Strategic Alliance & M&A Manager

Job title

Strategic Alliance & M&A Manager

Grade

Stream

Growth 

Function

Business Development

Location

Oman  - Muscat

Budget control

*OPEX and/or CAPEX and/or Revenue amount as relevant*

Reporting to

Head of Strategic Alliance & M&A

Direct reports

0

Job purpose

General

Serve as the primary commercial and strategic partner to the Head of Economic & Strategic Alliance, leading value-creation initiatives across OQ’s integrated energy portfolio — spanning upstream, midstream, downstream, renewables and emerging low-carbon ventures. The role is accountable for identifying, structuring and executing high-impact opportunities that drive long-term growth, capital efficiency and portfolio optimization across the energy value chain.

Provide enterprise-wide leadership in orchestrating complex growth projects — including greenfield, brownfield, debottlenecking and integration initiatives across exploration, pipelines, terminals, refining, petrochemicals, power, hydrogen and carbon-capture assets. Lead commercial structuring, negotiations and investment modeling to secure optimal pricing, risk allocation and returns consistent with OQ’s corporate thresholds and strategic direction.

Act as a strategic integrator between business functions — partnering closely with Treasury, Legal, Market Intelligence, PMO, Portfolio Management etc. — to ensure alignment in funding strategy, risk governance and market positioning. Engage with executive management, ministries, JV partners, legal advisors and lenders to present robust business cases and gain alignment on key value drivers.

Drive opportunities from origination to Final Investment Decision (FID) by developing integrated techno-commercial models, evaluating multiple scenarios and balancing economic value, execution risk and ESG objectives. Leverage market intelligence and financial analytics (NPV, IRR, sensitivity, Monte-Carlo) to translate complex data into board-ready insights, investment memoranda and valuation dashboards that enable decisive action and long-term competitiveness.

The position will act in accordance with the Group’s Mission, Vision, Values & Strategies, as well as, policies, guidelines and international standards, supported by an IT Technology platform, HSE standards, Omani’s government & other legal justification’s and best international practices in consonance with national objectives.

Main tasks and responsibilities

1. Enterprise Growth & Strategic Leadership

• Drive Growth Projects: Lead cross-functional initiatives — greenfield, brownfield, debottlenecking and integration projects — unlocking multi-billion-dollar value across OQ’s energy portfolio, spanning upstream, midstream, downstream, renewables and low-carbon ventures.
• Shape and Implement Growth Strategy: Co-develop and operationalize OQ’s enterprise-wide growth roadmap with the Head of Economics & Strategic Alliance, Corporate Strategy and Portfolio Management; secure alignment from Business Development leaders, Chiefs, CEO, Board and key external partners.
• Project Execution: Serve as the principal advisor to the Head of Economics & Strategic Alliance, steering execution of strategic projects in line with OQ’s mission, vision and value-creation objectives.
• Spot and Advance Integration Opportunities: Identify, assess and deliver integration plays connecting upstream feedstock, refining, petrochemicals, renewables, hydrogen and circular economy initiatives to strengthen OQ’s value chain.

2. Strategic Planning & Competitive Insight

• Competitive/Gap Assessment: Analyze competitive positioning, identify growth levers and shape OQ’s downstream and energy-transition strategy.
• Analyze Industry Trends: Liaise with Market Intelligence Team to seek long-term demand/supply forecasts to carry out cross-sector analysis across hydrocarbons, power and new-energy markets, translating data into actionable strategies.
• Map Competitive Landscape: Oversee continuous mapping of regional and global competitors, emerging technologies, policy trends and geopolitical shifts to anticipate structural market changes.
• Guide Executive Decision-Making: Synthesize insights into succinct, evidence-based recommendations for OQ’s executive leadership and Board.

3. Investment Origination & Opportunity Development

• Identify and Develop Growth Opportunities: Lead the origination, assessment and structuring of high-impact investments, including greenfield, brownfield, integration and optimization projects across OQ’s downstream and new-energy portfolios.
• Develop New Business Areas: Provide strategic guidance for the development of new business domains (e.g., petrochemicals, refining, decarbonization, hydrogen, circular economy), maintaining alignment with OQ’s growth priorities.
• Economic & Financial Leadership: Oversee project economics, valuations and complex financial models (NPV, IRR, sensitivities, Monte-Carlo simulations), translating insights into board-ready investment memoranda and dashboards.
• Integration & Feasibility: Lead feasibility studies internally and with consultants, ensuring end-to-end project ownership from concept to FID/completion.
• Funding & Capital Alignment: Partner with Treasury and Portfolio Management to structure financing, ensure compliance with economic thresholds and align with corporate investment governance.

4. Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

• Originate and Assess M&A Opportunities: Identify and evaluate strategic acquisitions and joint ventures that align with OQ’s long-term portfolio strategy.
• Lead Transaction Execution: Drive the full M&A lifecycle — from target screening and due diligence to valuation, structuring, negotiation and post-deal integration.
• Financial and Strategic Evaluation: Perform comprehensive valuations and synergy assessments to optimize shareholder returns and strategic coherence.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Collaborate with Legal, Finance, Treasury and Technical teams to ensure transaction governance, fiscal discipline and seamless execution.
• Integration & Value Realization: Oversee post-merger alignment of commercial models, KPIs and operational synergies to secure sustained value creation.

5. Commercial Structuring & Negotiation

• Lead High-Value Negotiations: Manage complex negotiations for feedstock pricing, equity structures, offtake contracts, JDAs, MOUs and project-finance arrangements, ensuring optimal risk allocation and returns.
• Governance and Contract Oversight: Oversee contract monitoring, renewal and enforcement with producers, customers and transporters to maintain commercial discipline and integrity.
• Embed Commercial Excellence: Establish fit-for-purpose commercial frameworks that drive competitive advantage and maximize enterprise value across OQ’s asset base.

7. Stakeholder Engagement & Representation

• Strategic Representation: Represent OQ in major domestic and international partnerships and act as commercial interface with ministries, regulators, JV partners, lenders and strategic investors.
• Influence and Advocacy: Serve as a trusted commercial voice on multi-billion-dollar projects, influencing stakeholders to align on key value levers and deal structures.
• Internal Alignment: Coordinate across Corporate Strategy, PMO, Treasury, Market Intelligence and Legal to ensure unified direction and strong governance.

8. Capability Development & Governance

• Mentor Emerging Talent: Guide and mentor early-career professionals and graduates, fostering commercial acumen and leadership capability across the Business Development community.
• Cross-Functional Guidance: Provide mentorship across multi-departmental feasibility studies, strategic reviews and investment transactions.
• Uphold Governance & Compliance: Ensure alignment with OQ’s internal controls, HSE, ESG and national energy frameworks, maintaining adherence to international best practices and sustainable growth standards.

Key interactions

Internal: OQ SAOC Streams

External: JV partners, Local Authorities, Consultants, Contractors, vendors and providers.

Notable Working Conditions. Office environment, intensive computer screen use, sporadic travel to project sites as well as to meet JV partners, consultants, contractors, advisors.

Education requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business / Engineering (required)
• Postgraduate degree in Engineering or MBA or CFA (preferred)

Language requirements 

Excellent knowledge of written, read, and spoken English (required), Arabic (desirable)

Background and experience

Competencies and skills

• A minimum of 8-10 years of relevant experience in similar role for global Oil & Gas, Energy, Renewables or Chemicals industry
• 7+ years techno-commercial leadership on large‐scale energy investments— for example gas processing, energy storage, generation & transportation, steam crackers, refining, LNG, hydrogen, methanol, ammonia CCUS and related facilities—covering greenfield builds, brownfield debottlenecks and M&A commercial evaluations.
• Solid project development experience (+5 years) within IOCs/NOCs or in advisory/consulting role.
• Proven new-technology champion—turning emerging ideas (green hydrogen, renewable fuels, advanced recycling, bio-chemicals, carbon capture) into bankable projects with robust techno-commercial aspects.
• Holistic energy-chain insight spanning upstream resource development, mid-stream logistics, downstream refining & petrochemicals, power, renewables and low-carbon solutions, with a record of optimising cross-value-chain synergies.
• Hands-on technology screening & selection—evaluating licensors, negotiating technical/commercial terms and guiding technology deployment across oil, gas, chemicals and new-energy assets

Soft:

• Strong leadership skills
• Political Savvy
• Requires excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to communicate across all levels.
• Gravitas to convince senior management on new ideas
• Confidence to lead high impact negotiations with external stakeholders ensuring best interests and outcomes for OQ
• Successful experience of idea generation, developing, advising, consulting on downstream growth projects
• “Out-of-the-box-thinking” mentality, particularly focused on future assets

Technical:

• Computer Literacy including MS Office
• Strong techno-commercial and business acumen
• Understanding of legal terminology for Oil & Gas contracts, deals and MOUs
• Experience with mass balances, guide structuring of economic models