Operations & Maintenance Manager
by Wood Plc GCC in Energy (Oil, Gas & Renewables)
Operations & Maintenance Manager role with Wood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, requiring 50% travel to the MEAC region and supporting Wood’s operations footprint and client delivery across Iraq and wider Middle East, with market sector focus on Oil & Gas and delivery of complex upstream and midstream projects including maintenance, modifications, and engineering solutions to support energy security and decarbonisation ambitions, decarbonising existing assets, producing cleaner energy, and developing a sustainable national workforce. Directs and guides growth, development, and delivery performance across the region, supporting strategy development and related business plan delivery. Accountable for safety, technical, and financial performance across region with budgetary and P&L responsibility where required, delivering monthly and annual targets and embedding company values, and deploying Wood’s O&M inhouse capability on a new project. Provides guidance and direction to teams in day-to-day delivery management, ensuring appropriate controls and governance and working to highest standards of integrity, safety, quality, and operational excellence, producing solutions to complex strategic, contractual, technical, commercial, operational, and personnel challenges impacting customer service and performance. Manages ongoing business including budget setting and delivery, contracts, capacity and resource management, and capability management, potentially delivering multiple services/capabilities and managing one major office/facility or multiple smaller offices/facilities. Operational delivery includes acting as Product Lead for Operations and Maintenance business, delivering consistent development and deployment of Wood solution; supervising all areas on small projects or subset/discipline on larger projects; leading health, safety, and environmental leadership to minimize industrial injuries and meet regulatory requirements through compliance with safety rules and regulations; executing work to project quality standards and requirements; managing and controlling project cost and schedule; interpreting functional specifications and problem reports; monitoring maintenance work quality and working practices and adherence to safety procedures. Establishes short-term work continuity and balance activities including shift schedules, job priorities, material availability, preventive inspections, and grievance resolutions; integrates with other plant function areas; recommends improvements in equipment or methods; exercises judgment in establishing job priorities for breakdown repairs; manages and deploys consistent procedures and champions continuous improvement. Holds P&L responsibility with commercial and financial accountability including revenue delivery, margin and overhead management, budget and forecast determination and attainment, risk and opportunity reviews, cost controls, accounts payable/billing and cash collection; delivers performance management objectives, agreed business plans, budgets and targets and reports opportunities and risks impacting the business; provides mid-term direction to operational management teams to meet business plan goals. Maintains operational integrity/excellence with robust governance, subcontractor management, performance reporting, and works with leadership and managers to improve delivery performance and maximize delivery opportunities across country/region and wider business. Ensures robust business continuity and disaster recovery plans are in place and leads activation/implementation; establishes annual business goals and strategies and prepares business plan for assigned location; ensures financial, safety and quality controls and compliance to company policies; establishes and implements policies and governance mechanisms for continuous monitoring; participates in technical audits and peer reviews; identifies and develops innovation opportunities such as digitalisation and technology use, work share and high value engineering centers; tracks risks and opportunities via registers and mitigation across country/region; ensures people and worksites are safe and well managed and owns HSSEA matters ensuring legislative compliance and attainment of HSE plans; supports resolution of legal claims; ensures robust Management of Change and builds a learning culture. Business growth includes delivering growth through collaboration with Business Development, developing and owning business plan, driving sales, bid and tender activity; ensuring responsive, dependable, cost effective services servicing target markets and leveraging Wood solutions; fostering customer relationships and improving scope of work/offering and customer required service levels; overseeing proposals and call-offs ensuring compliance with contracting policy and standards of ethical conduct. Leadership includes championing ethical behavior and compliance with applicable laws and policies; aligning operations with corporate policy/strategy; operating with integrity, Code of Conduct and company values; facilitating communication to optimize delivery objectives and continuous performance improvement; driving culture change where required; accountability for recruitment, selection and retention; talent development, performance and capability management including addressing underperformance; ensuring employee competence; and assuming directorship appointments of legal entities within remit. Qualifications include fluent Arabic speaker, minimum ISCED Level 5 technical diploma/apprenticeship or equivalent qualifications/experience, appropriate level of field maintenance experience typically through minimum 15 years post-qualification supervisory experience in relevant industry preferably trade & craft disciplines, Iraq and Middle East experience, and demonstrated experience of training and development of local talent.
