Managing Partner – Operations Advisory — Upstream Portfolio

The mandate

The investment committee has withheld further expansion pending clarity on an operations practice moving from diagnostic work to outcome-linked transformation within a listed integrated energy producer and services platform. The immediate arena is the upstream portfolio during a capital-discipline reset. For mandate 387, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Managing Partner – Operations Advisory operating perimeter covers approximately NOK 41,050 million in operated asset and trading portfolio, with activity spanning several upstream portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Managing Partner – Operations Advisory Oil & Energy remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,725 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Managing Partner – Operations Advisory who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the upstream portfolio. The Managing Partner – Operations Advisory Oil & Energy seat must resolve a capital-discipline reset, while preserving the underlying strengths of the upstream portfolio. For mandate 387, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Managing Partner – Operations Advisory’s first year on the upstream portfolio is expected to end with executive sponsorship, realised benefits and scalable delivery IP. In mandate 387, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Managing Partner – Operations Advisory — Upstream Portfolio seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the upstream portfolio remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Managing Partner – Operations Advisory value-creation thesis for the upstream portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately NOK 41,050 million in operated asset and trading portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Managing Partner – Operations Advisory Oil & Energy organisation of about 1,725 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the upstream portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a capital-discipline reset, with Managing Partner – Operations Advisory-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Managing Partner – Operations Advisory operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the upstream portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Bring a verifiable book of trusted board relationships and evidence of building partner economics beyond personal billings in mandate 387.
• Build the Managing Partner – Operations Advisory’s three-year succession and capability plan for the upstream portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Oil & Energy organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the upstream portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to an operations practice moving from diagnostic work to outcome-linked transformation, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Managing Partner – Operations Advisory portfolio and organisation choices for the upstream portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable upstream portfolio trend against executive sponsorship, realised benefits and scalable delivery IP, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Managing Partner – Operations Advisory’s agreed first-year upstream portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Managing Partner – Operations Advisory forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the upstream portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Managing Partner – Operations Advisory mandate’s highest-priority upstream portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical upstream portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Managing Partner – Operations Advisory’s direct reports.
• A quantified Managing Partner – Operations Advisory-owned improvement in the upstream portfolio operating constraint behind a capital-discipline reset, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 387: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Managing Partner, Operations Practice Leader or Operating Partner in a listed Oil & Energy or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the upstream portfolio, your Managing Partner – Operations Advisory track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from energy, oil and gas, utilities, chemicals, renewables or industrial services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Managing Partner – Operations Advisory brief.

As a Managing Partner – Operations Advisory candidate, you bring 28+ years of progressive Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 28-plus experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of NOK 23,800 million and led an organisation of at least 1,200 people. Advisory seats require equivalent upstream portfolio client-value ownership and multi-disciplinary leadership.

For mandate 387, the board wants two transitions: a difficult upstream portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a capital-discipline reset. As the prospective Managing Partner – Operations Advisory for this upstream portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 387 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Managing Partner – Operations Advisory must be based in Stavanger; international relocation is supported, but this Oil & Energy role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Managing Partner, Operations Practice Leader or Operating Partner, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Oil & Energy governance forum.
• Proven Managing Partner – Operations Advisory ownership of at least NOK 23,800 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,200 employees in a comparable upstream portfolio context.
• One completed Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector example of an operations practice moving from diagnostic work to outcome-linked transformation with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from energy, oil and gas, utilities, chemicals, renewables or industrial services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Managing Partner – Operations Advisory-level upstream portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Stavanger location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 387.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Managing Partner – Operations Advisory package is NOK 6.0–8.2 million base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final upstream portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 387 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Managing Partner – Operations Advisory appointment in Stavanger, centred on the upstream portfolio, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A structured client and conflict transition of up to 6 months can be accommodated for mandate 387.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 387. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 387.