Lead Planning Engineer

Confidential Company; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 450,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Company in Abu Dhabi seeks an experienced Planning Lead to oversee EPC project schedules, align with milestones, and drive recovery actions. You will develop baselines, monitor progress, and report performance to Client/PMC.

Expert Primavera P6 skills, strong CPM/EVM knowledge, and UAE ADNOC project experience are essential. Responsibilities include coordinating with Engineering, Procurement, Construction, QA/QC, HSE and subcontractors, integrating long-lead items and vendor

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil, Mechanical, or Petroleum Engineering.
• 15-18 years total planning experience, with 6+ years on ADNOC EPC projects.
• Proven EPC oil & gas, petrochemical, or refinery/pipeline project track record.
• Advanced Primavera P6 skills: baseline schedules, resource loading, progress updates.
• Strong CPM, WBS, EVM, S-curves, critical path & float analysis.
• Experience obtaining client/PMC approval for baselines (ADNOC preferred).
• Progress measurement systems (earned value) and productivity tracking.
• Monthly reports, dashboards, and client/PMC presentations.
• ADNOC coding structures and document control familiarity (CoP, manuals).
• EOT claims, delay analysis, and schedule impact assessments experience.
• Procurement-construction schedule integration (long-lead items, fabrication).
• Coordination with multi-discipline teams (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, QA/QC, HSE).
• Ability to lead/mentor a planning team on large-value projects.
• UAE experience mandatory; ADNOC pre-approval/vendor list preferred.
• MS Project, Excel (advanced), and Power BI/Tableau for reporting.
• PMP, PMI-SP, or Primavera certification is a plus.
• Immediate joiners or short notice period preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of EPC project schedules.
• Develop and maintain baseline schedules using Primavera P6 with ADNOC/PMC review.
• Conduct regular progress reviews, forecasting, and corrective actions.
• Monitor integrated schedule performance across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and close-out.
• Create detailed schedules (WBS, logic, critical path, milestones, resources, cost loading).
• Track planned vs. actual progress, earned value, and resource utilization.
• Prepare weekly/monthly progress reports, S-curves, dashboards, KPIs for client/PMC reviews.
• Perform critical path, float, and delay analyses to identify drivers.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, Construction, QA/QC, HSE, Commercial, and subs.
• Integrate procurement activities, long-lead items, vendor schedules, and fabrication into the schedule.
• Develop recovery and mitigation plans and monitor implementation to meet milestones.
• Support Extension of Time (EOT) claims with delay analysis and TIAs.
• Ensure compliance with ADNOC planning procedures and document control interfaces.
• Lead and mentor Planning Engineers and Planners, ensuring quality and consistency.
• Utilize Primavera P6, MS Excel, and data visualization tools for performance reporting.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Scheduling expertise

CPM methodology

EVM

Progress measurement

Client/PMC coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil, Mechanical, or Petroleum Engineering

Tools

Primavera P6

MS Excel

Power BI/Tableau

MS Project

Job description

1. Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of comprehensive EPC project schedules, ensuring alignment with project milestones and contractual deliverables.

2. Develop and maintain baseline schedules using Primavera P6, coordinating with ADNOC/PMC for review, comments, and approval.

3. Conduct regular progress reviews and forecasting sessions, analyzing schedule variances and recommending corrective and recovery actions.

4. Monitor engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and close-out activities to ensure integrated schedule performance.

5. Develop and maintain detailed project schedules, including WBS, activity logic, critical path, milestones, resources, and cost loading.

6. Monitor planned vs. actual progress, earned value, productivity, man-hours, and resource utilization, identifying potential schedule delays at an early stage.

7. Prepare weekly and monthly progress reports, S-curves, dashboards, histograms, KPIs, and management presentations for Client/PMC review meetings.

8. Perform critical path, float, schedule variance, and delay analysis to identify key factors affecting project completion dates.

9. Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, Construction, QA/QC, HSE, Commercial, and subcontractor teams to ensure schedule alignment and timely execution.

10. Integrate procurement activities, long-lead items, vendor schedules, fabrication, material delivery, and construction requirements into the overall project schedule.

11. Develop recovery and mitigation plans for delayed activities and monitor their implementation to achieve project milestones.

12. Support Extension of Time (EOT) claims through delay analysis, Time Impact Analysis (TIA), schedule impact assessments, and preparation of supporting documentation.

13. Ensure compliance with ADNOC planning procedures, project-specific planning requirements, coding structures, and document control interfaces.

14. Lead and mentor Planning Engineers and Planners, ensuring quality and consistency of planning, scheduling, progress measurement, and reporting activities.

15. Utilize advanced Primavera P6, MS Excel, Power BI/Tableau, and other planning tools to provide accurate project performance analysis and management reporting.

Desired Candidate Profile

Bachelor's degree in Civil, Mechanical, or Petroleum Engineering (or related discipline)

Minimum 15-18 years total planning experience, with 6+ years specifically on ADNOC EPC projects

Proven track record on EPC oil & gas, petrochemical, or refinery/pipeline projects from award through close-out

Advanced hands-on Primavera P6 skills - schedule development, resource/cost loading, progress measurement, schedule updates

Strong command of planning/scheduling methodologies: CPM, WBS, EVM, S-curves, critical path & float analysis

Experience developing baseline schedules and getting them approved by client/PMC (ADNOC-side approval process experience is a big plus)

Solid experience with progress measurement systems (weight-based/earned value), man-hour and productivity tracking

Experience preparing monthly progress reports, dashboards, and presentations for client/PMC review meetings

Familiarity with ADNOC coding structures, planning procedures, and document control interfaces (e.g., ADNOC CoP, project-specific planning manuals)

Experience with EOT (Extension of Time) claims, delay analysis, and schedule impact assessments - from the contractor's side

Understanding of procurement and construction schedule integration (long-lead items, fabrication, subcontractor schedules)

Experience coordinating with multi-discipline teams (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, QA/QC, HSE) to ensure schedule alignment

Ability to lead/mentor a planning team (junior/senior planners) on large-value projects

UAE experience mandatory (ADNOC pre-approval/vendor list experience preferred)

Proficiency in MS Project, Excel (advanced), and Power BI/Tableau for reporting

PMP, PMI-SP, or Primavera certification is a plus

Immediate joiners or short notice period preferred