Regional Chief Human Resources Officer — Upstream Portfolio

The mandate

A change in the economics of the sector has made urgent a regional operating-model shift requiring new leadership and workforce choices within a listed integrated energy producer and services platform. The immediate arena is the upstream portfolio during a major-project recovery. For mandate 375, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Regional Chief Human Resources Officer operating perimeter covers approximately NOK 29,150 million in operated asset and trading portfolio, with activity spanning several upstream portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Regional Chief Human Resources Officer Oil & Energy remit carries direct influence over roughly 700 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Regional Chief Human Resources Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the upstream portfolio. The Regional Chief Human Resources Officer Oil & Energy seat must resolve a major-project recovery, while preserving the underlying strengths of the upstream portfolio. For mandate 375, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Regional Chief Human Resources Officer’s first year on the upstream portfolio is expected to end with leadership supply, workforce affordability and consistent employee relations. In mandate 375, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Regional Chief Human Resources Officer — Upstream Portfolio seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the upstream portfolio, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a major-project recovery cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Regional Chief Human Resources Officer 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 29,150 million in operated asset and trading portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Regional Chief Human Resources Officer Oil & Energy organisation of about 700 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 major-project recovery, with Regional Chief Human Resources Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Regional Chief Human Resources Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the upstream portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have changed an executive structure and workforce economics while sustaining critical talent and employee relations in mandate 375.
• Build the Regional Chief Human Resources Officer’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 a regional operating-model shift requiring new leadership and workforce choices, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Regional Chief Human Resources Officer 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 leadership supply, workforce affordability and consistent employee relations, 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 Regional Chief Human Resources Officer’s agreed first-year upstream portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Regional Chief Human Resources Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the upstream portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Regional Chief Human Resources Officer 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 Regional Chief Human Resources Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Regional Chief Human Resources Officer-owned improvement in the upstream portfolio operating constraint behind a major-project recovery, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 375: 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 Regional CHRO, People Director or Business HR Vice President in a listed Oil & Energy or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the upstream portfolio, your Regional Chief Human Resources 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 Regional Chief Human Resources Officer brief.

As a Regional Chief Human Resources 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 NOK 16,900 million and led an organisation of at least 500 people.

For mandate 375, the board wants two transitions: a difficult upstream portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a major-project recovery. As the prospective Regional Chief Human Resources Officer for this upstream portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 375 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Regional Chief Human Resources Officer 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 Regional CHRO, People Director or Business HR Vice President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Oil & Energy governance forum.
• Proven Regional Chief Human Resources Officer ownership of at least NOK 16,900 million and leadership of no fewer than 500 employees in a comparable upstream portfolio context.
• One completed Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector example of a regional operating-model shift requiring new leadership and workforce choices 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 Regional Chief Human Resources Officer-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 375.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Regional Chief Human Resources Officer package is NOK 3.0–4.0 million base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final upstream portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 375 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Regional Chief Human Resources Officer appointment in Stavanger, centred on the upstream portfolio, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 375.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 375. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 375.