BP – international tech recruitment of senior product owners

Tsiala Jobava

BP is one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies, headquartered in London and operating in over 70 countries. With over a century of history and a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, BP is committed to transforming the energy sector through innovation and sustainability. In addition to its core operations in oil and gas, the company is actively investing in low-carbon technologies and digital solutions to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

BP partnered with DevsData LLC to source top-tier Senior Product Owners across three countries, the UK, Australia, and Mexico, for one of their core enterprise digital platforms supporting global operations. The engagement spanned two months and addressed challenges that are typical for corporate-level international hiring.

Project highlights

The client, BP (formerly known as British Petroleum), engaged us to recruit four Senior Product Owners as part of their global digital transformation efforts in enterprise product management. The positions were strategically distributed across key regions, with two roles based in the UK, one in Australia, and one in Mexico.

The recruitment process spanned approximately two months, from the initial briefing to final hire, and followed a contingency-based international executive search model. Given the global scope, the roles required fluency in English, with Spanish also necessary for the Mexico placement.

Collaboration involved a diverse group of stakeholders, including HR representatives, department heads, internal recruiters, and legal and compliance teams across all three countries. The project required seamless coordination across time zones and functions to ensure a successful outcome in a high-stakes, fast-paced environment.

Short summary

In 2021, DevsData LLC partnered with BP to recruit four high-performing Senior Product Owners, each responsible for a core module within one of BP’s global digital platforms. While the broader project spanned two years, the actual recruitment was completed within a two-month window. Our role was to source and deliver top-tier candidates quickly, enabling BP to staff a critical digital initiative that continued well beyond the hiring phase. These positions played a key role in BP’s long-term digital transformation efforts, supporting sustainable energy operations. Recruitment required intense sourcing across multiple timezones and regions, navigating internal complexity, talent shortages, and strict corporate compliance standards.

“DevsData LLC met the client’s hiring goals with a very high offer acceptance rate and strong retention, with all hires remaining in their roles for over 18 months. ”

Client profile

BP (formerly British Petroleum) is a British multinational energy giant headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1908 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has evolved into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, with a rich legacy shaped by over a century of global operations, strategic mergers, and technological innovation.

With operations in over 70 countries and a global workforce exceeding 100,000 employees, BP operates across the entire energy value chain, from oil and gas exploration and production to refining, marketing, and distribution. The company reported annual revenue of over $189 billion in 2024, reflecting its scale and continued relevance in both traditional and emerging energy markets.

As part of its long-term transformation strategy, BP is heavily investing in digital innovation and low-carbon technologies to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. These investments extend beyond renewable energy to include enterprise digital platforms that enhance operational efficiency and global coordination. One such core platform, supporting BP’s day-to-day operations across multiple regions, required seasoned Senior Product Owners to guide its evolution. DevsData LLC was brought in to lead this challenging recruitment initiative across the UK, Australia, and Mexico.

Challenge

This recruitment initiative presented one of the most complex hiring landscapes DevsData LLC had encountered, due to its international scale, high-level stakeholder expectations, and the technical specialization required for the roles. Each region had distinct legal, cultural, and economic requirements, and the client’s internal environment demanded flawless coordination and agility. Below are the key challenges we faced:

1. Multiple markets

Hiring across the UK, Australia, and Mexico demanded navigation of distinct employment regulations, regional salary benchmarks, tax frameworks, and timezone coordination. For instance, while BP UK required immediate on-site availability and expertise in EU regulatory compliance, BP Mexico prioritized bilingual capabilities and cost efficiency. Australia had a smaller talent pool, demanding wider outreach and relocation options.

2. Role complexity

These were not standard product management roles. Each Product Owner was responsible for a business-critical product area valued at $5M–$12M annually in operational impact. They were expected to lead geographically dispersed Agile teams of 10–25 members, engage in strategic planning with VP-level stakeholders, and demonstrate hands-on expertise in backlog prioritization, product roadmap delivery, and cross-functional leadership.

3. Internal processes

BP’s internal hiring mechanism included strict multi-stage approvals, involving HR leads, global recruitment operations, and legal/compliance teams in each geography. Each role had to be aligned with local systems and protocols, which varied by region. For example, Australia and Mexico operated different versions of the applicant tracking system (ATS) and onboarding platforms. To align with these workflows, DevsData LLC customized its recruitment delivery process by adapting documentation formats, synchronizing timelines with BP’s approval gates, and maintaining compliance with data privacy standards, such as GDPR. We also coordinated directly with BP’s security and legal teams to ensure that each candidate passed pre-boarding validation, helping to avoid bottlenecks and accelerate the onboarding process.

4. Vendor competition

DevsData LLC operated as a trusted external recruitment partner within BP’s multi-vendor hiring framework. While BP engaged several recruitment providers, including global firms and internal sourcing teams, our role focused on end-to-end talent delivery for high-priority Product Owner roles. This included candidate sourcing, initial qualification, technical and behavioral vetting, and preparation for BP’s formal interview process. Our team thoroughly evaluated every candidate before they were passed on to BP’s internal interview stages. Our recruiters also coordinated closely with HR and hiring managers to ensure alignment on expectations, timelines, and compliance. In a competitive environment, we consistently outperformed other vendors in speed, candidate quality, and stakeholder engagement, earning a preferred status for strategic roles across multiple regions.

5. Talent scarcity

The talent market for Senior Product Owners with a background in global-scale digital product management, experience in Agile at scale (including SAFe frameworks), and sector exposure to heavily regulated industries like energy, pharmaceuticals, or FinTech was highly limited. Many candidates either lacked experience with complex stakeholder ecosystems or had not previously worked in tri-continent, multi-timezone product delivery environments.

Goals

To meet BP’s demanding expectations, we established a set of clearly defined goals that guided the entire recruitment process. Our primary objective was to hire four senior product owners across three countries, delivering elite professionals capable of leading enterprise-scale product lines within BP’s core digital platforms. These roles were directly tied to improving operational efficiency and supporting global coordination, while also requiring the management of remote, cross-functional teams.

Compliance was another critical pillar of the project. Each hire needed to align with local labor laws, such as the UK’s IR35 regulations and Mexico’s subcontractor policies, as well as BP’s internal hiring protocols, including background checks and vendor standards.

Given the international scope, we placed strong emphasis on stakeholder alignment. We facilitated clear and regular communication across three continents to keep hiring teams, HR personnel, and business managers fully synchronized throughout the process.

Speed was essential, but not at the expense of quality. Our goal was to present a strong shortlist for each region within 15 business days and complete all hiring within two months, navigating multi-stage approval processes without delay. At the same time, we worked to preserve a positive candidate experience by providing consistent feedback, onboarding guidance, and timely updates, helping reduce drop-off rates despite extended decision timelines.

Discovery phase

Understanding the complexity of BP’s internal and external requirements, we initiated the engagement with a comprehensive discovery phase designed to establish alignment and eliminate ambiguity from the outset.

We conducted multiple in-depth stakeholder alignment calls with HR leads and hiring managers across the UK, Australia, and Mexico. These conversations helped us gain a nuanced understanding of internal workflows, cultural expectations, and the specific skills and experience required for each role.

Next, we collaborated closely with BP’s internal teams to refine and clarify job descriptions that were initially ambiguous. Together, we established clear definitions around ownership expectations, reporting lines, KPIs, and team structures to ensure everyone involved had a shared understanding of the role profiles.

To ensure strong market alignment, we benchmarked salary expectations using DevsData LLC’s proprietary global tech salary database. This allowed us to establish realistic salary bands for each location, taking into account inflation, cost-of-living differences, and preferences for remote or hybrid work.

We also localized the hiring strategy by building three parallel talent pipelines tailored to each region’s specific requirements: remote-readiness for candidates in Mexico, compliance-heavy coordination in the UK, and relocation feasibility for Australia.

Finally, we defined mutual Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and structured candidate scorecards, enabling consistent evaluation across all stakeholders and geographic regions. This structured approach laid the foundation for a smooth and efficient recruitment process.

Our approach

A customized and highly responsive methodology was designed to ensure successful delivery:

To meet BP’s global hiring demands, DevsData LLC deployed a structured and region-specific recruitment strategy. We combined timezone-aligned recruiter pods with rigorous technical and behavioral assessments, business-case simulations, and tailored candidate briefing kits. Shared dashboards and regular syncs facilitated stakeholder coordination, maintaining alignment and momentum across all locations.

This proven methodology has also delivered exceptional results in past engagements. For instance, in our collaboration with Memory AS, a Norwegian SaaS company, we rapidly sourced and hired two senior Ruby developers across Europe and Asia within just six weeks. The project helped them meet tight AI project deadlines and reduced their time-to-hire.

Execution & delivery

Execution was driven by a structured, SLA-aligned process designed to balance speed, quality, and compliance. From the first longlists to final onboarding, every step was tightly managed to meet BP’s internal standards while navigating the complexity of multi-region coordination.

– Initial qualified longlists were delivered within 10-12 business days for each location, aligned with previously agreed expectations.
– Each final shortlist included 4-6 high-caliber candidates, all vetted through a competency matrix mapped to BP’s internal performance expectations.
– We assisted in coordinating up to three interview rounds per candidate, offered negotiation coaching, and provided compliance checks in each country.
– All four selected candidates remained active throughout the process and accepted offers within 2-3 days of the final decision, a strong differentiator from competing vendors.
– All roles filled within 16 weeks from project kickoff, staying under the 4-month target window despite holidays, internal reschedules, and global coordination.

By handling sourcing, initial screening, technical and behavioral evaluations, and candidate preparation end-to-end, we significantly reduced the workload for BP’s internal HR and product leadership teams, saving over 200 hours across the engagement.

Technology stack

Candidates placed by DevsData LLC were proficient in the following tools and frameworks, as defined by BP’s expectations and project requirements. Each professional brought a strong mix of leadership, technical proficiency, and compliance awareness, tailored to the demands of a global enterprise environment.

In terms of leadership and stakeholder management, the selected candidates demonstrated a proven ability to lead cross-functional Agile teams, juggle competing priorities, and communicate effectively with VP-level stakeholders across different regions. They showed clear ownership of product vision, roadmap execution, and alignment with broader business objectives.

All candidates had a deep understanding of Agile methodologies at scale, particularly the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), which was essential for coordinating distributed teams and ensuring consistent delivery practices across global locations.

They were also proficient in project and collaboration tools central to BP’s workflows, including Jira for sprint and backlog tracking, Confluence for documentation, and Microsoft Teams for daily cross-team communication. For product planning and visualization, they utilized OKR-based systems and tools, including Miro, Figma, and Productboard, to define priorities and present strategic roadmaps.

Additionally, familiarity with Azure-based cloud architecture was a key asset, aligning with BP’s long-term digital infrastructure goals. Finally, all candidates demonstrated a solid understanding of GDPR, enterprise data access policies, and security protocols – critical for operating within a highly regulated, data-sensitive environment.

Results

Following months of dedicated collaboration, cross-border alignment, and tailored sourcing strategies, this engagement’s final results showcased successful delivery and long-term strategic value for BP. The outcomes went beyond filling roles; they demonstrated DevsData LLC’s ability to solve complex enterprise hiring problems and position our client for sustainable digital success.

– 100% role fulfillment with client satisfaction documented in follow-up meetings.
– 4 Senior Product Owners placed in under 4 months.
– Over 200 hours saved for internal HR and product leadership teams.
– 18+ months retention for all hires with continued performance validation.
– Process refinement: BP adopted parts of DevsData LLC’s candidate assessment structure for future roles.
– Preferred vendor status awarded to DevsData LLC for strategic product hiring roles in Europe and Latin America.

Quick Visual Recap

What’s next

Following the success of this initiative, BP has expanded discussions with DevsData LLC to assist in hiring UX Researchers and Technical Product Analysts for 2025–2026. Additionally, we are collaborating on refining their vendor briefing documentation to accelerate future hiring processes across their global digital product teams.

Contact DevsData LLC at general@devsdata.com or visit www.devsdata.com to learn more about their hiring approach.

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Tsiala Jobava Copywriter and Marketer

Tsiala Jobava is a talented marketing specialist from Georgia. Tsiala holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Georgian American University and a master’s in Marketing and Communication from Barcelona Business School. She has built a diverse career, working as a copywriter and in marketing and PR, before returning to her first passion – writing. Along the way, she has gained valuable experience in social media management, content creation, and brand development.

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