Senior Manager - Oil & Gas Upstream Operations

Senior Manager (Oil & Gas Upstream) | EY GDS MENA (Oil & Gas Consulting)

Role Title: Senior Manager – Oil & Gas Upstream (Digital Ops / SC&O)

Desired Experience: 10+ years

Mandatory Skill: Oil & Gas Upstream (end-to-end)

Preferred Background: Experience with Integrated Oil Companies such as Exxon Mobil / Shell / BP

Language Capability: English – Mandatory; Arabic – Optional

Role Purpose

Upstream leader embedded within a digital / AI use case delivery ecosystem, responsible for shaping and driving end-to-end upstream transformation outcomes by bridging upstream business stakeholders and cross-functional technical teams (product, data science, data engineering, architecture). The role is non-coding and focuses on upstream domain leadership, portfolio delivery governance, value realization, and scaling reusable assets/tools across engagements.

Operating Model & Reporting

• Leadership role within an Agile / product-style delivery environment; accountable for multi-workstream delivery outcomes across upstream domains (subsurface, development planning, wells & reservoir management, and production operations & sustainment).
• People leadership: multiple Managers (Upstream Ops, Subsurface, and related upstream tracks) will report into the Senior Manager for delivery execution, capability development, and quality assurance.
• Works closely with MENA stakeholders and Consulting Delivery Leadership to ensure client delivery is value-driven and aligned to Digital Ops priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Upstream Portfolio Leadership (End-to-End)
  • Own upstream domain delivery oversight across the upstream lifecycle, ensuring integrated outcomes across subsurface, development planning, wells & reservoir management, and production operations & sustainment.
  • Set the “big picture” for engagements, ensuring teams are solving the right problems and delivering measurable value aligned to client strategic priorities.
  • Provide senior-level functional direction to Managers and squads to ensure consistency, delivery quality, and outcome traceability across workstreams.

• Business Development & Client Relationship Leadership
  • Drive business development at key accounts and manage senior client relationships; engage senior stakeholders to understand priorities and shape upstream digital transformation agendas.
  • Lead opportunity framing, proposal inputs, and solution positioning for upstream engagements aligned to Digital Ops (including defining scope, outcomes, and delivery approach)

• Discovery, Requirements & Delivery Governance (Non-Coding)
  • Lead/oversee structured discovery with upstream stakeholders and ensure translation into clear functional requirements, assumptions/constraints, and acceptance criteria that technical teams can implement.
  • Govern execution through Agile delivery methods (feature validation, release governance, UAT readiness, adoption feedback loops) and ensure operational realism of outputs.
  • Establish delivery controls and standards for documentation, decision logs, and governance artifacts to support scale and auditability of solutions.

• Upstream Digital Enablement & Value Realization
  • Envision and guide upstream “digital operations” initiatives that connect business workflows with trusted data and analytics/AI outputs, ensuring outputs are usable for real decision-making.
  • Oversee upstream performance optimization-style outcomes where applicable (e.g., connecting field planning, operations, and finance perspectives into cohesive decision support and performance visibility).
  • Ensure solutions are anchored to strong data foundations and workflow integration principles to enable scalable, repeatable delivery.

• People Leadership, Capability Building & Asset Development
  • Lead and mentor Managers and Senior Consultants; set delivery standards, coach on stakeholder leadership, and build upstream consulting depth within GDS MENA
  • Drive development of critical reusable assets/tools/playbooks that help scale the upstream solution globally and improve delivery efficiency and consistency
  • Build a high-performing, collaborative culture across upstream squads spanning business and technology disciplines

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 10+ years of Oil & Gas upstream experience with credible exposure across upstream domains (subsurface through production operations and sustainment).
• Demonstrated ability to lead multi-workstream delivery in cross-functional environments, bridging upstream domain teams with digital/product/data teams (non-coding leadership).
• Strong stakeholder management and structured communication/documentation skills suitable for senior client engagement and delivery governance.
• Fluency in English (mandatory).
• Fluency in English (mandatory).
• Engineering Degree in Chemical / Mechanical / Instrumentation / Petroleum disciplines
• MBA
• Experience from/with IOC environments and particularly Exxon Mobil / Shell / BP-type operating models.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• Exposure to AI, advanced analytics, digital transformation, optimization, or surveillance initiatives in upstream contexts.
• Experience contributing to reusable playbooks/accelerators and capability build initiatives for scale-up.
• Arabic language capability (optional).

Travel Requirement

• Up to 50% travel may be required based on project needs.