Business Transformation and Benchmarking Manager at Newcross Exploration and Production Limited (NewCrossEP)

Newcross Exploration and Production Limited (NewCrossEP) is an independent domestic oil and gas exploration and production company based in Nigeria. NewcrossEP was established in 2013 and emerged as the successful bidder of OML 24, acquiring a 45% participating interest in the block hitherto managed under the NNPC/SPDC Joint Venture arrangement. Newcross Exploration and Production Limited is the operator of the NNPC/NewcrossEP Joint Venture.  The OML 24 asset covers an area of 162 square kilometres and includes Awoba, Awoba North West and Ekulama Fields. OML 24 is located onshore, about 40 kilometers southwest of Port Harcourt in the prolific oil and gas Niger Delta.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Business Transformation and Benchmarking Manager

Location: Lagos 
Skill Group: Upstream Oil & Gas 
Reports To: GM, Business Improvement
Job Level: Management / Consultant

Job Purpose

• The Business Transformation and Benchmarking Manager will be responsible for driving strategic transformation initiatives across the organization, with a focus on improving operational efficiency, profitability, and overall business performance.
• This role will lead the identification, analysis, and implementation of best practices through benchmarking against industry standards and peers.
• The successful candidate will collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify areas for transformation and deliver actionable strategies that lead to sustained improvements.

Responsibilities

• Supporting the GM, BIOE to establish a cost and competitive performance culture in that instills an external benchmark driven mindset, promotes transparency and drives ownership of targets.
• Co-ordinate the multiple efforts across the organisation to drive consistency and coordination for benchmarking and cost performance monitoring.
• Ensure benchmarking exercises and like-for-like comparisons across countries, regionals and assets to evaluate relative positions and identify gaps in cost performance are performed.
• Work with teams to improve the transparency and understanding of costs and undertake the analysis to accurately identify and target cost reductions.
• Assist asset managers and support functions in the development of improvement initiatives and gap closure roadmaps.
• Work with relevant stakeholders to drive accelerated performance improvement.
• Identify countries assets and production unit teams with best practices and transfer these to others with speed.
• Establish and embed an Above Asset Cost benchmarking and performance monitoring process which conducts external benchmarks as required, helps leadership to set and embed targets and conduct regular performance assessments.

Key Accountabilities
Transformation Strategy Development:

• Accountable for developing and executing the company’s business transformation roadmap in alignment with the overall corporate strategy.
• Lead efforts to identify key areas for operational, financial, and cultural transformation, ensuring alignment with business goals and shareholder expectations.
• Drive initiatives that enhance competitiveness, improve profitability, and increase operational resilience.

Benchmarking and Best Practices:

• Lead the organization’s benchmarking efforts by comparing internal performance with industry peers and identifying gaps in key areas such as cost efficiency, production optimization, and sustainability.
• Accountable for developing benchmarking reports, highlighting best practices and actionable insights that can be implemented within the organization.

Operational and Process Improvement:

• Work with operational excellence lead and asset management teams to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and bottlenecks in business processes.
• Support teams in redesigning workflows, optimizing processes, and adopting new technologies to achieve operational excellence.
• Drive process automation where applicable to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Change Management:

• Accountable for designing and leading change management initiatives to ensure successful implementation of transformation programs.
• Build a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring employees at all levels are engaged and aligned with transformation objectives.

Performance Tracking & Reporting:

• Develop and manage a set of KPIs to measure the impact of transformation efforts on business performance.
• Accountable for regular reporting to senior management, highlighting progress, challenges, and opportunities for further transformation.

Cost Optimization:

• Support the Business Excellence executive’s cost reduction initiatives by analyzing operational costs and identifying areas for improvement.
• Collaborate with the finance and procurement teams to ensure the effective implementation of cost-saving measures without compromising performance or safety.

Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and ability to align transformation initiatives with business goals.
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills.
• Change management expertise and ability to influence across all levels of the organization.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally and manage large, complex projects.
• Financial acumen with experience in driving cost optimization initiatives.
• Leadership and team-building skills with a focus on driving cultural change.

Qualification Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.
• An MBA or Master’s in Organizational Change is preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, with a strong focus on business transformation, process improvement, and benchmarking.
• Proven experience in leading large-scale transformation projects and benchmarking studies in the upstream sector.
• Strong knowledge of change management principles and methodologies, with experience in embedding new practices within large organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in using data analytics for decision-making and benchmarking.
• Familiarity with industry standards such as Lean, Six Sigma, or Agile methodologies.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CVs to: careers@newcross.com using the job title as the subject of the mail.