Manager, Operations

Job Type:
Regular
Plains is an industry-leading transportation and midstream provider specializing in transportation, storage, processing and marketing solutions for crude oil. We own an extensive network of pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage and gathering assets in key oil producing basins and transportation corridors and at major market hubs in the United States and Canada. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
We’re on the lookout for passionate self‑starters who thrive in fast‑moving, collaborative, and innovative environments.
Position Summary
The St. James Terminal Operations Manager leads safe, compliant, reliable, and commercially responsive operations across the St. James terminal complex. The role has accountability for personnel, asset integrity, operating discipline, emergency readiness, maintenance coordination, opex and capital expense planning, upholding customer relations and execution of crude-oil movements across land, marine, trucking and rail operations.
St. James is a high-complexity blending and logistics terminal that can execute multiple simultaneous movements. The asset base includes the Main Terminal, Crude Mini, Crude West, Tri-Terminal, barge dock, ship docks, methanol dock, truck LACT, and rail system.
Key AccountabilitiesLeadership, Safety, and Compliance
Lead a safety-first culture for employees, contractors, and visitors; establish clear expectations for Stop Work Authority, hazard identification, incident prevention, and operating discipline.
Ensure terminal activities comply with company procedures, permits, applicable DOT requirements, environmental obligations, marine requirements, and rail safety standards.
Lead incident, near-miss, spill, and operating-event investigations; ensure timely corrective actions, lessons learned, and field verification of closeout.
Maintain terminal emergency-response readiness, including drills, equipment availability, communications, mutual-aid coordination, and response plans for impacts near waterways, highways, railroads, public areas, and environmentally sensitive locations.
Serve as the accountable field leader during significant operational disruptions, emergency events, or complex changeovers.
Operations Management
Direct day-to-day terminal operations, ensuring the safe execution of receipts, deliveries, transfers, blending, storage, measurement, sampling, and product segregation.
Coordinate with the Operations Control Center (OCC), schedulers, commercial teams, maintenance, measurement, engineering, environmental, and marine stakeholders to safely execute the operating plan.
Ensure local operators are prepared to perform field execution, lineups, equipment checks, communications, documentation, and handovers for scheduled movements.
Manage operational priorities during simultaneous movements, tank or manifold switches, startups, shutdowns, maintenance windows, and changing schedules.
Establish performance routines that review throughput, losses/gains, demurrage exposure, schedule performance, equipment availability, quality, and safety metrics.
Landside Assets and Responsibilities
Provide operating and maintenance leadership for the Main Terminal, Crude Mini, Crude West, and Tri-Terminal systems, including tanks, manifolds, pumps, meters, truck LACT, and associated controls.
Ensure tank integrity, overfill prevention, level-management controls, relief systems, shutdown devices, meters, provers, PLCs, and SCADA-related operating safeguards are maintained, tested, and managed through the appropriate inspection and maintenance programs.
Coordinate pipeline interconnect operations and manage operating interfaces with inbound and outbound lines, including bi-directional movement capability where applicable.
Provide operational input to support groups to continue to efficiently run preventive programs including low flow analysis, deadleg piping reviews, NDT and ILI runs.
Marine and Dock Responsibilities
Direct safe, efficient marine operations for ship, ocean-going barge, inland-barge, crude, and methanol movements.
Ensure each dock operation has a qualified local Person in Charge (PIC), clear transfer plan, defined communications, completed pre-transfer requirements, and alignment with Marine Scheduler dock orders.
Manage marine operating readiness for three separate berths, including product segregation, flush requirements, tank availability, line alignment, docking interfaces, transfer equipment, measurement, sampling, and documentation.
Coordinate berth scheduling and operational interfaces with marine schedulers, vessel representatives, inspectors, dock personnel, contractors, and OCC.
Ensure dock inspections, hose/loading-arm integrity, containment, firefighting systems, emergency shutdowns, access controls, lighting, communications, and spill-response equipment remain fit for service.
Lead management of waterborne-transfer risks, including simultaneous operations, product changes, vessel interfaces, weather impacts, and abnormal operating conditions.
Rail Responsibilities
Lead safe receipt operations at the Heavy Rail Receipt Terminal, including train arrival readiness, unloading plans, track access, operator qualifications, contractor coordination, inspection requirements, and emergency response.
Ensure safe operation and maintenance of the rail-terminal pumps, meters, prover access, heating-related equipment, loading/unloading connections, containment, and associated controls.
Manage interfaces with rail carriers, rail service providers, inspectors, and maintenance teams; ensure switching, spotting, securement, unloading, and release activities are planned and executed safely.
Maintain rail-specific operating procedures, training, inspection records, abnormal-condition response plans, and corrective-action tracking.
Drive rail asset reliability and throughput while protecting product quality, personnel safety, and environmental performance.
Maintenance, Reliability, and Capital
Partner with maintenance and reliability teams to develop and execute inspection, preventive-maintenance, corrective-maintenance, and outage plans.
Prioritize critical work on pumps, tanks, manifolds, valves, measurement systems, PLCs, control equipment, dock equipment, rail-unloading systems, and safety-critical devices.
Ensure work-control processes are effective, including isolation, permitting, lockout/tagout, contractor management, pre-job planning, post-maintenance testing, and return-to-service verification.
Sponsor asset-improvement and capital projects that improve safety, integrity, capacity, operating flexibility, reliability, or commercial performance.
Maintain disciplined management of operating and capital budgets, contractors, materials, and spares.
People and Stakeholder Leadership
Lead, coach, develop, and hold accountable terminal superv