VP, Intermediates & Specialty Products

Position Summary

The VP, Intermediates & Specialty Products is responsible for maximizing value across the company’s non-fuels product streams, including light ends, NGLs, intermediates, sulfur, petroleum coke, and other specialty products.   This role serves as the commercial owner of non-fuels product streams, working in close partnership with the company’s Refining & Commercial Optimization team (LP, planning, and analytics) to ensure operational decisions and supply plans capture maximum margin from specialized streams. 

Scope of Responsibilities

Own how every intermediate and specialized product is positioned, priced, and monetized across the system—leveraging optimization for:

• Light ends (propane, butane, isobutane, natural gasoline)
• NGLs and intermediates (naphtha, VGO, etc.)
• Petrochemical intermediates
• Sulfur
• Petroleum coke
• VTBs, solvents, and black oils
• and specialty products

Major Responsibilities

• Commercial Strategy & Value Maximization
  • Develop commercial strategies
  • Optimize netbacks/margin
• Partnership with Refining & Commercial Optimization (LP & Planning)
  • Work closely with the Commercial team responsible for refinery and supply chain optimization (LP models, monthly and daily plans)
  • Provide market-based inputs and commercial priorities to guide optimization outputs
  • Evaluate LP-driven plans and scenarios to ensure alignment with market strategy and value capture
  • Collaborate on trade-offs between operational efficiency and market-driven margin optimization
• Supply Strategy & Execution
  • Lead supply strategy, including logistics, inventory positioning, and distribution
  • Ensure alignment between refinery output and market demand
  • Drive execution across product movements, blending strategy, and system balancing
  • Manage customer relationships
  • Structure contracts
• Margin Optimization & Commercial Direction
  • Set commercial priorities that guide system optimization and planning decisions
  • Translate market intelligence into actionable direction for planning and optimization teams
  • Identify and capture incremental margin opportunities across product slate, geography, and channels
• Trading & Risk
  • Manage any hedging strategies for select non-fuels products
  • Define risk limits with middle office as needed.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Serve as the primary commercial interface with refining operations, planning, and optimization teams for non-fuels products
  • Lead and develop a high-performing team across supply, compliance, and market analytics
  • Drive a performance culture centered on margin delivery and accountability
• Strategic Development & Growth
  • Shape long-term strategy for intermediates and specialty products, channels, and commercial positioning
  • Identify new market opportunities, partnerships, and optimization levers in coordination with VP Business Development & Optimization in the Commercial organization
  • Support enterprise-level decisions with market insights and margin analysis

Success Profile

The ideal candidate is a commercial leader with expertise in intermediates, NGLs, petcoke, sulfur or specialties markets, supply, and optimization-informed decision making, combined with solid understanding of regulatory and financial levers impacting margin.

Key Attributes

• Enterprise mindset: integrates market strategy, operations, and financial/compliance levers
• Commercial acumen: understands how to convert system capabilities into economic value
• Risk-aware decision maker: balances margin optimization with compliance and hedging discipline
• Collaborative leadership: effective in a matrixed environment with planning and optimization teams
• Strategic + executional: able to set direction and drive outcomes

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, Economics, or related technical discipline required
• Advanced degree (MBA or similar) preferred

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• 15+ years of progressive commercial experience in refined products, supply, trading, marketing, or downstream operations
• 7+ years of leadership experience, including direct management of multi‑disciplinary teams (marketing, supply, compliance, analytics)
• Experience working in a refinery‑integrated commercial environment strongly preferred
• Demonstrated success in margin optimization, market strategy, and commercial decision‑making
• Experience partnering with LP/planning teams to translate market strategy into operational and economic outcomes
• Experience managing regulatory and compliance levers (e.g., RINs, sulfur, benzene)
• Experience developing and executing hedging strategies for refined products
• Ability to travel as needed

Scope & Impact

• Enterprise-level accountability for refined product margin optimization
• Ownership of key economic levers
• Direct influence on company EBITDA through commercial performance
• High visibility with executive leadership
• Key integrator between market strategy, optimization, and financial/compliance execution

This role offers the opportunity to lead how the company captures value from every intermediates and specialty products barrel, combining market strategy, operational execution, and financial/compliance levers. Working alongside optimization and business development teams, the VP has the ability to shape outcomes, not just react to them.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States. The Company will not sponsor immigration or work visas.

CVR Energy is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We encourage qualified minority, female, veteran, and disabled candidates to apply.