Director, Corporate Development & CoE

At Motiva, our employees’ energy, passion, and dedication to excellence are what make us who we are and what allows us to generate energy that makes a house a home, gets us from point A to point B, and enables our health and wellbeing. We invest in every aspect of our employees’ lives because, at Motiva, our people matter.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products throughout the Americas. The company’s Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex in Port Arthur, TX, is comprised of North America’s largest refinery with a total throughput of 720,000 barrels per day, the largest base oil plant in the western hemisphere, and an integrated chemical plant. Under exclusive long-term brand licenses with Shell and Phillips 66 (for the 76® brand), Motiva’s commercial operations supply more than 12 billion gallons of fuel to customers annually. Motiva is wholly owned by Aramco, one of the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies.

Position Overview:

The Director, Corporate Development & Center of Excellence, serves as a key enterprise leader responsible for driving Motiva’s corporate development agenda from concept through execution. This role oversees all aspects of strategic project development, including business case formulation, commercial structuring, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined advancement through Motiva’s gated governance processes (EGB, VAR, CCRB, and P7). The Director will lead complex, cross-functional initiatives that define Motiva’s future portfolio—spanning refining, chemicals, logistics, retail, and new ventures—while ensuring each project is grounded in robust financial, operational, and strategic fundamentals.

This leader will direct a high-performing team of subject matter experts (SMEs). These SMEs will support the Director in developing business cases, conducting valuations, preparing executive governance materials, and engaging Aramco and Motiva leadership with data-driven insights. The Director will set clear priorities, allocate resources effectively, and ensure all corporate development projects progress with rigor, transparency, and full compliance with governance requirements.

As the program manager and executive integrator for Motiva’s enterprise growth pipeline, the Director will guide teams through concept selection, due diligence, and approval gates—driving momentum and alignment across multiple stakeholders. The Director will also champion commercial negotiations, ensuring that economic structures, risk allocation, and partnership terms are optimized to capture value for Motiva while maintaining alignment with Aramco’s governance expectations.

The Director will routinely prepare and deliver high-impact presentations to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), Motiva Board, and Aramco executive forums—translating complex analyses into clear, actionable recommendations. The role demands exceptional executive presence, commercial acumen, and the ability to influence across technical and financial domains to support enterprise-level decision-making.

In parallel, the Director will champion the Center of Excellence (CoE) as a platform for cross-functional collaboration and capability building across Motiva and Aramco. The CoE team will provide subject-matter support and benchmarking as requested for Aramco, ensuring best practices, performance analytics, and continuous improvement are embedded across project workstreams.

Ultimately, this role combines strategic leadership, commercial negotiation, governance execution, and enterprise stakeholder management—bridging corporate development delivery with Aramco alignment to advance Motiva’s long-term growth and value creation.

Responsibilities

- Oversee Motiva’s corporate development portfolio, ensuring all strategic initiatives and partnerships are value-accretive, aligned with enterprise priorities, and advanced through the full governance pathway with discipline and transparency.

- Lead enterprise-level strategic, investment, and third-party partnership projects, including refining, chemicals, base oils, retail, logistics, and new ventures that shape Motiva’s long-term growth.

- Direct a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts (SMEs)to deliver robust analyses, valuations, and recommendations that enable informed executive decisions.

- Drive and support commercial negotiations with internal and external stakeholders for joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, and third-party logistics or infrastructure agreements, ensuring optimal economic and strategic outcomes for Motiva.

- Oversee the development and delivery of executive presentations and governance materials for the ELT, Board, and Aramco forums, translating complex data into concise, actionable insights.

- Ensure projects advance effectively through stage gates, maintaining alignment with governance, risk, financial, and operational standards across Motiva and Aramco.

- Partner with Finance, Legal, and Operations to integrate business cases, risk assessments, and economic models into corporate decision-making.

- Serve as the primary interface with Aramco and affiliates, ensuring transparency, compliance, and alignment across governance processes and partnership initiatives.

- Champion the Center of Excellence (CoE) as a mechanism for cross-functional collaboration and continuous improvement, ensuring CoE resources provide timely, responsive support to Aramco’s strategic priorities.

- Foster a culture of commercial excellence, accountability, and executional discipline, enabling sustained performance and long-term value creation across all development activities.

Experience and Qualifications:

Required Education and Experience

- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Economics, Finance, Business, or a related field

- 15+ years of experience in the oil & gas industry, with deep exposure to downstream and midstream segments

- Proven leadership in corporate development, innovation, or strategic planning roles

- Strong commercial acumen and understanding of joint ventures and private equity structures

- Demonstrated leadership across both organic and inorganic growth initiatives, including capital investment, partnerships, and transactions.

- Demonstrated ability to develop creative commercial solutions and drive strategic growth

- Effective stakeholder management and negotiation skills

- Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities across all organizational levels

- Self-directed with strong decision-making and prioritization capabilities

Preferred Education and Experience

- Master’s degree in Business, Engineering, or related discipline

- Expertise in project economic principles, including DCF modeling

- Experience developing and executing structured commercial opportunities with diverse partnering strategies

- Track record of driving innovation and excellence through formalized business processes

- Detail-oriented with strong analytical skills and ability to distill complex challenges into actionable strategies

We reserve the right to amend or withdraw Motiva jobs at any time, including prior to the closing date. Depending on qualifications, the successful candidate may be offered a position at a more appropriate level and/or grade.

Applicants for regular U.S. positions must be authorized to work in the United States for Motiva Enterprises LLC without the need for sponsorship of an immigration authorization or visa (for example, TN, H-1B, or other employment-based immigration authorization or visa).

Motiva participates in E-Verify.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, citizenship, genetic information, or other protected status under federal, state, or local laws.