Principal Flowline Manager

Job Requirements

• Lead business development and operational delivery across a regional portfolio of flowlines (or a major single client where scale requires).
• Act as an Architect for 90% of the role, designing operating models, flowline structures, governance, and maturity plans; act as Executor for 10%, handling escalations and targeted interventions.
• Apply Lean principles and continuous improvement to drive productivity, flow, OTD, and performance (Green/Black Belt‑level competence desirable).
• Use data‑driven decision making, gathering and interpreting fragmented or complex data to create clear insights and improvement actions.
• Operate as a systems thinker with strong commercial understanding—focused on outcomes, not traditional engineering detail.
• Demonstrate excellent communication, teamwork, curiosity, and the ability to influence at all organisational levels, including the Executive Board.
  
  

Role Purpose

The Principal Flowline Manager is responsible for the strategic architecture, performance, and growth of a portfolio of operational flowlines. This role blends business development, operational delivery leadership, and systems‑level design to ensure the flowlines operate efficiently, profitably, and in alignment with customer and business expectations.

Approximately 90% of the role focuses on being an Architect—designing the operating model, shaping the flowline structure, aligning capabilities, and driving continuous improvement. The remaining 10% focuses on execution, providing leadership on escalations and targeted intervention when necessary. The role may span a regional portfolio of clients, or—where scale requires—be dedicated to a single strategic client.

This is a role for a systems thinker, commercially minded and delivery‑focused—not a traditional engineer—capable of turning complex data, fragmented information, and business needs into clear operational strategies and results.

Key Responsibilities

• Flowline Architecture & Operating Model Design (≈90% of time)
• Architect end‑to‑end flowline structures including workflow, staffing models, governance cadence, maturity plans, and performance measures.
• Design scalable, repeatable delivery frameworks that improve speed, productivity, OTD, and margin.
• Define standard work, visual controls, problem‑solving routines, and continuous improvement rhythms.
• Ensure flowline design aligns with customer strategy, commercial objectives, and long‑term business growth.
• Operational Execution & Escalation Leadership (≈10% of time)
• Provide senior-level intervention on escalations, delivery risks, and customer-critical issues.
• Partner with Flowline Leads to resolve blockers, restore delivery stability, and protect customer trust.
• Mentor Flowline Leads on planning, prioritisation, and decision-making.
• Business Development & Client Growth
• Identify and shape new business opportunities across regional clients or within a large client ecosystem.
• Support bid development, contract extensions, rate card evolution, and capability proposals.
• Act as the strategic partner for customer stakeholders—linking operational capability to business outcomes.
• Lean Leadership & Continuous Improvement
• Apply Lean principles to diagnose waste, inefficiencies, and variability within flowlines.
• Facilitate Kaizen events, A3 problem solving, and CI activities targeting throughput, OTD, and cost efficiency.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, coaching teams on Lean behaviours and structured problem solving.
• Data‑Led Decision Making & Performance Management
• Gather and interpret fragmented, incomplete, or complex data to create clear insights and actionable plans.
• Own portfolio performance dashboards: OTD, cycle time, productivity, cost-to-serve, capacity, and financial health.
• Ensure Flowline Leads are managing to targets and understanding the drivers behind performance shifts.
• Stakeholder, Customer & Cross‑Functional Leadership
• Engage confidently with stakeholders at all levels—from Executive Board to frontline teams.
• Build strong relationships with customers, positioning yourself as a trusted advisor on operational performance and future capability.
• Collaborate with Finance, HR, PMO, Engineering, and Delivery to ensure the flowlines operate as an integrated system.
• Culture, Capability & People Leadership
• Coach and mentor Flowline Leads to elevate operational maturity and leadership capability.
• Develop cross-functional collaboration, shared learning, and operational transparency across flowlines.
  
  

Foster curiosity, openness, and evidence‑based decision making across the portfolio

Work Experience

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Proven track record in operational leadership, service delivery, or portfolio management in engineering, technical services, or similar complex environments.
• Demonstrated success applying Lean principles and continuous improvement (Green Belt or Black Belt level desirable).
• Experience designing or optimising operating models, delivery flows, or multi-team systems.
• Strong commercial awareness and experience with business development or customer growth initiatives.
• Skilled in analysing and interpreting complex, incomplete, or fragmented data into actionable insights.
• Comfortable engaging at Executive level and influencing without authority.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and relationship‑building skills.
• A natural systems thinker—structured, curious, and open‑minded.
  
  

Key Competencies

• Strategic systems thinking
• Lean/CI expertise
• Data-driven decision making
• Strong commercial acumen
• Exceptional communication and influencing
• Operational discipline and results focus
• High curiosity and adaptability
• Leadership through collaboration and coaching