Specialist - Alumina Scheduling

Role overview

This position sits within Rio Tinto’s Bauxite & Alumina Commercial team in Singapore and focuses on live coordination between refinery output and vessel loading. The goal is to keep shipments safe, efficient and commercially optimized in a fast-moving operating setting. You will work across operations, marine and commercial functions to manage vessel plans, inventory movement, customer deliveries under CIF and FOB terms, and short-term optimization opportunities.

Why this opportunity stands out

• Build your career in a large global organisation.
• Work closely with important stakeholders in a worldwide commercial hub.
• Gain exposure to a broad range of commercial systems and tools.
• Be based in Singapore, a key commercial centre for Rio Tinto.

About Bauxite & Alumina

Bauxite and Alumina is responsible for Rio Tinto’s global bauxite mining and alumina refining activities. The business employs about 6,000 people, including joint ventures and excluding contractors, across ten countries. It owns and/or operates five bauxite mines and four smelter-grade alumina plants. The division is also a recognised supplier of alumina refinery technology and has a significant project pipeline, including expansion in Australia and potential development in other countries.

Key responsibilities

• Coordinate refinery stock movement to vessels in real time, keeping production and loading plans aligned while reducing the risk of inventory bottlenecks or supply gaps.
• Continuously refine the vessel line-up, including monitoring ETA changes, berth allocation and loading windows as conditions change.
• Confirm that vessels are ready to load by managing hold-cleanliness checks, certification requirements and coordination with surveyors and terminal teams.
• Reduce demurrage exposure by matching cargo readiness with vessel arrival, improving loading order and handling delays proactively.
• Deliver shipments under CIF and FOB contracts, making sure cargo is available, delivery timing is met and changes are communicated clearly.
• Settle grade allocation against loading practicality so customer requirements are met without compromising vessel operations.
• Spot and advise on short-term commercial opportunities such as spot cargoes, volume shifts and freight optimization.
• Turn supply chain plans into day-to-day execution, reacting to production changes, vessel movements and port constraints.
• Act as the main coordination link between refinery operations, smelters, marine operations and commercial teams.
• Track and manage operational risks such as vessel delays, inventory overflow, cargo readiness problems and quality concerns.
• Keep shipment status, inventory levels and schedule adherence up to date for stakeholders.
• Drive efficiency initiatives that reduce delays and costs while improving asset use and delivery results.

What you need

• A bachelor’s degree in engineering, supply chain, maritime, business or a related discipline.
• Between 3 and 7 years’ experience in supply chain scheduling, marine logistics, operations or a commodities-related environment.
• Strong knowledge of bulk shipping, vessel scheduling and how demurrage works.
• Hands-on experience managing inventory flow in continuous production settings.
• Exposure to CIF and FOB contract delivery coordination.
• Well-developed analytical and decision-making ability, with the confidence to manage competing priorities in real time.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills across commercial and operational groups.
• A strong sense of accountability and commercial judgement, with the ability to balance constraints against value outcomes.
• Understanding of financial performance and the factors that drive value.

Nice-to-have experience

• Prior knowledge of bauxite, alumina or aluminium operations.
• Comfort with Excel, Power BI or similar analytics tools.
• Experience using integrated planning systems such as Anaplan or comparable platforms.

Benefits and rewards

• Safety-first working environment.
• Competitive pay with annual cash incentive awards for eligible employees.
• Career development support and education assistance.
• Access to family-friendly health and medical programmes and a pension plan.
• Wellbeing benefits.
• Rio Tinto employee share program.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Ongoing wellbeing support for you and your family for personal and professional matters.
• Leave options for major life events, including vacation/annual leave, paid parental leave and sick leave.

Where you will work

You will be part of Rio Tinto’s Commercial function, which connects product groups, customers and suppliers from mine to market. The team spans Sales & Marketing and Trading, Global Procurement, and Marine & Logistics, working together to buy, sell and move the materials the world needs. Headquartered in Singapore, the Commercial hub also has a presence in Chicago, Frankfurt, Antwerp, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. The team works collaboratively to deliver customer-focused value safely and sustainably.

Additional information

The closing date for applications is 29 June 2026, although the company may remove the posting before that date.

To be considered, all pre-screening questions must be completed.

Unsolicited CVs or candidate profiles from recruiters or agencies are not accepted. Any such submissions are treated as Rio Tinto’s property, and no referral fee or other compensation will be paid for them.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a major global mining and materials company operating in 35 countries, producing iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for communities and economies around the world. With 150 years of mining history, the company continues to focus on innovation, continuous improvement and lower-emissions production aligned with environmental, social and governance standards. It also emphasises partnerships to solve problems and create shared value.

Respect and inclusion

The company encourages applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, LGBTQIA+ candidates, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from culturally diverse backgrounds. It aims to maintain an inclusive workplace where people can be themselves, all voices are heard and all cultures are respected.

Who should apply

Professionals with experience in scheduling, marine logistics, operations or commodities who can manage live supply-chain decisions, coordinate across multiple stakeholders and work effectively in a commercial, operational environment in Singapore.