger launch operations is advantageous.

• Exposure to subsea, diving, salvage or marine construction contracting is advantageous.

7.Skills and Attributes

• Commercial ownership – treats revenue targets as personal commitments.

• Strong negotiator who protects margin and contractual position under pressure, and knows when to walk away.

• Numerate and rigorous – never quotes a rate that has not been costed.

• Strong follow-through – converts meetings into proposals and proposals into signed contracts without prompting.

• Sound judgement on risk – recognises when a commercial term creates legal, insurance or operational exposure and escalates it early.

• Good English communication skills, verbal and written; able to draft quotations and commercial correspondence without heavy editing.

• Team player with strong interpersonal skills; works effectively with Operations, Technical and Finance rather than around them.

• Handles customer, rate and contract information with full confidentiality.

• Willing to attend to urgent commercial matters outside standard office hours where operationally required.