Senior Internal Audit and Zama Controller

Since its creation in 2014, Harbour has grown to become one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies.  Today, Harbour is producing between 475,000 and 485,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day with significant production in Norway, the UK, Germany, Argentina and North Africa. Harbour benefits from competitive operating costs and resilient margins, and a broad set of growth options including near-infrastructure opportunities in Norway, unconventional scalable opportunities in Argentina and conventional offshore projects in Mexico and Indonesia. With low GHG emissions intensity and a leading CO2 storage position in Europe, Harbour remains committed to producing oil and gas safely and responsibly to help meet the world’s energy needs. Harbour is headquartered in London with approximately 5,000 staff and contractors across its operations and offices. 

Ours is an inclusive workplace where individuals can bring their whole selves to their job and feel recognised for the value they add. We are committed to creating a genuinely inclusive and supportive working environment to ensure everyone has a positive experience at work.

At Harbour Energy, we aim to recruit, retain and promote our people based on their unique skills, regardless of race, gender or background. We need excellent people to help shape and develop the future of our company. Could this be you?

If so, we want to hear from you.

Purpose of Role:

• Responsible for providing financial control, performance management, cost stewardship, and commercial support for the Zama development project, a large-scale offshore oil and gas Joint Venture operated in Mexico.
• The role ensures robust financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and reporting processes across the project lifecycle, supporting effective decision-making and safeguarding value creation for Harbour Energy and JV partners. The position acts as a key interface between Finance, Development, Operations, Supply Chain, Drilling, Subsurface, Contracts & Procurement, and JV stakeholders to ensure alignment between technical execution, commercial obligations, and financial performance.
• It plays a critical role in maintaining compliance with Production Sharing Contract (PSC) requirements, Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) obligations, internal governance standards, and Mexican regulatory frameworks, while ensuring transparency, accuracy, and timely delivery of project financial information.
• In addition, the role will coordinate partner audits for non-operated licenses, ensuring transparency, adherence to industry standards, and effective collaboration across all parties involved in the joint account (JV).

Critical Responsibilities (MAE/MATTE/HSES*):

• Ensure that all activities are carried out in a safe manner complying with all regulatory requirements, legislation and Harbour Energy HSES Procedures.  

Ethics and Compliance Responsibilities:

• Ensure that all activities and behaviours are carried out in accordance with Harbour Energy’s Ethics and Compliance Policies and Procedures and to complete any compulsory compliance training as required.
• Oversees compliance with local and international financial regulatory requirements, enhancing the organization’s reputation for financial probity.

Areas of Accountability, Responsibility and Competence:

Financial Planning & Performance Management

• Lead preparation and consolidation of annual budgets, long-range plans, quarterly forecasts, and strategic financial outlooks for the Zama project.
• Coordinate project cost forecasting activities with technical and operational teams to ensure realistic and accurate projections.
• Monitor and analyse capital expenditures (CAPEX), operating expenditures (OPEX), commitments, accruals, and cash flow performance against approved budgets and AFEs.
• Develop financial performance analyses, trend evaluations, and variance reporting to support project management and executive decision-making.
• Support scenario modelling, investment evaluations, and financial sensitivities for project development decisions.
• Ensure alignment between SAP, corporate reporting tools, JV budgets, and government reporting requirements.

Cost Control & Commercial Stewardship

• Ensure effective project cost control processes are implemented and maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
• Review and challenge cost estimates, commitments, purchase requisitions, contracts, and change orders to support cost optimization and value assurance.
• Monitor contractor spending, procurement activities, and project commitments to identify cost risks and mitigation opportunities.
• Coordinate with Contracts & Procurement and project teams to ensure proper financial administration and compliance of major contracts.
• Support development and monitoring of project KPIs, S-curves, cost tracking tools, and project performance dashboards.
• Ensure timely preparation and review of cash calls, partner billings, and Joint Account statements.

Joint Venture & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a finance focal point for JV partners on project financial matters, ensuring transparency, consistency, and compliance with JV agreements.
• Support preparation of materials and financial presentations for Operating Committee, Technical Committee, Budget Committee, and partner meetings.
• Coordinate responses to partner queries related to budgets, forecasts, expenditures, and financial performance.
• Support the management and coordination of partner audits, ensuring timely resolution of findings and proper documentation.
• Foster strong collaboration between internal functions and external stakeholders to ensure alignment on financial and commercial objectives.

Compliance, Governance & Reporting

• Ensure compliance with IFRS, corporate accounting policies, Joint Operating Agreements, Production Sharing Contracts, and Mexican regulatory requirements.
• Support cost recovery processes and ensure expenditures are properly documented, classified, and recoverable under contractual frameworks.
• Coordinate and review financial reporting packages for internal management, JV partners, auditors, and government authorities.
• Support preparation of statutory financial statements, internal and external audits, and internal control activities.
• Identify financial, operational, and compliance risks and support development of mitigation actions.
• Promote continuous improvement initiatives within project controlling, reporting, systems, and governance processes.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Ensure integrity, consistency, and reliability of financial data across SAP and project reporting systems.
• Drive process standardization, automation, and reporting enhancements to improve efficiency and data quality.
• Support implementation and optimization of project control tools, cost tracking methodologies, and financial dashboards.
• Contribute to the development and strengthening of internal controls and finance procedures.

Operator Audit & JV Assurance

• Plan, coordinate, and execute financial and cost audits of the Operator in accordance with Joint Operating Agreements (JOA) and applicable audit rights.
• Review Operator expenditures, cost allocations, and accounting practices to ensure compliance with contractual terms, cost recovery rules, and applicable regulations.
• Assess adequacy of supporting documentation, procurement processes, and contractor charges to validate transparency and value for money.
• Identify potential cost disallowances, inefficiencies, or non-compliance issues, and quantify financial exposure or recovery opportunities.
• Coordinate audit activities with internal stakeholders (Finance, Legal, Technical) and external advisors where required.
• Lead the preparation and communication of audit findings, recommendations, and recovery positions to JV partners and Operator.
• Track and follow up on audit findings, claims, and resolution status, ensuring timely closure and proper financial adjustments.
• Support audit negotiations with the Operator, providing financial analysis and commercial insights to protect company interests.
• Maintain audit documentation, evidence, and audit trails in line with governance and internal control requirements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of audit strategies, procedures, and risk-based audit planning.

Critical Skills*, Qualifications, Experience, etc.:

Technical Skills

• Expertise in financial regulation compliance, particularly in the oil & gas sector.
• Proficient in the use of SAP and other financial management systems.

Non-Technical Skills

• Strong leadership and team management abilities.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of articulating complex financial information to diverse audiences.

Professional Experience

• Proven experience supporting large-scale capital projects, preferably offshore development projects and Joint Ventures.
• Strong understanding of project economics, CAPEX management, forecasting, and project performance reporting.
• Experience working within Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), Joint Operating Agreements (JOA), and cost recovery environments in Mexico is highly desirable.
• Experience coordinating with multidisciplinary project teams and external stakeholders.
• Experience supporting audits, governance processes, and regulatory reporting.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field.
• Professional accounting qualification (e.g. CPA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) preferred.

Language

• English: Proficient (written and spoken).
• Spanish: Intermediate or above.

Harbour Principles and Values

• Strong alignment with Harbour Energy’s core values, behaviours, and commitment to operational excellence and integrity.

Inclusive recruitment is a vital part of our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. Whatever your background, if you feel you need an adjustment during our selection process to suit your needs, please let us know, and we will be happy to help.

For further information or support on any of these points, please reach out to us at careers@harbourenergy.com