Innovation project manager for a major oil company

A major oil company, based on the results of strategic sessions and the chosen course of development, decided to implement the direction, which would ensure internal audit of the industrial safety management system.

The client contacted Kontakt InterSearch Russia to search for a manager for the position of the head of this direction. They had to arrange full audit, create an internal system of industrial safety management, and implement it in more than 70 subsidiaries, contractors, and subcontractors of the company.

The main difficulty of the search was the lack of similar projects in the donor companies: the client was a high-tech player in its segment, implementing the world's best practices at all levels of the structure. The project was innovative, other companies in the sector did not have managers with similar experience.

The candidate for this position was required to have had experience as both an external and internal auditor and risk taker. They were also required to be certified to international ISO standards. In addition, it was necessary to have the motivation and relevant competencies to develop methodological documentation.

Since the position implies negotiating the creation of an industrial safety management system with people of different levels (from production site managers to top managers), communication and influence are the key soft skills. What is more, without systematic and analytical thinking and independence, it is impossible to effectively search for and identify the root causes of discrepancies and systematize tools for their detection and prevention.

The client's condition of absolute confidentiality also made the search incredibly difficult.

To solve the task, the consultants made a search map, in which 15 most relevant projects in ten donor companies in the oil and gas sector were selected. On top of that, information was gathered on best practices for the implementation and development of the industrial safety management system, both within the country and abroad.

Over the course of several months of the project, the client company met some of the industry's best experts, changed its hiring manager, and received a rejection of the offer. This was followed by meeting a candidate who was ideally suited for the role in terms of experience of completed projects and soft skills.

Kontakt InterSearch Russia consultants motivated the candidates by the scope and uncommonness of the project: the new department head at the largest oil company would set the trend for changes in the occupational safety management system in the whole market. An important point was the negotiation of a salary increase, and the client accepted the terms of the only candidate suitable at the time.

As a result, the company has reached a new level in the development and implementation of the occupational safety management system. Just recently, the piloting of the project was successfully completed. This experience is absolutely innovative, and it is safe to say that other companies both in the oil and gas industry and in other heavy industries will soon try to adopt it.