Operations Readiness & Start Up Manager - IQ Talent Marketplace

NES Fircroft has a unique opportunity for a senior-level Operations Readiness & Start Up Manager, supporting the integration of a portfolio of high value projects into operations at a giant producing oilfield in Iraq.

The assignment is on a 12-month renewable contract, working on a 28/28 rotation.

Role synopsis

Our client is undertaking a large number of brownfield and greenfield projects in order to support and enhance production over the coming years.

This already complex field will increase in complexity requiring the incumbent to manage a challenging set of dynamic issues in the integration of the new projects into existing sites and the engagement of the site operations staff will be critical in ensuring the success of Rumaila for the coming years.

There is significant value at stake for this role to successfully manage a large project portfolio in one of the world’s largest oil fields, which comes with associated exposure to senior management.

The role ensures that the operational interfaces between operation and projects are effectively managed and with synergies maximised.

Accountable for driving continuous improvement across the projects start up & stay up.

The Operations Readiness & Start Up Manager functions under the Operations Organisation, reporting to the Senior Operations Manager.

The role includes significant people leadership and stakeholder management in an organisation of significant scale and complexity.

Key Accountabilities

• Operations Readiness and Start-Up Manager is accountable to support projects and operations, acting as an interface in delivery of operations readiness for projects in service of safe, reliable and compliant start-up in the field.
• Accountable for projects’ start-up in the field and pre-requisite activities to enable safe and efficient operations.
• Understanding and experience in Operations Readiness & Assurance (OR&A) Delivery Requirements and project stage Gate readiness;
• Proactive engagement with all operating departments to ensure the development will integrate into existing Brownfield Assets;
• Promote a culture of safety and continuous improvement.
• Accountable to interface with Project Management team at earlier stage of the project to ensure provision of Operations and Commissioning inputs and planning are considered to deliver the project in accordance with the Scope of requirements (SOR).
• Establish an O&M strategy for startup and earlier Operations phases and ensure strategy is reviewed and accepted by all project stakeholders.
• Manage the delivery of all required operational support contracts (such as Chemicals / vendor support agreements) to support the Asset in the Operate phase.
• Develop an Operations readiness plan (ORP) including the key readiness elements and O&M deliverables for the required project phases including commissioning and start up and earlier operations, ensure they are communicated in timely manner to project stakeholders,
• Interface with the Contract and Finance departments for Contractor Performance and financial controls
• Liaise closely with the Project Manager to manage the interfaces, ensure alignment, and Identify areas of improvement, best practices, and lessons learned from other similar projects and implement.
• Manage & maintain focus on operability & maintainability issues throughout all aspects of the project design & execution planning.
• Develop and monitor key performance Indicators to measure the effectiveness of the different phases of the O&M Scope.
• Support the project assurance processes (such as Model Reviews / Hazop, Hazid, etc).
• Manage the acceptance & handover from Project to Operations using the approved certification process (such Guidance OF Certification) ensuring a structured plan is developed in advance and implemented at the different project phases.
• Ensure that Contractor documents (Plans, Manuals, procedures, and Method Statements) are reviewed and commented by Operations and readiness team members.
• Ensure start up and ramp up plans are developed taking inputs from project stakeholders to ensure flawless delivery.
• Work in close collaboration with the Contractor Commissioning and Start-up Team to ensure commissioning and start-up activities are planned and scheduled in line with the project standards and procedures. This includes establishing Flawless Start-up strategy and implementation of the program as per project.
• Manage the HSSE performance of contractors during execution phases to ensure HSSE targets are met or exceeded – make HSSE a priority. Run contractor performance review on regular basis.

Criteria & Qualifications

• BSc or BEng (UK), or international equivalent in an engineering discipline, or equivalent experience
• Professional accreditation, such as Professional Engineer or Chartered Engineer
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in operations or engineering role, with at least 5 years in a management or senior leadership position, with significant experience leading Readiness delivery on major projects, with emphasis on Middle East and preferably in Iraq.
• Good understanding of project management, commissioning and start-up procedures and hand over projects to Operations.
• Business focused, able to priorities to maximize opportunities with no compromise on HSE.
• Deep understanding of all aspects of delivering Operational Excellence in a large asset.
• Track record of visible Safety Leadership and demonstrable risk management skills, with clear knowledge and track record of Control of Work, HSE leadership and major incident control.
• High awareness of safe working practices associated with FEED, design, construction, pre-commissioning, installation, hook- up and commissioning of oil & gas facilities.
• Familiar with projects assurance processes such as hazard analysis methods such as HAZOP, HAZID / What-if, LOPA.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills demonstrated in the leadership of operating teams, influencing on contractors and change management.
• Strong influencing skills and a track record of delivery, action-orientated and value-based decisions; ideally in a JV environment
• Experience in overseas posting working with diverse cultures would be beneficial.

With over 90 years’ combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world’s leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.