Lead Operator

Berkshireconsulting; Drayton Valley; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Cenovus is seeking a Lead Operator to direct field and plant operations in the Alder Flats/Hussar areas, ensuring safe, efficient production aligned with Cenovus standards. This field-based role emphasizes accountability, coaching, and immediate issue resolution to maintain high performance.

The position is full-time and resides in a safety-sensitive environment, requiring pre-employment medicals, drug tests, and a valid Class 5 driver’s license.

Qualifications

• Legally authorized to work in Canada.
• 10+ years of oil and gas industry experience.
• 5+ years of experience in conventional oil and gas field and facility operations.
• Journeyperson trade certification is an asset.
• This position is safety sensitive and requires pre-employment medical and alcohol/drug assessments.
• Valid Class 5 driver’s license and satisfactory driving record.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate daily operations and maintenance of Alder Flats and Hussar fields for safe, reliable production.
• Troubleshoot area equipment and operations to optimize performance and meet targets.
• Coordinate field activities during routine operations, turnarounds, upsets, commissioning, and start-ups.
• Monitor daily production and ensure accuracy of records, logs, permits, and reports.
• Provide field production updates to leadership and relevant personnel.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Field operations

Troubleshooting

Safety compliance

Education

High School diploma or equivalent

Journeyperson trade certification (asset)

Job description

About this opportunity

Reporting to the Operations Coordinator for Alder Flats/Hussar, the Lead Operator is accountable for providing the plant and field operations team with daily direction to operate in a safe, efficient, and environmentally conscious manner. The Lead Operator will provide leadership in identifying and implementing ideas which will improve productivity, efficiency and safe operations.

Work Environment

• This is a full-time, permanent position working 4 days on, 3 days off, 10hrs. per day.


• This position is field based and currently assigned to the Alder Flats/Hussar areas.

What you’ll do

• Coordinate the daily operations and maintenance of the Alder Flats and Hussar fields, ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient production in accordance with Cenovus standards and guidelines.


• Troubleshoot area-specific equipment and operational issues, identifying opportunities to optimize equipment performance and achieve production targets.


• Coordinate field activities during routine operations, turnarounds, upsets, commissioning, and start-ups, working closely with Maintenance, Engineering, and external service providers.


• Monitor daily production and operating conditions, including sampling and testing, and ensure the accuracy of operational records, volume balances, log sheets, work permits, and required reports.


• Provide field production updates and reports to Leadership and authorized personnel, ensuring timely communication of operational performance, issues, and opportunities.


• Coach, support, and assess area employees, providing on-the-job training and ensuring team members have the knowledge and required training to perform their roles safely and effectively.

Who you are

Our ideal candidate will have the following minimum requirements:

• Legally authorized to work in Canada


• 10+ years of relevant oil and gas industry experience.


• 5+ years of experience in conventional oil and gas field and facility operations.


• Previous leadership or team coordination experience.


• Strong coaching, mentoring, and employee development skills.


• High School diploma or equivalent.


• Journeyperson trade certification is considered an asset.


• Refrigeration plant experience is considered an asset.

We acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

As this position has been identified as safety sensitive, employment of a final candidate selected for this position will be conditional upon successful completion of required pre-employment medical and alcohol/drug assessments.

For this position you will be required to maintain a Class 5 driver's license, a satisfactory driving record, and adhere to the appropriate Company policies and guidelines. A driver's abstract will be one of the backgrond checks requested in the pre-employment screening for the final candidate.

Note: The application deadline for this position is 11:59 PM MT October 2, 2026.

Cenovus was ranked one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025. We’re committed to being an employer of choice in our industry by offering a competitive total rewards package and employee programs and rewarding career development opportunities. Learn more.

Who we are

Ranked as one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025, Cenovus is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary. We’re committed to maximizing value by developing our assets in a safe, responsible and cost-efficient manner. We operate in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Our operations include oil sands projects in northern Alberta, thermal and conventional crude oil and natural gas projects across Western Canada, crude oil production offshore Newfoundland and Labrador and natural gas and liquids production offshore China and Indonesia. Cenovus’s downstream operations include upgrading, refining and marketing operations in Canada and the United States.

Find Cenovus on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

The Cenovus experience

Total rewards

We’re committed to being an employer of choice through competitive compensation and our comprehensive total rewards package, including:

• Paid vacation (including a flex day program for eligible staff)


• Health & dental benefits


• Substantial mental health coverage


• Life insurance


• Disability benefits


• Employee family assistance


• Virtual healthcare coverage

Our development philosophy

We foster a culture of continuous learning and development to support employees as they build meaningful careers. We offer a variety of employee development initiatives, including:

• Internal course offerings


• Education assistance for additional development


• Opportunities to work on special projects


• Leadership development programs for emerging and established leaders

We actively promote internal job movement, recognizing the value of gaining new perspectives, building connections across teams, and applying expertise in new ways. As a fully integrated energy company, we believe that sharing knowledge across our business and operations creates stronger outcomes—for employees and for the company as a whole.

Our culture

• Our purpose: We energize the world to make people’s lives better.


• Our values:
  
  
  
  • Protect what matters
  
  
  • Do it right
  
  
  • Make it better
  
  
  • Do it together
  
  
  
  


• Cenovus Cares: We believe in the power of purpose-driven work. Our Employee Giving and Volunteering Program, Cenovus Cares, connects our people to our purpose, inspiring action and elevating impact year-round.
  
  
  
  • Support causes you care about with volunteer opportunities in and outside of work.
  
  
  • Earn donation grants while volunteering (up to $1,000 per event).
  
  
  • Receive donation matching up to $10,000 annually.
  
  
  
  


• Staff resource groups: We have various staff resource groups to help ensure our people feel a sense of belonging and can grow and do their best work. These voluntary groups are employee-led and all groups are open to all staff in all locations.

Equal opportunity employer

We believe a workplace where everyone has merit-based opportunities to grow, achieve career aspirations and feel a sense of belonging benefits our people, our company and the regions where we live and work. We embrace and encourage different perspectives and approaches, which help us make better business decisions. We believe that through this approach, we can solve challenges, seize opportunities and unlock innovative solutions.

To achieve an unbiased and respectful workplace, individuals are evaluated based on qualifications, merit and abilities, and we encourage applications from all qualified candidates. We also acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

For more information about working at Cenovus, visit cenovus.com.

The requirements of this posting may be modified to support business needs. Title and compensation administration will be based on the skills and capabilities of the successful incumbent.