BP
Job summary
Entity:
Strategy, Sustainability & Ventures
Job Family Group:
Strategic Planning & Business Development Group
Job Summary:
Responsible for driving and overseeing a broad range of business development activities, including technical and economic evaluation of potential projects based on deep expertise, collaborating with teams to develop optimal development solutions, and project managing a range of strategic projects, exercising a strong combination of commercial and technical rigor to help achieve BP’s growth objectives.
Job Description:
Investment Director – Strategic Value
About us
Our purpose is to bring together people, energy and markets to power and navigate a changing world.
In a time of constant change and possibility we need new talent to pursue commercial opportunities, fueled by world-class insight and expertise. We’re always striving for more innovative digital solutions, sustainable outcomes and closer collaboration across our company and beyond, and you could be part of that too. Together we continue to grow as the world’s leading energy company!
About the role
Venturing is integral to enriching bp’s innovation landscape by taking advantage of transformational/disruptive changes to the value chains bp is, or might be, active in. As bp’s corporate venture capital unit, bp Ventures (bpV) plays a key role in helping bp reinvent itself as an integrated energy company, in line with our new purpose: reimagining energy for people and planet.
bpV exists to provide insight into and the commercial innovation capacity that allows bp to build new businesses. bpV collaborates actively to share insight across SS&V and the wider bp to ensure bp realizes the full strategic value of the corporate venture capital activity.
bpV invests in a portfolio of high growth businesses with significant impact on bp’s current or future strategy. bpV has a track record of investing in disruptive innovation and bringing value to bp across dynamic markets. Since 2006, bpV has invested over $1bn into over 70 companies, co-investing with more than 250 corporate and institutional venture capital groups. Currently, bpV handles an active portfolio of around 30 companies.
bpV is looking to appoint a Ventures Manager (externally “Investment Director”) to its growth engine/sector teams (“Hydrogen, Renewables & Power”, “EV Charging & Convenience”, “Core & Bioenergy”, “Explore” and “Strategic Value”). Each sector team will be responsible for delivering upon the respective ventures related growth ambitions within each sector and made up of investment professionals from across the bpV Regions. The ideal candidate will have an established network (internally and externally) with a strong understanding and track record of VC investments capable of informally leading a diverse team across multiple geographies. The role holder will be perceived to be the “go-to” ventures person for the respective growth engine/sector and ideally have multi-disciplinary project management experience.
bpV’s investment strategy is primarily focused on bp’s 5 transition growth engines (Bioenergy, Hydrogen, Renewables & Power, EV charging & Convenience) and categorized into the following four investment buckets:
- “Core – hydrocarbons” enabling bp to deliver on its aims to get to net zero and care for our planet.
- “Growth engines – informed” by business strategy delivering near-term business ambitions.
- “Growth engines – disruptors” inform business strategy through longer-term next generation or disruptive technologies.
- “Explore” the energy white space that inform and spur new growth engines by challenging existing bp strategy.
This position will lead the “Strategic Value” sector team and be located in one of the main bpV hubs, currently the United States – Houston or San Francisco or UK – London.
bpV’s Strategic Value team will support the Regional Managing Directors and Growth Engine leads in running the full Venture’s portfolio of investments by owning the strategic and implementation value delivery, setting and achieving annual strategic value targets across the portfolio.
By partnering with early- and growth-stage start-ups and the venture capital and corporate venture capital community, the bpV team accelerates the development of accretive and disruptive technologies for bp. The Ventures team operates in highly dynamic internal and external markets, building and shaping options to create enhanced strategic and financial value for bp.
Key Accountabilities
Manage the ventures related deliveries for the Strategic Value sector team, with the support of investment professionals, including:
- Portfolio Management: Ventures Strategic Value Lead will support the Regional Managing Directors and Growth Engine leads in managing the full portfolio of investments by leading the strategic and implementation value delivery, setting, and achieving annual strategic value targets.
- Deployment: Ventures Strategic Value Lead will create a strategic value implementation plan for strategic/implementation delivery on new deals, while actively engaging with internal bp networks to deploy portfolio company technologies across bp.
- Commercial Deal Structuring, Negotiation: Will work in close coordination with bp businesses, support Deal SPAs in development of decision documentation for investment committees covering all strategic/implementation value aspects including commercial agreement structuring and any associated commercial agreement negotiations.
- Manage Best Practices & Learning: The Ventures Strategic Value Lead will be expected to own all the strategic/implementation value by maintaining a standardized measurement, tracking, and visualization tools.
- Exit Management: Will support and help deliver strategic/implementation value to bp by engaging with the bp shareholder representative in any portfolio company liquidation events which may impact the business near-term and forward commercial agreement delivery.
- Drive and embed HSSE culture and behavior within the region and more broadly across the team.
- Ensure all activities conducted in accordance with bp’s Code of Conduct.
Essential Education and Experience
- Preferred candidate is MBA or equivalent technical and/or commercial experience.
- Required: Previous negotiation experience specific to complex deals and or venture capital structures. Deep expertise in commercial agreement and or procurement structures.
- Required: Demonstrated experience negotiating complex multi-stakeholder deals.
- Preferred: Strong financial skills, including financial modelling.
- Ideal candidate has a mixture of technical, financial, and commercial skills, but candidates without strong deal experience but with a technical background that includes procurement will be considered.
- A great teammate able to interact with key players across the bp Group and businesses.
- An entrepreneurial flair and a track record of working outside of traditional boundaries and norms.
- Ability to work to tight deadlines and respond to changing requirements.
- Ability to work in an uncertain and ambiguous business environment with few precedents.
- Leads several activity streams with conflicting priorities.
- Good presentation skills and ability to communicate complex data effectively.
- The ability to communicate strategic clarity.
- Willingness to challenge and question the status quo