Overview
Head of Operations – Oil & Gas (Upstream) Jobs in Dammam, Eastern, Saudi Arabia at Coefficient Alliances & Ventures (Coefftalent)
Title: Head of Operations – Oil & Gas (Upstream)
Company: Coefficient Alliances & Ventures (Coefftalent)
Location: Dammam, Eastern, Saudi Arabia
Engagement details:
- Job Title: Head of Operations
- Client: Prominent Regional Corporate Firm – Oil & Gas
- Employment type: Permanent role
- Location: Onsite in Dammam, KSA
- Experience level: 18+ years
About the Joint Venture:
The JV is being established to build an advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing platform serving the Oil & Gas upstream sector in Saudi Arabia. The facility will focus on high-precision CNC machining, remanufacturing, welding/fabrication, assembly, and special process-related capabilities for critical upstream applications.
The JV is aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, IKTVA localization objectives, and the growing demand for in-Kingdom manufacturing capability to support energy customers, OEMs, EPCs, and service companies.
Role Summary:
The Head of Operations will be responsible for leading the end-to-end operational execution of the JV facility, including production, manufacturing engineering, maintenance, procurement, supply chain, stores, planning, and operational excellence.
This is a critical leadership role reporting to the General Manager / Plant Head. The role requires a hands-on, execution-driven leader with strong experience in API-certified manufacturing environments, large CNC machining operations, welding/fabrication, greenfield plant setup, and scale-up of complex manufacturing operations.
The Head of Operations will be responsible for converting the JV’s business plan into a high-performing, customer-qualified, cost-efficient, and scalable manufacturing operation.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Overall Operations Leadership
- Lead complete plant operations covering production, manufacturing engineering, maintenance, procurement, stores, supply chain, production planning, and operational excellence.
- Translate the business plan into executable production, manpower, machine, capacity, and supply chain plans.
- Ensure the facility achieves planned output, cost, delivery, productivity, safety, and customer-readiness targets.
- Establish strong daily, weekly, and monthly operating review mechanisms.
- Drive accountability across all operational functions and build a performance-oriented manufacturing culture.
2. Greenfield Plant Setup & Ramp-Up
- Lead operational readiness for the greenfield facility, including plant layout, machine placement, material flow, utilities, stores, internal logistics, and production systems.
- Support installation, commissioning, trial runs, and stabilization of CNC machines, fabrication equipment, and supporting infrastructure.
- Build operating systems from the ground up, including SOPs, work instructions, maintenance systems, stores controls, production dashboards, and escalation processes.
- Ensure the plant is ready for API, ISO, customer audits, and industrial licensing requirements.
- Drive phased ramp-up from initial production to full-scale operations in line with the JV business plan.
3. Production & Manufacturing Execution
- Own delivery of production plans across CNC machining, welding/fabrication, assembly, and remanufacturing operations.
- Ensure effective utilization of machines, manpower, tooling, fixtures, and materials.
- Drive improvements in cycle time, setup time, machine utilization, throughput, productivity, and cost per part.
- Establish strong shopfloor discipline, production control, shift planning, and output tracking.
- Ensure operational readiness for machining and remanufacturing of upstream oilfield components such as drilling tools, wellhead components, pressure control parts, valves, repair parts, and other high-integrity components.
4. Manufacturing Engineering & Industrialization
- Lead manufacturing engineering activities including process planning, methoding, CNC programming governance, fixture development, tool selection, cycle time optimization, process validation.
- Support new product introduction, first article development, DFM reviews, routing definition, and manufacturing feasibility.
- Build robust process engineering systems for repeatability, productivity, and quality at source.
- Drive standardization of manufacturing processes across machining, fabrication, welding, assembly, and remanufacturing.
- Work closely with Quality to ensure process controls are aligned with API, ISO, and customer-specific requirements.5. Maintenance, Reliability & Asset Utilization
- Establish preventive, predictive, and breakdown maintenance systems for all plant assets.
- Drive high uptime and reliability of CNC machines, fabrication equipment, utilities, cranes, compressors, and supporting infrastructure.
- Implement TPM and structured maintenance KPIs.
- Own OEE improvement, machine availability, MTTR, MTBF, spare parts planning, and maintenance cost control.
- Ensure all critical assets are maintained in audit-ready condition.
6. Procurement, Supply Chain & Stores
- Lead end-to-end supply chain covering procurement, vendor development, import logistics, stores, inventory, subcontracting, and consumables planning.
- Develop local and global supplier base for raw materials, tools, fixtures, consumables, spares, subcontract processes, and services.
- Ensure material availability to support production schedules while maintaining strong inventory discipline.
- Build vendor qualification and performance review systems.
- Drive cost reduction, supplier reliability, lead-time reduction, and working capital efficiency.
- Support localization through development of capable in-Kingdom suppliers wherever feasible.
7. Quality, API & Customer Readiness Support
- Work closely with the Quality Head, who will report independently to the GM, to ensure operational compliance with API, ISO, HSE, and customer audit requirements.
- Ensure production processes are built with quality at source, traceability, documentation discipline, and process control.
- Support API Q1, API monogram, ISO, customer qualification, and supplier audit readiness.
- Lead closure of operational actions arising from audits, NCRs, customer feedback, and qualification reviews.
- Ensure shopfloor practices support a zero-defect and right-first-time culture.
8. Customer & Cross-Functional Interface
- Participate in customer audits, technical discussions, manufacturing readiness reviews, and capacity discussions.
- Support the GM in operational discussions with key customers, OEMs, EPCs, and upstream service companies.
- Provide credible operational inputs on lead times, capacity, manufacturing feasibility, delivery readiness, and ramp-up plans.
- Coordinate with Business Development, Quality, Finance, and HR to ensure seamless execution of customer commitments.
9. Lean Manufacturing & Operational Excellence
- Drive Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, TPM, SMED, value-stream mapping, visual management, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Establish a daily management system covering safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and people metrics.
- Identify and eliminate waste across production, stores, supply chain, maintenance, and engineering processes.
- Build a continuous improvement culture across the plant.
- Lead structured cost-reduction and productivity-improvement programs.
10. People Leadership & Localization
- Build and lead a high-performing operations organization across production, engineering, maintenance, procurement, stores, and planning.
- Manage and develop a team size expected to exceed 100 employees as the facility scales.
- Develop local Saudi talent in alignment with localization and IKTVA objectives.
- Create strong second-line leadership and succession depth across all operational functions.
- Build a culture of discipline, ownership, safety, learning, and execution excellence.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Production Engineering, or related discipline. Master’s degree preferred.
- 18+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, with significant exposure to precision machining, fabrication, welding, and industrial manufacturing.
- Mandatory experience in API-certified manufacturing environments.
- Strong experience in Oil & Gas upstream manufacturing or remanufacturing is highly preferred.
- Proven experience managing large CNC machining operations, preferably with more than 20 CNC machines.
- Experience in welding, fabrication, assembly, repair, or remanufacturing operations.
- Proven greenfield plant setup or major capacity expansion experience.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams of more than 100 people.
- Strong understanding of production planning, manufacturing engineering, maintenance, procurement, supply chain, and stores.
- Experience in Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and structured operational excellence systems.
- Exposure to GCC / Saudi manufacturing ecosystem will be an added advantage.