Head of Operations Readiness & Assurance

Penspen; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 750,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Penspen seeks a seasoned Operations Readiness & Assurance Leader to oversee multidisciplinary OR&A activities as gas facilities transition from project delivery to operations, providing PMC oversight and ensuring readiness for safe startup and sustainable operation.

You will coordinate across process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, HSE and asset integrity teams, managing interfaces with ADNOC Gas and EPC contractors, driving handover dossiers, operating philosophies and competency

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline relevant to oil and gas facilities.
• Minimum 20 years of relevant experience in oil and gas projects or operating assets.
• At least 8 years in leadership roles involving operations readiness, operations, maintenance, commissioning, start-up or project-to-operations handover.
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary OR&A activities on major gas processing or comparable hydrocarbon projects.
• Proven PMC or owner’s-team experience overseeing EPC contractor deliverables and coordinating with asset operations teams.
• Strong understanding of gas processing facilities, utilities, process safety, asset integrity and maintenance readiness.
• Experience with brownfield interfaces, system completion, CMMS implementation and operational acceptance.
• ADNOC project experience and familiarity with applicable client procedures preferred; mandatory status to follow the approved requisition.
• Strong stakeholder management, team leadership, risk management and technical reporting skills

Responsibilities

• Lead OR&A strategy and planning, developing an integrated plan and milestones aligned with project schedule and ADNOC Gas requirements.
• Provide multidisciplinary leadership across process, mechanical, rotating equipment, piping, electrical, instrumentation and control, civil, HSE, operations, maintenance and asset integrity disciplines.
• Act as the focal point for OR&A interfaces between ADNOC Gas project and operations teams, the PMC, EPC contractors, commissioning teams, vendors and service providers.
• Oversee engineering assurance reviews addressing operability, maintainability, reliability, safe isolation and lifecycle requirements; track actions through closure.
• Coordinate readiness of operating philosophies, SOPs, start-up/shutdown procedures and emergency arrangements.
• Oversee maintenance and asset integrity readiness, including maintenance strategies, criticality assessments and preventive plans.
• Monitor asset registers, CMMS data and documentation needed for handover dossiers.
• Review readiness of spares, tools, consumables and support services for commissioning and operations.
• Coordinate staffing, training and competency plans; ensure completion of vendor training and handover readiness.
• Review commissioning and start-up plans for alignment with operating boundaries and handover sequence.
• Coordinate safety reviews, management of change, pre-start-up safety reviews and emergency preparedness.
• Lead readiness reviews and assurance, maintaining dashboards and action tracking for safe startup and acceptance.
• Oversee readiness verification of systems completion, punch lists and as-built documentation; manage handover criteria.
• Maintain OR&A risk registers, forecast risks and recommend corrective actions to project leadership.
• Support start-up and close-out, tracking defect resolution, handover actions and lessons learned.

Skills

Leadership

Operations readiness

Project management

Stakeholder management

Technical reporting

Risk management

Commissioning

Asset integrity

Gas processing

Maintenance readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline relevant to oil and gas facilities

Job description

Penspen seeks a seasoned Operations Readiness & Assurance Leader to oversee multidisciplinary OR&A activities as gas facilities transition from project delivery to operations, providing PMC oversight and ensuring readiness for safe startup and sustainable operation.

You will coordinate across process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, HSE and asset integrity teams, managing interfaces with ADNOC Gas and EPC contractors, driving handover dossiers, operating philosophies and competency