Network Lead

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

Our focus in Alaska is 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 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 IS Network Lead is an integral part of the Alaska Digital & IS team and is responsible for maintaining the Networking & Infrastructure requirements of the Alaska Business Unit, including Anchorage and North Slope operations, development and exploration activities.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Strategy, Standards and governance

• Champion the Alaska business unit''s technology direction and strategy for network and infrastructure services.
• Hold regional accountability for input and decision-making in the creation of Santos IS Network Standards.
• Align all network and infrastructure solutions with Santos'' architecture principles and the unique needs of the Alaska business unit.
• Represent the business unit in architectural and governance forums where network decisions could have a regional impact.
• Conduct regular system design and capacity planning to keep infrastructure ahead of near-term growth and consistent with long-term Santos strategy.
• Build, maintain and enforce network and infrastructure standards, roadmaps and strategies in compliance with company and regulatory requirements.

Service, Delivery and Performance

• Lead voice and data Network Solutions teams across day-to-day operations, production support and active IS projects.
• Monitor network health and ensure performance deviations are investigated and resolved promptly.
• Build effective relationships with Santos IS support groups to deliver integrated solutions and resolve incidents.
• Set and manage priorities of regional and local support teams.
• Serve as the primary escalation point across the business, IS and third-party vendors to maintain service levels.
• Oversee end-to-end field network delivery, maintaining change management practices and accurate system documentation.
• Track service level agreement compliance and escalate improvement opportunities to the Regional IS Operations Manager.
• Drive network and infrastructure support teams to meet performance targets and regional business requirements.
• Carry out infrequent site visits to verify operational environments are performing as required.

Vendor and Contractor Management

• Ownership of IS service contracts for network and infrastructure service providers within the region, ensuring third-party services are secure and reliable and that key KPIs (e.g. critical service levels, key measures) are upheld.

• Oversee 3rd party support contractors for delivery of:

• Office and field networking requirements

• Network design

• Datacentre and server hardware

• Virtualisation

• Cloud computing

• Other infrastructure components

• Write and manage delivery of Scopes of Work for completion by 3rd party contractor(s).

• Manage and review internal and external changes to ensure alignment of tasks and execution windows meet business requirements for minimal disruption.

• Manage the purchasing, selection and installation of required infrastructure including server infrastructure and network hardware.

Financial, Stakeholder and Projects

• Partner closely with Santos business areas and Global IS personnel to ensure network and infrastructure requirements are met and evolve with the needs of respective IS services.

• Lead the handoff from construction into D&IT Operations as the primary point of contact, covering:

• Network and infrastructure requirements, budgets, schedule, scope boundaries and contractor selection.

• Smooth transition from engineering to operations.

• Manage budget planning, forecasting and actuals for regional network & infrastructure requirements, including oversight of operational costs and capital improvements.

• Represent the business unit as the key stakeholder for the delivery of network and infrastructure improvements and changes.

• Align and coordinate with the Regional Telecom Lead to ensure seamless operations across all remote operational facility network deployments.

• Direct IS resources on projects to deliver consistent implementations in line with short and long-range regional deployment plans.

Formal Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor''s degree in an appropriate field (or equivalent practical experience would be considered)

Highly Regarded

• Industry / technology certifications (ie. CCNA)
• General knowledge and awareness of OSHA regulations and industry safety guidelines pertaining to Telecommunications
• Networking route & switch experience

Experience

• 5 to 10 years of relevant technical expertise in data center, server infrastructure, or enterprise network delivery
• Supervising and managing converged voice and data networks
• Exceptional knowledge of infrastructure maintenance and delivery
• Experience leading technical discussions and making decisions on course of action
• Managing and leading teams of professionals and/or individual contributors
• Proven experience in successfully managing the delivery of multiple concurrent projects
• Technically aware across infrastructure technologies including Server, Cloud and Storage
• Troubleshooting skills to independently research and resolve infrastructure related issues
• Communication and interpersonal skills that enables both independent and/or team approach to assigned technical work tasks with external and internal teams.