Head, Operational Excellence

Oman Refinery; Oman; On-site; OMR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Oman Refinery is seeking a Head of Operational Excellence to oversee strategic initiatives and foster a culture of Continuous Improvement in refinery operations. The ideal candidate will have 16 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Refinery Industry, focusing on performance management and leadership.

This role requires a Bachelor’s degree in engineering and a preferred MBA in Operations Management. Responsibilities include developing operational strategies, managing teams, and driving improvements across various functions.

Qualifications

• 16 years of relevant experience in the Oil & Gas Refinery Industry.
• Deep expertise in downstream benchmarking and performance management.
• Experience in advanced process control (APC).
• Ability to identify staff needs and provide solutions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement OQ8’s Operational Excellence strategy.
• Lead capital investment projects for sustainable technical and economic development.
• Manage energy loss, mass balance, and metering activities.
• Provide technical expertise on life-cycle costs and technical quality.

Skills

Leadership management

Stakeholder management

Detail-oriented organization and planning

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Chemical or Mechanical)

MBA in Operations Management preferred

Tools

MS Office

Simulation software

Job description

Role Overview

Under the general direction of the OQ8 COO, the Head of Operational Excellence manages and oversees OQ8’s Operational Excellence initiatives and strategic people initiatives. The role creates a culture of Continuous Improvement that delivers tangible value and elevates the maturity of OQ8’s refinery operations by adopting best practices, structured problem‑solving tools, and improvement methodologies. It simplifies processes to improve productivity and quality, removes waste, reduces costs, and provides technological and economic know‑how for OQ8 Refining development to drive profitability in organic and non‑organic growth while ensuring compliance with internal, external, and legal requirements. The position aligns with OQ8’s Mission, Vision, Values, Strategies, policies, guidelines, standards, IT technology platform, HSE standards, Oman government, and other legal justifications, as well as best international practices in consonance with national objectives.

Responsibilities

• Develop, champion, and implement OQ8’s Operational Excellence strategy, translating its vision into a definitive action plan that delivers exceptional value across the businesses.
• Lead capital investment projects for sustainable technical and economic development, planning, evaluating, and controlling the entire refinery investment portfolio until budget release.
• Develop technical, development, and economic capability to support front‑end development of measures and investment projects.
• Provide technical expertise in time, cost, and technical quality from feasibility through project definition and set‑up.
• Provide technical expertise on life‑cycle costs, legal and technical regulation compliance, and other technical issues for project realization.
• Develop and implement product quality management frameworks, product quality policies, and manage product quality improvements.
• Improve organization and efficiency in lab activities, and develop improved products including evaluation of components and additives.
• Manage energy loss, mass balance, and metering; oversee performance management of energy, loss, flaring, transit BS&W, fugitive unaccounted, etc., including benchmarks and performance improvement.
• Execute best practices in hydrocarbon oil accounting, including processes, tools, and data.
• Develop and implement digitalization and integrated management system (IMS) for downstream assets, supporting operational excellence across all areas.
• Experience using digitization and IMS to support operational excellence, deployment, and use of these systems, and supporting management change processes.
• Identify gaps in process safety management processes and develop measures to close them.
• Analyze the root‑cause analysis process, define potential improvements, check learning from incidents, and define improvement potentials.
• Provide expertise in change management, HAZOP, and MOC.
• Analyze the culture of leader interaction, develop programs to improve business behavior of the leadership team.
• Analyze deficits in day‑to‑day operator procedures and develop measures to close gaps.
• Analyze leadership capability of shift supervisors and develop leadership trainings to close the gap.
• Analyze deficits in sustainable, safe, and profitable production in time, quality, and volume; engage and influence senior leaders across Operations, Commercial, and other functions.
• Lead high‑impact cross‑functional teams using advanced Lean and continuous improvement methodologies to solve complex business problems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Chemical or Mechanical).
• MBA in Operations Management preferred.
• 16 years of relevant experience in the Oil & Gas Refinery Industry with specific areas on:
• Downstream benchmarking and KPIs: deep expertise in the basis and use of downstream benchmarking and performance management, including refining and petrochemical processes; proficiency in Solomon and other metrics that support day‑to‑day, month‑to‑month assessment of performance.
• Process surveillance: experience in processes and practices around process surveillance and intervention, including minimum requirements and links to downstream performance and benchmarking.
• Experience working with Operations and Technical to implement/improve availability; expertise in managing a business transformation matrix.
• Expertise in advanced process control (APC) and exposure to simulation software.
• Soft skills: leadership management, stakeholder management, detail‑oriented organization and planning, ability to establish and maintain effective working relations in a multi‑cultural environment, initiative, communication, interpersonal skills, flexibility, motivation, resourcefulness, and organization in a multi‑functional role.
• Technical: computer literate with expertise in MS Office; strategic thinking to address refinery issues in the strategy and operational plans; ability to identify staff needs and provide solutions.