Stuart P.
About me
| Stuart P. | |
| Psychology | |
| Psychology | |
| Undergraduate | |
| James | |
| 1999 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Director of Supply Chain, Decommissioning & HR | |
| UK Government - North Sea Transition Authority | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Environment and energy | |
| Medium-size business (50-249 employees) | |
| 2015 |
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A day in the life of a Director of Supply Chain, Decommissioning & HR in the United Kingdom
Relax, breathe and don't panic about the person next to you in class who's landed a job before you.
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
The NSTA is the UK government's regulator for the management of - and transition of - the UK's oil and gas resources, and for licensing Carbon storage - a key part of achieving Net Zero
What do you do?
My role has three elements: I lead our work with the industry's supply chain (80% of the 200,000 people in our sector work in the supply chain), I'm responsible for our Decommissioning organisation who are tasked with ensuring the UK's oil and gas industry decommissions its platforms, pipelines and terminals effectively and in a way that protects the tax payer. Finally I'm the HR Director for the organisation, running that function to attract, retain, develop and reward top quality staff
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
A desire to work in the energy sector which is fascinating - and sometimes contentious - and to do so for an organisation protecting the national interest: securing jobs, companies and revenues for the UK
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
Yes, I thought I'd be working as a Clinical Psychologist by now....maybe one day!
Describe your most memorable day at work
I've been lucky in this job to work with a wide range of government officials and politicians - a high point (and an example of not taking yourself too seriously) was a day when the afternoon was taken up with hosting the then Prime Minister and briefing him and his team. The morning of that day was spent, in the same meeting room, ironing 20 table cloths that I'd hurriedly purchased from Costco the night before to make the room look nicer.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
Loads.
I work in an industry that is often challenged - sometimes fairly, sometimes less so - and I'm privileged to be a public servant accountable to parliament and the public. This means that the level of scrutiny and review in our work is high (rightly so) but that can feel quite different to my previous private sector roles.
What’s your work environment and culture like?
Based heavily around our core values of being Robust, Fair, Accountable and Considerate.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I worked in theatre which did involve a fair amount of organisation, planning and willingness to test and retest ideas - all of which featured in my career
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
Relax, breathe and don't panic about the person next to you in class who's landed a job before you.
You will almost certainly "get to have" multiple careers (I suspect retirement will be a different concept in 45 years' time) and so don't get caught by advice from people who have a frame of reference including "a job for life"
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
Anything (within reason...!)
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
In addition to my day job, I'm really lucky that I have two extra-curricular roles. I'm the Chairman of the Brightside Trust - a youth mentoring charity that works with around 20,000 young people each year, and I'm a member of the National Advisory Board for Barnardo's Scotland - the country's biggest children's charity
Next steps...
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