Area Authority

bp•Whiting, IN

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As an Area Authority, you will serve as the Operations leader responsible for managing, authorizing, and controlling all Control of Work (CoW) activities within your assigned area. You will ensure safe, compliant, and risk-based execution of work across all phases of CoW—planning through execution and learning—while acting as a subject matter expert on work control systems, permits, and isolations. You will play a meaningful role in protecting people, assets, and the environment by applying rigorous risk management practices, aligning planning and execution activities, and driving continuous improvement across refinery operations. You will report to the asset's Operations Superintendent but along with other Area Authorities, will have reporting expectations to the site Control of Work Technical Authority to ensure delivery of site standards, field execution consistency, and replication of standard processes across the refinery. The selected candidates for these roles will support the following operating complexes: 11PS, 12PS, Coker, HPDN, HPDS, FCU, APS, Lakefront, Utilities and OMD.

Requirements

Qualified Operator or Shift Team Lead (or equivalent) in the assigned asset; or demonstrated experience within refinery operations organization, including strong knowledge of Control of Work (CoW) programs and procedures
Certification as Issuing Authority and Isolating Authority
Demonstrated expertise in Control of Work systems (e.g., PermitVision), risk assessment, and safe work standards
Strong working knowledge of HSE&C requirements, regulatory standards, and company policies.
Strong understanding of local applicable permit to work and equipment isolations policy - holds high standards on field execution of the policies
Consistent field presence to understand how work is being executed and ensure hazards are understood and mitigated
Proven ability to assess, manage, and mitigate operational risk consistently
Strong communication, decision-making, and leadership skills in complex operational environments
Ability to instruct or delegate tasks to operators when applicable, verify delivery, and coach to drive improvement
Experience coordinating across operations, maintenance, engineering, and contractors
Ability to manage multiple priorities and respond effectively to changing conditions
Requires ability to work in industrial environments, including outdoor conditions, confined spaces, and elevated areas
Ownership mindset including proactive stakeholder engagement, response to weak signals, and consistent follow-up
May require availability outside of standard business hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, and during outages or operational events
Must be able to climb stairways and ladders and wear fresh air gear as required.
Essential functions of the job include, but are not limited to: standing, walking, lifting, and carrying up to 50 pounds, bending stopping, twisting, reaching, stretching, pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, kneeling, crawling, and use of hands and feet.
Must be able to work safely in changing weather conditions.

Nice To Haves

Maintenance Planning
Maintenance Scheduling
Operations readiness planning
Operations turnaround coordinating
Operations Turnaround Preparation
Site operating procedure development
Turnaround common process
Turnaround Planning
Turnaround pre-start-up assurance
Turnaround Scheduling
Turnaround scoping
Work Packaging

Responsibilities

Safe, compliant execution of all work activities within your assigned area through effective Control of Work governance; demonstrates personal excellence in behaviors and leadership
Accountable for Control of Work across all phases: Plan, Risk Assess, Prepare, Schedule, Authorize, Implement, Monitor, Complete, and Learn
Owns permit approval, isolation design approval, and safe execution oversight within assigned area.
High-quality permit, isolation, and risk assessment decisions, including approval of permits, isolations, and break-in work
Robust risk identification, mitigation, and escalation, including leadership of task risk assessments
Effective integration of planning, scheduling, and execution activities with strong hazard recognition and management within the assigned and neighboring assets
Field assurance through monitoring work execution and intervening before unsafe conditions arise
Consistent application of safety, environmental, and compliance standards, regulatory requirements, and safe work practices
Continuous improvement of work control processes through lessons learned, incident reviews, and feedback loops
Quality work packages including permits, risk assessments, isolation plans, and contingency planning
Plays a key role in outages/turnarounds (TAR) and manages risk during complex work scopes
Performs other duties as assigned to support safe, reliable, and efficient operations.