Head, Operational Excellence

OQ; Oman; On-site; OMR 38,450 - 53,830; Full time

Job summary

OQ in Oman is seeking a Head of Operational Excellence to lead refinery initiatives and improve operational processes. The successful candidate will develop and implement strategies that enhance productivity, quality, and compliance with industry standards.

Ideal applicants will have a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering and at least 16 years of experience in the Oil & Gas sector. Familiarity with Lean methodologies and strong stakeholder management skills are essential for this role.

Qualifications

• Minimum 16 years of relevant experience in the Oil & Gas Refinery Industry.
• Expertise in downstream benchmarking and KPIs, process surveillance, and availability improvement.
• Strong organizing and planning skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement OQ8’s Operational Excellence strategy.
• Lead capital-investment projects for sustainable technical development.
• Manage performance of energy, loss, and mass balance metrics.
• Identify gaps in process safety management and develop corrective measures.
• Analyze leadership culture and develop improvement programs.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Process management

Lean methodologies

Technical skills in MS Office

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering

MBA in Operations Management

Tools

Simulation software

Job description

Overview

Under the general direction of the OQ8 COO, the Head of Operational Excellence manages and oversees OQ8’s Operational Excellence initiatives, including 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. Responsibilities include simplifying processes to improve productivity and quality, removing waste, reducing costs, and providing technological and economic know‑how for refining development to drive profitability within organic and non‑organic growth while achieving compliance with internal, external, legal and regulatory requirements. The position aligns with OQ8’s Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategies, supported by IT/Technology platforms, HSE standards, Oman’s government, and other legal justifications, and follows best international practices consistent with national objectives.

Responsibilities

• Develop, champion, and implement OQ8’s Operational Excellence strategy, translating vision into a definitive action plan that drives exceptional value across the businesses.
• Projects
  • Lead capital‑investment projects for sustainable technical and economic development, planning, evaluation, and control of the entire refinery investment portfolio until project budget release.
  • Develop technical and economic capabilities to support front‑end development of measures and investment projects.
  • Provide technical expertise in time, cost, and technical quality from feasibility phase through overall project definition and set‑up.
  • Ensure optimum life‑cycle costs within legal and technical regulations and standards.
  • Address legal compliance relevant to project realization.
• Product Quality and Production
  • Develop and implement product quality management frameworks, policies, and manage quality improvements.
  • Improve organization and efficiency of laboratory activities.
  • Develop and improve products, including evaluation of components and additives.
• Energy, Loss, Mass Balance, Metering
  • Manage performance of energy, loss, flaring, transit, BS&W, fugitive, unaccounted, etc., including benchmarks and performance improvement.
  • Execute best practices for hydrocarbon oil accounting, processes, tools, and data.
  • Develop and implement management practices.
• Digitalization and Integrated Management System (IMS)
  • Leverage digitization and IMS to support operational excellence across areas.
  • Deploy and use these systems, supporting management changes and processes.
• Process Safety
  • Identify gaps in process safety management processes and develop measures to close them.
  • Analyze root‑cause analysis (RCA) processes, improve implementation, and define improvement potentials.
  • Ensure effective learning from incident implementations and define improvement potentials.
  • Provide expertise in change management, HAZOP, and MOC.
• People Management
  • Analyze leadership culture and develop programs to improve business behavior of the leadership team.
  • Address deficits in operators’ day‑to‑day procedures and close gaps.
  • Develop leadership training to close skill gaps for shift supervisors.
• Production
  • Analyze deficits in sustainable, safe, profitable production across time, quality, and volume.
  • Engage and influence senior leaders across operations, commercial, and other functions.
  • Lead high‑impact cross‑functional teams using Lean and continuous improvement methodologies to solve complex business problems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering.
• MBA in Operations Management preferred.
• Minimum 16 years of relevant experience in the Oil & Gas Refinery Industry with expertise in downstream benchmarking and KPIs, process surveillance, availability improvement, business transformation, advanced process control, simulation software, and leadership skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and detailed orientation with excellent organizing and planning skills.
• Strong technical skills in MS Office, strategic thinking, and ensuring refinery issues address in operational plans.