Senior Toolpusher

Ocean Deep Drilling ESV Nigeria Limited (“ODENL”), a leading offshore drilling company affiliated with the Valaris Group, a multinational in the offshore drilling sector, intends to recruit qualified senior professionals based in Nigeria.

Qualified national candidates are requested to submit their CVs and certificates to the following email addresses: info@odenl.com and stakeholder.recruitment@ncdmb.gov.ng until 20 January 2026.

Job Summary

The Sr Toolpusher oversees the drilling department and is the designated person responsible for coordinating safe and efficient operation objectives established by the Rig Manager and/or the OIM/Master. This position is responsible for decisions on well control, planning, permits, and operations being carried out during day or night operations. The Sr Toolpusher interacts with the customer to provide guidance with any changes in plans to escalate to higher authority.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Complies with and effectively contribute to the continuous improvement of Valaris’ Management System (VMS), Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) related policies and procedures, and relevant authority regulatory requirements.
• Acts as a safety leader ensuring the ongoing identification of hazards and the implementation of controls to manage the associated risks with a special focus on Permit to Work and Isolation procedures.
• Leads the drilling and subsea department in the planning of goals and objectives for the annual HSE plan.
• Plans and monitors the progress of the drilling operation and control all associated work in a safe and efficient manner, as defined in the drilling program.
• Promotes and maintains a good working relationship with customer representatives onboard.
• Maintains the hygiene and housekeeping onboard to the very high Valaris standards with a particular focus on escape routes.
• Organizes and supervises the activities of the drilling department and ensures Valaris work instructions are understood and observed by all crews.
• Ensures all rig/deck crews have the necessary competencies, training and skills to perform their tasks (i.e. through regular mentoring, appraisal and feedback to direct reports).
• Prepares the drilling department budget review and discuss with OIM/Master and Chief Engineer prior to submission to Rig Manager.
• Supervises all preventive maintenance or maintenance repairs occurring on drilling equipment.
• Plans and coordinates well control drills and ensure well control emergency procedures and responses are fully implemented and crew competencies/tickets are valid and current.
• Manages the daily IADC drilling report and ensure the morning drilling report is correct.
• Responsible for creating an environment in which open communications can occur within all departments, with all senior/junior crews as well as customers and third parties as required.
• Clearly and accurately communicate daily to customers, service contractors, OIM/Master and Chief Engineer; Provide detailed handover at the end of hitch.
• Exercises authority during emergencies and ensures appropriate action is taken, as well as all maintenance is upkept with emergency response equipment
• Ensures effective development of all rig personnel regarding their emergency duties.
• As an identified Barrier Authority (BA) under the Valaris Management System (VMS), integral to the management and control of Major Accident Hazards/Process Safety Risks. Responsible for the thorough and timely completion of assigned barrier integrity verification activities, as prescribed under VMS, for the assessment of associated deficiencies and, if applicable taking mitigating or corrective actions to the best of their competency, knowledge and ability

Qualifications and Experience

• Nigerian nationality
• Associate's degree in Technical /Engineering Degree
• 10 years deepwater offshore drilling experience including 7 years proven experience as Toolpusher or Performance Toolpusher.
• Supervisory Well Control Certificate.
• NOV 6th generation cyber chair experience
• Completion of all training and certification requirements for Sr. Toolpusher position as described in the Valaris training matrix.
• Must be Computer Literate.

Behaviors

As part of our commitment to fostering a high-performance culture, employees are expected to align their actions and decisions with the principles outlined in our Behavioral Framework. This framework serves as the foundation for our organizational culture and guides our behaviors to drive better outcomes across the company. Employees are responsible for incorporating these behaviors into their daily actions, relationships, and decision-making to help manage expectations, strengthen relationships, and contribute to the overall success of the organization.

Our five behaviors that define our culture are:

• Analyze & Plan – Being deliberate in understanding and describing the problem to solve and using information from a range of relevant sources to develop solutions that are effective and evidence-based.
• Collaborate – Collaborating effectively, sharing ideas, and leveraging one another’s strengths based on trust, transparency, and empathy, creating an environment where everyone’s input is valued.
• Communicate – Communicate clearly with all employees and stakeholders, ensuring active listening, understanding, and timely information sharing.
• Learn, Grow & Adapt – Building organizational capability through our own learning and development while coaching others and supporting others to adapt, learn, and develop.
• Deliver Results – Striving to deliver and exceed required results, identifying and overcoming obstacles, and taking responsibility for the outcome while respecting our values.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this job.It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

Valaris is an equal opportunity employer in all aspects of employment to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation or any other non-job- related factors.

<