The mandate

A deliberate change of pace is required to deal with public commitments requiring operational and financial ownership within a privately held integrated energy producer and services platform. The immediate arena is the refining and marketing system during an operating-model separation. For mandate 400, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Sustainability Officer operating perimeter covers approximately £38,500 million in operated asset and trading portfolio, with activity spanning several refining and marketing system customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Sustainability Officer Oil & Energy remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,600 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Chief Sustainability Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the refining and marketing system. The Chief Sustainability Officer Oil & Energy seat must resolve an operating-model separation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the refining and marketing system. For mandate 400, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Sustainability Officer’s first year on the refining and marketing system is expected to end with auditable delivery, capital integration and credible stakeholder reporting. In mandate 400, 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 Chief Sustainability Officer — Refining And Marketing System seat, established because an operating-model separation now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the refining and marketing system, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Sustainability Officer value-creation thesis for the refining and marketing system, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately £38,500 million in operated asset and trading portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Sustainability Officer Oil & Energy organisation of about 1,600 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the refining and marketing system economics and execution constraints created by an operating-model separation, with Chief Sustainability Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Sustainability Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the refining and marketing system; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have converted strategy into explicit capital and resource choices and then tracked execution through board governance in mandate 400.
• Build the Chief Sustainability Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the refining and marketing system, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Oil & Energy organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the refining and marketing system baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to public commitments requiring operational and financial ownership, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Sustainability Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the refining and marketing system, 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 refining and marketing system trend against auditable delivery, capital integration and credible stakeholder reporting, 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 Chief Sustainability Officer’s agreed first-year refining and marketing system value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Sustainability Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the refining and marketing system’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Sustainability Officer mandate’s highest-priority refining and marketing system risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical refining and marketing system talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Sustainability Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Sustainability Officer-owned improvement in the refining and marketing system operating constraint behind an operating-model separation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 400: 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 Chief Sustainability Officer, Transition Executive or Operations Strategy Leader in a privately held Oil & Energy or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the refining and marketing system, your Chief Sustainability Officer 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 Chief Sustainability Officer brief.

As a Chief Sustainability Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of £22,350 million and led an organisation of at least 1,125 people.

For mandate 400, the board wants two transitions: a difficult refining and marketing system portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an operating-model separation. As the prospective Chief Sustainability Officer for this refining and marketing system, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 400 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Sustainability Officer must be based in London; 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 Chief Sustainability Officer, Transition Executive or Operations Strategy Leader, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Oil & Energy governance forum.
• Proven Chief Sustainability Officer ownership of at least £22,350 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,125 employees in a comparable refining and marketing system context.
• One completed Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector example of public commitments requiring operational and financial ownership 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 Chief Sustainability Officer-level refining and marketing system consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the London location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 400.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Sustainability Officer package is £210,000–280,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final refining and marketing system scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 400 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Sustainability Officer appointment in London, centred on the refining and marketing system, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 400.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 400. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 400.

Mobility