About the Role
We are seeking a UAE-based Senior Planner with 10+ years of planning and scheduling experience to support key design projects in the Properties & Buildings sector. The role will work closely with program leadership, project managers, and multidisciplinary design teams to develop and maintain integrated schedules, monitor progress, assess schedule risks, and support timely project delivery across bid and delivery stages.
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Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain a planning and project controls plan based on contractual requirements, defining scheduling, progress measurement, reporting, change control, and monitoring procedures.
- Develop, maintain, and update integrated design schedules, including work breakdown structures (WBS), baseline schedules, key milestones, and design deliverables, aligned with project and program objectives.
- Coordinate with program management and multidisciplinary delivery teams to capture scheduling inputs, define design interfaces and dependencies, and align schedules during bid and delivery stages.
- Analyse schedule performance, interdependencies, variances, float, constraints, and critical and longest paths; highlight risks and recommend corrective actions.
- Coordinate with resource managers to develop resource plans, identify capacity constraints, and optimize resource allocation across multiple design projects.
- Facilitate interactive planning sessions with program leadership and design delivery teams to agree sequencing, milestones, and delivery priorities.
- Prepare schedule narratives and document the basis of schedule, assumptions, constraints, and schedule risks.
- Assess delays and their impact on design deliverables and project milestones, and support the development of mitigation and recovery plans.
- Incorporate approved schedule variations, extensions of time (EOT), and scope changes, maintaining clear records of their impact on the baseline and forecast schedules.
- Develop and maintain resource- and cost-loaded schedules in line with project needs and client requirements.
- Establish and maintain progress measurement systems and produce S-curves and resource histograms to support performance monitoring.
- Prepare clear weekly and monthly progress reports, highlighting performance against baseline, key variances, risks, and required actions.
- Provide internal reporting on programme updates to project managers and programme leadership, covering milestone status, emerging issues, and delivery priorities.
- Produce look-ahead schedules to guide near-term design activities, deliverables, and coordination priorities.
- Participate in planning and scheduling meetings, communicate emerging issues, and coordinate agreed follow-up actions with project teams.
- Support peers and act as a checker of their planning deliverables, reviewing schedules, reports, and supporting documentation for accuracy, completeness, consistency, and alignment with contractual requirements and agreed planning standards.
- Provide guidance, mentoring, and training to less experienced planners to promote consistent planning practices across the business.
- Support Planning & Controls leadership in identifying and evaluating innovative solutions to streamline planning and project controls processes, improve efficiency, and promote continuous improvement.
Qualifications
- Minimum 10 years of planning and scheduling experience on building design projects, with exposure to a diverse portfolio including hospitality, commercial, industrial, institutional, and mixed-use developments.
- Sound understanding of design project planning and scheduling practices, including applicable industry regulations and standards.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams working across different locations and time zones.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present schedule information clearly and engage stakeholders at all levels.
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related discipline.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Project.
- Minimum 10 years of experience using Primavera P6, including developing and maintaining complex, resource- and cost-loaded schedules.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including functions, pivot tables, dashboards, and charts. Experience developing Excel macros is an advantage.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Visio.
- Proficiency in PBI
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and the ability to interpret complex project requirements, dependencies, and constraints.
