Project Lead – Organisation & People Capabilities (Oil & Gas)

 

Contract type: Consultant, estimated duration 12 to 18 months.

Location: Luanda, remote work can be accommodated for set periods. 

 

Owns the Company’s organisational readiness ahead of operatorship, leading the end-to-end integration of approximately 200 employees inherited from the outgoing operator into the Company’s structure, and steering the organisational and cultural change involved in taking on a major deepwater asset.

WORKSTREAMS

•     HR & Transfer of Personnel: Manages the workforce transfer process: employment contract review, mapping of critical roles, and assessment of retention risk and capability gaps.

•     Change Management and Communication: Builds the change narrative and stakeholder communication plan, and aligns leadership across the Company and partner staff.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

•     Workforce integration: Mapping and integrating around 130 employees inherited from the outgoing operator into the Company’s structure, defining critical roles, coverage plans and Day 1 staffing readiness.

•     Retention: Building and tracking a retention risk assessment for key personnel, with targeted mitigation actions.

•     Change leadership: Owning how the transition is communicated to, and experienced by, both inherited and existing staff.

•     Workstream governance: Holding accountability for pace, quality and escalation across the people, organisation and communication workstreams.

KEY COMPETENCIES

•     Workforce transition experience: Has previously navigated the complexity of bringing inherited staff into a new employer structure, and understands the legal, contractual and human dimensions involved.

•     Cross-boundary stakeholder management: Works effectively across Company leadership, the incoming workforce, partners and, in particular, the outgoing operator’s legacy workforce.

•     Change management: A track record of leading people through major organisational transitions while protecting morale and productivity.

•     Discretion: Handles sensitive information about individuals and organisations with the judgement expected of a senior HR professional.

•     Autonomous delivery: Comfortable driving a complex people workstream with a high degree of independence, escalating only where senior decisions are needed.

EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS

•     Experience: Minimum 10 years in HR leadership, organisational design or people management within complex industrial environments.

•     PMI track record: Experience leading workforce transitions in M&A, carve-outs, operating model integrations or new entity set-up is preferred; large-scale organisational integrations outside an M&A context are considered equivalent.

•     Alternative benchmark: Where PMI integration experience is absent, candidates should demonstrate seniority as an HR Director or Head of People, with proven experience integrating large headcounts across organisational boundaries.

•     Sector: Oil & Gas background preferred; exposure to Angola or Sub-Saharan Africa is an advantage.

•     Project management: Demonstrated ability to plan, sequence and deliver a multi-workstream people programme against a fixed deadline.

•     Language: Fluent English is mandatory; Portuguese; French is a plus.

•     Working style: Able to work autonomously on a full-time basis, with regular in-country travel for key milestones.