Chief Operations Officer – Marine MRO / Ship Repair | Saudi Arabia
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Key skills for this role
Role Overview
A confidential international search is seeking a Chief Operations Officer for an established marine maintenance, repair, and overhaul business in Saudi Arabia.
The role is for a senior marine operations leader with direct ship repair or MRO experience and responsibility for the full commercial and operational demands of the business.
Candidates whose experience is primarily new-build shipbuilding without substantial ship repair or MRO exposure will not be considered.
Key Skills for This Role
Full Job Posting
Executive Search Overview
A confidential international search is seeking a Chief Operations Officer for an established marine maintenance, repair, and overhaul business in Saudi Arabia.
The role is for a senior marine operations leader with direct ship repair or MRO experience and responsibility for the full commercial and operational demands of the business.
Candidates whose experience is primarily new-build shipbuilding without substantial ship repair or MRO exposure will not be considered.
Operational Leadership
- Lead overall ship repair and MRO operations for safe, timely, high-quality, and commercially successful project delivery.
- Drive operational strategy, productivity, capacity utilization, profitability, and continuous improvement.
- Oversee vessel repair, maintenance, docking, overhaul, fabrication, and associated marine service activities.
- Lead multidisciplinary operations, production, and project teams, including manpower planning, performance, and organizational development.
- Manage operational budgets, project costs, resources, and productivity while improving efficiency and margins.
- Build relationships with ship owners, customers, suppliers, regulatory bodies, and other key stakeholders.
- Establish operational, safety, quality, and performance standards supporting continued MRO growth.
Required Profile
- Degree in marine engineering, mechanical engineering, naval architecture, offshore engineering, or a related discipline.
- Strong and proven marine MRO or ship repair experience is essential.
- Extensive experience in ship repair, vessel maintenance, dry docking, overhaul, marine fabrication, or marine technical services.
- Proven senior leadership managing large multidisciplinary operations, production, project, or shipyard teams.
- Strong understanding of ship repair operations, production planning, manpower utilization, cost management, and project delivery.
- Demonstrated improvement of operational efficiency, productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
- Strong commercial acumen and experience balancing operational performance with business objectives.
- Experience with international customers, ship owners, suppliers, classification societies, and regulatory authorities.
- Middle East or Saudi Arabia experience would be an advantage.
Target Background
- The search targets leaders from ship repair, marine MRO, dry docking, vessel maintenance, overhaul, shipyard repair, marine fabrication, or marine technical services.
- The ideal candidate has direct operational leadership within an MRO environment rather than only general maritime, offshore, or new-build shipbuilding experience.
Location
- The opportunity is based in Saudi Arabia.
- No specific remote, hybrid, onsite, or field arrangement is stated.
Employment Information
- The source identifies the opportunity as a contract role through structured posting data.
- No salary or compensation cadence is specified.
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