Al Mutasim Al Sariri is the Social Investment Manager for Shell Development Oman. He talks about his background and his career with Shell to date...

I was born in the old city of Muscat, in a district called Waljat which, in the passing of time, has disappeared. I have 11 brothers and sisters and I am number seven. My father was in the Omani Military for many years and my mother, with 11 children, has been too busy being a mother to pursue a career.

I grew up and underwent my education in Muscat. After school I attended Sultan Qaboos University, from which I graduated with a Degree in Economics. Sultan Qaboos is regarded as one of the best universities in the region and I am proud to have studied there.

My relationship with Shell started whilst I was still at university. One of our tasks was to obtain work experience in our last year. A careers fair was held at the university and it was at this event that I met Mansour Al Amri from Shell. He told me to come and see him, so I did just that and asked him for a summer internship with Shell. A few days later I was offered the chance to apply for an interview for summer internship and was lucky enough to get a placement.

I was given a project to develop the operational manual for Shell’s Intilaaqah programme in Oman, which is a programme which backs young National entrepreneurs to set up and run their own businesses. This was an enormous challenge for me but I succeeded and completed the job in two months. Shell was pleased with this work and I was also very impressed with Shell.

Some months later a vacancy came up in Shell’s office in Oman and I was invited to apply. It was as a Marketing Officer for the Intilaaqah programme. I applied and was successful and I have been with Shell for over five years now. In that time I have moved from Intilaaqah to the External Affairs Department, where I began as Corporate Communications Manager.

I have always been good at communicating with people and making friends at all stages of my life. So for me to go into public relations was a natural thing to do. My work included direct communications with the media and managing media relationships, developing a corporate communications programme for Shell in Oman, event management and I was a member of the Crisis Management Team. Probably the most important part of the work that I carried out was in stakeholder engagement. This has been of great benefit to me in my present job as Social Investment Manager. In this role I am responsible for all of Shell’s Social Investment in Oman. The focus of the programme is mainly on the development and training of young Omanis to help them find suitable opportunities for employment in the Sultanate’s private sector.

Road safety is also a major issue in the Middle East and North Africa and this is especially true in Oman. Shell Development Oman has initiated a number of projects related to road safety, including awareness campaigns for children which are run in co-operation with the Ministry of Education and the Royal Oman Police.

We also support various charities and community groups. One of our latest projects has been to support the Sidab Women’s Sewing Group by providing members of the group with training to help them develop their skills, to upgrade their facilities and equipment and in the marketing of their products. Indeed, SDO now purchases products from the group, such as Eid greeting cards and traditional Omani bags, to use for corporate gifts.

One of my hobbies has always been to travel around Oman, visiting different regions and tribes. I believe that this has helped me to understand the different people in my country and their needs, and has enabled me to examine ways to support those needs and improve their lives.

I am very happy with my job at Shell and enjoy being in a position where I am able to help the people in Oman improve themselves. I have been empowered by Shell to take decisions and to be a part of the decision-making process for Social Investment projects. I am proud of the fact that today, at just 27, I am managing the whole programme and I am also proud of my country and of Shell.