Senior IT Manager

Through its merger with Oil Search, Santos acquired and assumed operatorship over a world-class portfolio of oil leases on the Alaskan North Slope, USA.

Santos’ focus in Alaska is the advancement of our Pikka Phase 1 project, which includes a single drill site, an oil processing facility, and other infrastructure to support production of 80,000 barrels of oil per day.

Pikka has been identified as being among the top quartile of oil and gas development projects for greenhouse gas emissions performance. Pikka is poised to play an important role in the energy transition and is aligned with our company goal of managing climate change risk. The project is on track to be ready for first oil in 2026.

The Pikka Unit is one of the largest conventional oil discoveries made in the United States in the last 30 years, and the Pikka Phase 1 Project is the most significant development on Alaska’s North Slope in more than 20 years.

The permitted Pikka development project includes two additional drill sites. The Alaska assets also include discoveries made from both the Mitquq and Stirrup exploration wells drilled in 2020. These opportunities combine to offer a clear path to long-term growth in Alaska.

Position Purpose

The Senior IT Manager – Alaska is accountable for optimizing business outcomes through the strategic and operational delivery of technology across the Alaska Business Unit. The role leads the Alaska D&IT team, overseeing IT infrastructure, telecommunications, end user computing, business applications, cyber security and IT/OT interfaces across all locations — including Anchorage, North Slope field sites and the Remote Operations Center.

The role works collaboratively with Alaska BU leadership, the Santos Corporate IS function and external partners to prioritize investment, deliver the Alaska business systems roadmap, and ensure the technology environment is fit for purpose as the business scales up both production operations and further development opportunities. The role is the primary interface between the Alaska BU and Santos Corporate D&IT, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards, governance and strategy.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Strategic Business Engagement & IT Planning

• Develop and maintain the Alaska BU IT delivery roadmap and annual delivery plan, aligned to business strategy and priorities
• Collaborate closely with Alaska BU leadership and functional teams to identify opportunities for strategic use of technology to support and optimize business deliverables
• Ensure D&IT capability is in place to support production operations and facilitate a smooth transition into steady state operations.
• Align Alaska BU and Corporate initiatives relating to data, information and systems
• Co-lead efforts to develop and extend relationships with business partners to deliver Business Data, Information Management and ICT strategies and architectures
• Support D&IT requirements for operational activities including drilling, project development, production operations and seismic acquisition

IT Operations & Infrastructure

• Oversee the Alaska IT infrastructure landscape — server, network, end user computing, field telecommunications and cloud environments — whether on Santos premises or in co-location data centers
• Manage and ensure delivery of End User Computing services via internal staff and third-party providers, maintaining availability, performance and responsive support for all regional users including VIP support for critical users
• Oversee technology interfaces between IT/OT and production operations
• Ensure successful ITIL management procedures are followed for all IT operations activities, local and remote.
• Maintain and test Business Continuity Plans for IT operations, developing additional plans as needed
• Ensure corporate standards and best practices are followed across all operational services
• Work alongside Cyber Security to address any concerns in IT operations and maintain an up-to-date operational risk register

IT Program and Project Delivery

• Lead all regional IT program and project delivery activities, ensuring alignment with business priorities and adherence to scope, schedule and quality standards
• Act as the primary interface with Global IS to maintain compliance with technical and security requirements
• Provide governance oversight and act as the escalation point for portfolio-level risks, issues and dependencies
• Oversee project initiation, planning, execution and closure, including resource allocation and business case development
• Manage the integration between telecommunications project activities and IT operations and maintenance
• Prepare for and appropriately receive permanent IT/Telecom infrastructure from development projects
• Govern portfolio funding and provide accurate, timely reporting on delivery performance and progress

Governance, Cyber Security and Corporate Alignment

• Support Corporate D&IT initiatives and procedures including the standard operating environment (SOE), cloud infrastructure, EDP, ITIL process adherence and Business Continuity
• Manage an effective Cyber Security program aligned to Corporate requirements, accounting for the unique challenges of the Alaska BU
• Ensure software, hardware and master data management activities are aligned with Santos Corporate systems and practices
• Maintain accurate forecasts and proactively manage OPEX and CAPEX budgets, ensuring cost efficiency and compliance with financial targets

Vendor and Contract Management

• Manage and maintain effective working relationships with contracted hardware, software and service providers
• Responsible for the D&IT–Telecoms support contract for all locations including Anchorage, North Slope operations and vendor facilities
• Enforce contractual KPIs to ensure service quality and reliability
• Ensure adequate SLA metrics are identified and met for third-party contracts (e.g. ISP, cellular)

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead and develop the Alaska D&IT team, balancing permanent staff and contractors to meet peak demands whilst maintaining a cost management focus
• Identify development areas for team members and work with them to develop SMART KPIs, conducting regular and annual reviews
• Lead and encourage integration between the local Alaska D&IT team and the broader Santos IS organization
• Champion a "one team" culture across IT, business and vendor partners
• Plan staffing for the operations and maintenance team to adequately support all development projects on both a short- and long-term basis
• Represent the D&IT function at Alaska BU management level

Qualifications, Skills, & Experience Required

Formal Qualifications

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Technology project management experience.

Highly Regarded:

• Industry-relevant certifications e.g. MCSE, MCP, CCNA, CCIE, VMware, ITIL

Postgraduate qualifications in a related D&IT field

Experience

Essential experience required for this position includes:

• 15+ years in IT delivery and service delivery, including program and project management, ideally in Oil & Gas.
• Senior experience in IT service management including End User Compute, with knowledge of ITIL principles.
• Senior experience in system administration and building, maintaining and troubleshooting network architecture.
• Proven experience in portfolio and roadmap management.
• Strong IT business partnering and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Expertise in vendor and contract management, including performance oversight.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and business change.
• Experience leading teams and managing individual contributors.
• Familiarity with enterprise infrastructure and applications, including improving IT services to meet KPIs.