 
The Exploration Division is the part of the BP Upstream segment responsible for renewing the firm through access, exploration and appraisal of a globally-managed portfolio of opportunities to find and develop new reserves of oil and gas.
Information Technology & Services (IT&S), a function within BP, provides traditional IT solutions and capabilities throughout BP. As part of a newly-designed strategy to serve the Exploration Division, IT&S is creating a new role to direct initiatives that leverage innovative information technologies to help give BP a competitive advantage in finding new hydrocarbon reserves. This newly created position is an opportunity to bring creativity, curiosity and excitement for change to the Exploration Division.
A successful Innovation Lead will have a deep understanding of the business processes and supporting information technologies used in exploration for hydrocarbon deposits, and will be able to help geoscientists identify opportunities where IT could potentially be applied to improve metrics key to exploration, such as cycle time or person-hours required to evaluate potential plays, rate of success, or productivity of new plays.
The innovation lead will work closely with the business to identify opportunities, design proofs of concept to illustrate the viability of proposed technologies, and oversee execution of these PoCs. The Innovation Lead will progress successful PoCs through to technology pilots and then, if successful on to full adoption across the division, remaining engaged until handover into operations. The innovation lead works with the IT Manager to identify the business case and success criteria.
The Innovation Lead will leverage ideas generated by, and will have access to external relationships managed by various internal BP organizations including the IT&S Chief Technology Office (CTO), various Upstream technology flagship programs and the distributed research labs (DRL).
The Innovation lead is primarily responsible for providing the point of view of the business and identifying key choke points in Exploration business processes, and also responsible for identifying technologies to help improve business performance.
Works closely with business line and executive management to identify key challenges that can be addressed through new technology
- Thinks outside the box, innovates, and navigates through situations where there are no guidelines. Manages ambiguity effectively.
- Identifies metrics key to Exploration, how technology can enable these and what material impact it will have to the Exploration Business
- In conjunction with the IT Manager and global BIM network in the Regions gathers ideas from a wide variety of sources for improving the Exploration business through Information Technology
- Identifies choke points in business processes where IT could be applied to improve business performance via one of the key metrics
- Ensure that business needs and opportunities are properly communicated to the various internal technology organizations - including IT&S CTO.
- Through relationship with internal technology organizations, is aware of emerging Information Technology trends, new products and solutions potentially relevant to Exploration.
- Leverages existing groups eco-system relationships with vendors, emerging technology companies, consortia, universities and other 3rd parties for interactions with PoCs, pilots and technology adoption projects and holds and manages relationships with organizations newly found and specific to exploration IT&S not within the other groups eco-systems.
- Accountable for the innovation to adoption process which identifies and governs how ideas go through the Exploration IT Innovation Hopper and into full-scale adoption. This includes the following:
- The Hopper governance process and stakeholder engagement
- Business cases for innovation ideas
- Working jointly with the Exploration Business, identifying the success criteria which an idea will be evaluated on at each stage
- Measurement of long-term benefits from adopted innovation ideas
- Change Management during the adoption of ideas into business practices and business processes.
- Provides ongoing management of the Exploration IT Innovation Hopper, which entails:
- Framing Proof of Concept (POC) projects, which are effectively applied experiments to identify whether a proposed new technology can benefit BP Exploration.
- Overseeing execution of POCs.
- Evaluating results of POCs and presenting to Exploration leadership
- Framing and executing Pilot projects, which are trials in adopting new technologies and business processes.
- Evaluating results of Pilots and presenting to Exploration leadership
- Utilizing advice and counsel from the CTO throughout these activities
- Obtaining approval from the Exploration IT&S governance board at key decision points in the process
- Liaising with the Exploration Technology Advisory Board
- Accountable for ensuring communications and stakeholder engagement for innovation ideas, PoCs, pilots and projects.
- Accountable to ensure that appropriate IP retention is in place for innovations jointly developed with 3rd parties through work with BP legal and licensing authorities.
- Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in IT or a related discipline, or a degree in geoscience or related discipline
- Expert level experience working as an IT professional, including significant experience in an IT project oversight capacity
- Experience using IT to make meaningful change to business operations
- Understanding of the petroleum industry and significant experience working in an E&P context.
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