Head of Planning & Economics

Orion Group; Aberdeen City; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Orion Group is recruiting a Head of Planning & Economics for a senior role based in Aberdeen. The role leads planning, economics, performance and value optimisation to support Executive and Board decisions.

You will own the economic evaluation framework, oversee scenario planning, and drive narrative storytelling for the Business Plan and key economic assessments, collaborating across Finance, Commercial, Subsurface and Projects.

Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Economics, Finance, Business, Engineering, Mathematics or another relevant discipline.
• Significant experience in upstream oil and gas, ideally including UKCS.
• Strong track record in planning, economics, investment appraisal, commercial analysis, project maturation and portfolio management.
• Deep understanding of upstream economics and value drivers: production, prices, capex, opex, taxation and decommissioning.
• Strong economic modelling, scenario analysis and investment evaluation experience.
• Proven ability to communicate complex analysis to Executive and Board audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to develop clear business narratives from technical/financial information.
• Experience with UK upstream fiscal economics and portfolio optimisation.

Responsibilities

• Lead quarterly forecasting and long-range planning processes, integrating operational, technical, commercial and financial assumptions.
• Translate company strategy into clear operational and financial plans, targets and performance measures.
• Establish a narrative connecting strategy, delivery, capital investment and value creation.
• Identify and explain changes in outlook and management actions.
• Provide independent challenge of business and investment cases with robust economics.
• Work with Finance, Treasury, Tax, Commercial and technical teams for integrated view.

Skills

Strategic planning

Economic analysis

Executive storytelling

Leadership

Education

Degree in Economics/Finance/Business/Engineering/Mathematics

Job description

Our client is currently is a leading North Sea operator recruiting for the position of Head of Planning & Economics based in Aberdeen. This is a senior position making a key contribution to the complexion of the business.

Job Purpose

To lead the Planning & Economics function, providing strategic insight, economic analysis and integrated business planning to support Executive and Board decision-making and maximise sustainable business value.

Key Accountabilities

Business Planning & Performance

• Lead the quarterly forecasting and annual business and long-range planning processes, integrating operational, technical, commercial and financial assumptions.
• Translate company strategy into clear operational and financial plans, targets and performance measures.
• Establish a clear narrative connecting strategy, operational delivery, capital investment, cash generation and value creation.
• Identify and explain changes in outlook, distinguishing between underlying performance, external factors, changes in assumptions and management actions.
• Identify emerging risks and opportunities and the interventions available to improve business outcomes.

Economics & Value Optimisation

• Own the company's economic evaluation framework, methodologies, assumptions and governance.
• Lead economic evaluation of material investments, developments, asset opportunities and strategic decisions, using appropriate measures including NPV, IRR, breakeven, payback and sensitivity analysis.
• Provide independent challenge of business and investment cases and ensure decisions are supported by robust, transparent economics.
• Support portfolio optimisation and capital allocation, ensuring investment is prioritised towards the highest-value opportunities within the company's strategic and financial constraints.
• Ensure appropriate consideration of UK fiscal arrangements, commodity prices, operating performance, project risk and decommissioning obligations.

Scenario Planning & Strategic Decision Support

• Lead scenario and sensitivity analysis across key business drivers including commodity prices, production, capex, opex, project schedules, fiscal assumptions, inflation and foreign exchange.
• Assess the implications of alternative scenarios for production, cash generation, returns, liquidity and portfolio value.
• Support strategic, commercial and portfolio decisions, including acquisitions, divestments and other material opportunities.
• Work closely with Finance, Treasury, Tax, Commercial and technical teams to provide an integrated view of the implications of major business choices.

Executive & Board Storytelling

• Act as a trusted adviser to the CFO and wider Executive team on planning, economics, performance and value.
• Focal point for the information sharing with the representatives from our Shareholders.
• Own the narrative underpinning the Business Plan, forecasts and key economic assessments.
• Translate complex technical, operational and financial information into concise, insightful and decision-focused Executive and Board materials.
• Clearly articulate what is happening, what has changed, why it matters, what could happen next and what management should do about it.
• Use data and visualisation effectively to support the story, ensuring detail enhances rather than obscures the key message.
• Provide objective and constructive challenge where the evidence does not support the prevailing business narrative.

Planning Processes, Systems & Automation

• Develop and maintain fit-for-purpose, efficient and well-controlled planning and economics processes that are proportionate to the needs and scale of the business.
• Lead the continuous improvement and simplification of planning, forecasting and economic evaluation processes, eliminating unnecessary complexity and manual activity.
• Develop integrated and increasingly automated planning, modelling and reporting solutions, improving the speed, accuracy, consistency and transparency of information.
• Work with Finance, Digital and other functions to ensure appropriate integration of source data, economic models, planning systems and management reporting.
• Establish clear data ownership, governance, controls and audit trails, ensuring confidence in the integrity of planning and economic outputs.
• Leverage automation, analytics and AI where appropriate to reduce manual processing and allow the team to spend more time on insight, challenge, scenario analysis and decision support.
• Ensure systems and processes are scalable and adaptable, supporting the evolving requirements of the business without creating unnecessary administrative burden.

Leadership & Capability

• Lead, develop and motivate the Planning & Economics team, building strong economic, analytical, commercial and storytelling capability.
• Establish high standard for economic modelling, analysis, controls and assurance.
• Develop the team's ability to move beyond producing analysis to identifying the insights, implications and actions arising from it.
• Promote strong collaboration across Finance, Commercial, Subsurface, Operations, Projects and other functions.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, using standardisation, automation and fit-for-purpose technology to reduce time spent producing numbers and increase the team's capacity for analysis, insight and storytelling.

Core Skills & Competencies

• Strategic Business Planning & Performance Management
  Ability to translate strategy into integrated plans and identify the key drivers, risks and interventions required to deliver them.
• Economic Evaluation & Value Optimisation
  Deep expertise in upstream economics, investment appraisal, scenario analysis and portfolio value optimisation.
• Commercial Acumen & Decision Support
  Strong judgement and understanding of how technical, operational, fiscal and financial variables interact to determine value and investment returns.
• Strategic Communication & Storytelling
  Exceptional ability to transform complex analysis into clear, compelling narratives that enable senior stakeholders to understand the issue, its implications, available choices and recommended action.
• Executive Stakeholder Management & Influencing
  Credibility and confidence to engage, influence and constructively challenge Executive, Board-level and Shareholder stakeholders.
• Leadership & Capability Development
  Strong people leadership skills with the ability to build a high-performing, commercially focused and analytically strong team.

Experience & Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Economics, Finance, Business, Engineering, Mathematics Technical or another relevant discipline.
• Significant relevant experience within the upstream oil and gas industry, ideally including the UK Continental Shelf.
• Strong track record in business planning, economics, investment appraisal, commercial analysis, project maturation and portfolio management.
• Deep understanding of upstream economics and value drivers, including production, commodity prices, capex, opex, taxation and decommissioning.
• Strong economic modelling, scenario analysis and investment evaluation experience.
• Demonstrable experience of communicating complex analysis to Executive and Board-level audiences.
• Proven ability to develop clear business narratives from complex technical and financial information.
• Strong commercial judgement and experience working across multidisciplinary technical, operational, commercial and finance teams.
• Experience of UK upstream fiscal economics.
• Experience of acquisitions, divestments, reserves/resources economics and portfolio optimisation.

People are our business worldwide

Orion Group was founded in 1987 and is now one of the largest, independent, international recruitment companies. We have a network of 200 employees working from 24 offices, delivering a range of services – Talent Acquisition, Recruitment Outsourcing Services, Retained Search, Global Workforce Solutions, Completions & Commissioning and Materials Management – across 68 countries. As a global leader in workforce solutions, we recruit personnel across the Engineering & Technical, Office & Commercial, Scientific and Skilled Trades disciplines, for sectors including Oil & Gas, Life Science, Power & Utilities, Constructions & Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Renewables.