Do you want to be a part of the future of energy?

A diverse range of thinking, experience and skills are valued at Shell and are crucial to the future of the energy transition. From HR to digital analysis to trading, Shell staff are working in new and innovative ways to develop and support the energy solutions of today and tomorrow. The scope is global and the challenges are exciting.

At Shell we are focused on delivering more value with less emissions, and this means finding innovative ways to optimise existing processes and systems, as well as developing the technologies and solutions of the future. It is also evident in many other areas of expertise such as finance, procurement and HR.

Digitising our finance processes

Finance is one field where this focus on innovation can be seen. After graduating with a degree in Accounting and Finance and working for a local accounting firm, Aaron joined Shell as a credit analyst. Currently he is developing training programmes to upskill 120 finance professionals in modern tools and processes like Power BI and SharePoint Workflows.

“Providing people with the skills to automate manual and repetitive tasks helps focus and channel their time and ideas towards further innovation. It allows us to broaden mindsets, challenge traditional ways of doing things and ultimately deliver more value with less emissions.”

Optimising our supply chains

New digital technologies are making a difference right across the company, including in contracting and procurement. Heng is a digital analyst in the Digital Game Changer Lab, part of Shell’s Contracting and Procurement team, a role in which he not only works with the latest technology but also helps develop solutions that can drive the energy solutions of today and tomorrow.

“I work with technology like artificial intelligence and natural language processing to find solutions that help secure a more efficient, safe and sustainable supply chain for Shell,” Heng says. “The intensive reports that we produce enable Shell to invest in innovations that contribute to supporting its net-zero emission goals.”

Heng graduated from university two years ago and he says that tackling a new problem in a new area of business with new technology is both daunting and exhilarating. “Imagine not knowing anything on day one and, after conversations with multiple stakeholders and hours of research, acquiring a strong foundational understanding of a new area of business or technology. It’s an amazing feeling,” he says.

At Shell, Heng has played a role in developing solutions that support energy security, which ultimately helps to balance the electrical grid, power industry, and ship cargoes where and when they are needed globally. “One needs to understand the energy trilemma to be able to truly serve people and communities. There’s the energy transition that we are continuously working towards. But there is also energy security and energy equity. Communities around the world need to receive reliable, stable energy that is affordable and delivered to them in the most carbon-efficient way.”

Reducing our customers’ carbon footprint

As part of the Customer Operations team in Singapore and Hong Kong, Bryan supports the growing lubricants business in the region and works closely with its customers to deliver value and help them reach their goals. He loves the unpredictability of his role. “You could be managing anything from a customer issue to a stock shortfall to a pricing issue,” he says. “You can seldom foresee what is coming your way and each time you face a new challenge you get to engage with stakeholders across the value chain and learn something new.”

By building these close relationships with businesses, Bryan is helping to create an active feedback loop which can be analysed, turned into valuable insights and contribute to creating more and cleaner energy solutions that can be adopted and scaled on the ground.

For Bryan, you don’t need to be working with energy production to have an impact on the energy transition. “All of us can do our bit to facilitate the energy transition,” he says. “In my current role, I get to make a direct contribution by encouraging and supporting customers to adopt more energy-saving products and solutions.”

Bryan’s aims are to drive initiatives that will contribute more fundamentally to the energy transition. “Even in Shell’s Lubricants business that I currently work in, for example, the company has introduced several carbon-neutral products like the Shell Helix Ultra series, that show its commitment to transformation by helping customers reduce their carbon footprint and achieve better performance,” he says. “I want to learn, grow and play a bigger role in energy transition efforts.”

Finding better solutions for our existing assets

Again and again, Shell’s employees describe a mindset of constantly seeking better energy solutions and ways of working. For many it’s about looking beyond the obvious. Daniel works as a project manager in Shell’s mobility business and has won awards for his work on projects such as deploying solar PV systems across 300 mobility stations and introducing high performance charging networks. But he believes sustainability extends beyond new energy assets.

“It’s also about looking into more sustainable methods and materials to make existing assets, like our retail stations, more efficient,” he says. “This could be something as simple as replacing conventional clay bricks during planned maintenance with recycled waste materials that are more energy efficient to produce, or deploying solar panels for a clean source of electricity. Or even harvesting rainwater for on-site toilets. It all adds up.”

Creating teams to lead the net zero future

Employees throughout the company are embracing new opportunities. Ching was asked to build a first-of-its-kind services team to offer critical assistance to Shell businesses around the world, including new and renewable energy projects.

“It’s a rare opportunity, almost like moving to a start-up but with the stable backing of a large organisation,” she says. “From arriving at the core nature of our offerings, to charting our future scope and scale, to listing out the competencies we want, to build to picking the first set of team members, it has been one of the most fulfilling phases of my professional life.”

In just over a year, Ching grew the team from an initial 50 to a continuously expanding 140 members, operating out of three countries. A sizeable chunk of the assets that the team supports play a crucial part in enabling Shell’s journey to become a net-zero emissions business. “I’m thoroughly invested in and aligned with Shell’s energy transition efforts; it’s a part of our DNA. That mindset reflects in our efforts, which include constantly developing and refining ways in which we can utilise our collective experiences and skills to successfully serve numerous renewable energy projects that we take on.”

No matter where you work in Shell, you will still be playing a part in developing the energy solutions of today and tomorrow. What’s more, you’ll be challenged to embrace diverse experiences and build new, cutting-edge skills.

For Ching, building an entire new team from scratch is only the start. She is now focusing on using digitalisation and automation to operate more efficiently and free up people’s time to focus on new energy solutions. She sums up what it feels like to work at Shell right now: “There has been a shift within the organisation as we challenge established norms.”

Across Shell globally, we are focused on where we can deliver the most value and the greatest impact by constantly looking for better ways to do business.