Principal Commercial Projects Assurance

Principal Commercial Projects Assurance

Location:

Muscat, Oman

Reporting to:
Chief Executive Commercial

• Lead the development and implementation of the commercial projects assurance framework, ensuring it is fit for purpose, consistently applied, and aligned with OQEP governance standards and strategic objectives.
• Conduct independent expert-level assurance reviews of commercial projects at key decision gates, evaluating the robustness of commercial assumptions, risk assessments, economic models, and investment cases.
• Provide authoritative recommendations to the Chief Executive Commercial and relevant leadership on the readiness of commercial projects to progress through approval stages.
• Scrutinise commercial project proposals, business cases, and investment submissions to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with OQEP’s commercial strategy and value creation objectives.
• Lead the identification, assessment, and mitigation of commercial risks across the projects portfolio, ensuring appropriate risk- management measures are embedded throughout the project lifecycle.
• Drive quality assurance across commercial project documentation—including contracts, agreements, financial models, and reporting deliverables—to ensure consistency and adherence to applicable standards.
• Develop and maintain assurance tools, templates, and guidelines to standardise commercial project evaluation practices across the Commercial function.
• Collaborate with relevant functions—including Finance, Legal, Business Development, Exploration, and Joint Ventures—to ensure integrated and comprehensive assurance coverage across all commercial project touchpoints.
• Monitor and track the progress of commercial projects against approved plans, budgets, and performance targets, highlighting deviations and recommending corrective actions to leadership.
• Provide expert input into the development of commercial policies, procedures, and governance frameworks, continuously identifying improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Support post-project reviews and lessons‑learned exercises to strengthen future commercial project assurance practices.
• Represent the Commercial function in internal governance forums, assurance committees, and relevant external engagements as required.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Chief Executive Commercial, Finance, Legal, Joint Ventures, Business Development, Exploration functions, the Group assurance team, JV partners, external consultants, government ministries, regulatory authorities, contractors, and vendors.
• Work in an office environment with intensive computer screen use and occasional travel to operational sites and partner offices as required.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Geoscience, with background in Business Administration, Economics, or related disciplines.
• Postgraduate qualification (MSc or MBA) preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of written, read, and spoken English (required);
  Arabic – native (desirable).
• 10+ years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry, with a strong focus on commercial management, project assurance, investment evaluation, or business development.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting assurance reviews, project gate assessments, and risk evaluations within a commercial or upstream context.
• Proven ability to critically assess business cases, economic models, and commercial frameworks at an expert level.
• Familiarity with upstream contractual structures including EPSAs, JOAs, and commercial agreements.
• Prior exposure to governance frameworks, project controls, and quality assurance practices in an oil and gas or energy environment.
• Experience in Oman or the wider Middle East region is an advantage.
• Strong analytical and critical‑thinking skills with the ability to independently assess complex commercial situations and provide well‑founded recommendations.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, able to convey complex commercial findings clearly to senior leadership and diverse stakeholders.
• High level of professional integrity and independence, essential for an assurance‑focused role reporting directly to executive…