Senior Project Planning Engineer

ADNOC Abu Dhabi UAE; Al Ruways Industrial City; On-site; AED 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

ADNOC Group in Abu Dhabi seeks a Senior Project Planning Engineer to lead planning, scheduling, progress measurement and reporting on high‑value capital projects. You will review consultant and contractor schedules across Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC and EPC phases and advise on corrective actions.

The role requires a Bachelor’s in Engineering and at least 8 years in oil and energy project planning, with strong CP, WBS, risk and dashboard reporting skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent
• Minimum 8 years in project planning and scheduling for major Oil and Energy projects
• Experience with Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC and EPC phases
• Strong scheduling, progress measurement and reporting capabilities
• Familiarity with work breakdown structures and scheduling software
• PMP certification preferred

Responsibilities

• Support preparation of capital project budgets and work plans
• Monitor expenditure and project performance against budgets
• Review and validate contractor schedules and progress updates
• Prepare high‑level schedules for new capital projects
• Define project controls procedures for Pre‑FEED to EPC tender documents
• Ensure baseline schedules reflect procurement and construction timelines
• Develop dashboards and management reports on schedule status
• Advise senior management on schedule threats and corrective actions
• Coordinate with PMCs, FEED consultants and EPC contractors to align controls

Skills

Project Management

Project Planning

Project Scheduling

Baseline Schedule Review

Critical Path Analysis

Progress Measurement

Budgeting

Schedule Recovery Planning

Risk Mitigation

Dashboard Reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

PMP

Job description

Overview

Senior Project Planning Engineer – Location: Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates; Industry: Oil and Energy; Function: Project Management; Minimum Experience: 8 years; Job Type: Full-time. Responsible for planning, scheduling, progress measurement, monitoring and reporting on major high‑value capital projects. The role reviews the performance of consultants and contractors during Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC and EPC phases, provides reliable schedule analysis, and recommends project control measures to senior management.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the preparation of capital project budgets, annual work plans and departmental delivery objectives.
• Monitor expenditure and project performance against approved budgets and implementation plans.
• Investigate significant schedule, progress or cost variances and explain them to management.
• Prepare high‑level summary schedules for new capital projects using alternative execution strategies and compare options to support management decisions.
• Develop project‑specific planning, scheduling, progress measurement and reporting requirements.
• Define project control procedures for inclusion in Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC and EPC tender documents.
• Establish baseline schedule, progress curve, reporting calendar, coding structure and schedule update requirements.
• Ensure tender and agreement documents contain clear project control deliverables and contractor obligations.
• Review planning and scheduling sections of technical bids from consultants and contractors.
• Assess proposed schedules for compliance with tender requirements and project completion objectives.
• Evaluate proposed planning resources, organizational structures, productivity assumptions and software capabilities.
• Prepare the planning section of technical evaluation reports.
• Support finalization of project control provisions within awarded contracts and agreements.
• Review baseline and detailed schedules submitted by Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC and EPC contractors to ensure complete scope, logical sequencing and realistic durations.
• Evaluate work breakdown structures, calendars, constraints, interfaces and critical path logic.
• Confirm schedules reflect procurement lead times, engineering deliverables, construction activities, commissioning requirements and plant shutdown windows.
• Review contractor progress measurement procedures and reporting methodologies.
• Assess monthly and periodic schedule updates for accuracy, completeness and contractual compliance.
• Analyze physical progress, schedule status, productivity, earned progress and forecasted completion dates.
• Validate monthly physical progress claimed by consultants and contractors for payment purposes.
• Identify areas of concern that may affect project milestones or final completion.
• Advise Senior Project Managers on schedule threats and recommend corrective actions.
• Request recovery plans where contractor performance falls behind the approved baseline.
• Review proposed acceleration, resequencing or additional resourcing measures.
• Monitor implementation of agreed schedule recovery and mitigation actions.
• Develop, maintain and update the historical project planning databank to improve future estimates.
• Maintain current project dashboards showing schedule, progress, milestone and performance status.
• Prepare concise management reports highlighting achievements, delays, critical activities and decisions required.
• Review contractor and consultant resource deployment against approved schedules and evaluate manpower, equipment, engineering resources and productivity assumptions.
• Determine necessary additional or alternative resources when current deployment is insufficient.
• Review contractor requests for schedule extensions, variations and time‑related claims and prepare clear recommendations for management approval.
• Maintain accurate records supporting variation and extension‑of‑time evaluations.
• Review schedule risk analysis performed by consultants and contractors, assessing risks, probability and impact.
• Monitor schedule contingency, float consumption and emerging risks and ensure mitigation actions are implemented on time.
• Coordinate with Project Control Managers from PMCs, FEED consultants and EPC contractors to ensure consistent project control procedures across all stages.
• Conduct regular planning and progress meetings with contractors and consultants to resolve schedule interface issues across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and operations.
• Support shutdown planning and integration where project activities depend on plant outages.
• Coordinate with engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, finance, contracts and operations stakeholders to keep reporting aligned with company objectives and contractual requirements.
• Promote disciplined planning, transparent reporting and early escalation of potential delays.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or an equivalent professional qualification.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in project planning and scheduling for major Oil and Energy projects.
• Extensive experience on large and complex oil and gas capital projects.
• Strong background in Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC, EPC, construction, commissioning and project closeout phases.
• Experience evaluating consultants and contractors in both pre‑award and post‑award stages.
• Strong understanding of project planning principles, scheduling techniques, progress measurement and performance reporting.
• Extensive practical knowledge of work breakdown structures and logical activity sequencing.
• Ability to develop and review integrated engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning schedules.
• Experience incorporating plant shutdown requirements and operational constraints into project schedules.
• Strong capability in critical path, float analysis, schedule forecasting and delay identification.
• Experience reviewing contractor resource deployment, productivity rates and execution capacity.
• Practical knowledge of schedule risk analysis and mitigation planning.
• Experience evaluating variations, delay claims and extension‑of‑time requests.
• Ability to verify physical progress for contractor payment certification.
• Strong understanding of contract planning requirements and project control procedures.
• Experience coordinating and negotiating with international contractors, consultants and project management consultants.
• Proven ability to manage multidisciplinary project interfaces.
• Extensive knowledge of recognized planning and scheduling software used during FEED and EPC execution.
• Strong analytical ability with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to prepare clear dashboards, progress reports and management recommendations.
• Strong communication, coordination and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work independently while supporting project and departmental objectives.
• PMP certification is preferred.

Skills Set

• Project Management, Project Planning, Project Scheduling
• Capital Projects, Oil and Gas Projects, Pre‑FEED Planning, FEED Scheduling
• PMC Coordination, EPC Scheduling, Baseline Schedule Review, Detailed Schedule Analysis
• Work Breakdown Structure, Critical Path Analysis, Progress Measurement, Physical Progress Verification
• Project Progress Reporting, Schedule Variance Analysis, Cost and Schedule Control
• Schedule Forecasting, Schedule Recovery Planning, Delay Analysis, Extension‑of‑Time Evaluation
• Variation Claim Review, Contractor Performance Monitoring, Consultant Performance Monitoring
• Resource Loading, Resource Deployment Analysis, Productivity Analysis
• Schedule Risk Analysis, Risk Mitigation, Plant Shutdown Planning, Procurement Schedule Integration
• Construction Scheduling, Commissioning Scheduling, Project Dashboards, Historical Project Databank
• Technical Bid Evaluation, Tender Planning Requirements, Contract Project Controls, Payment Progress Certification
• Planning Software, Stakeholder Coordination, Management Reporting, PMP

Why Join Us

This opportunity provides direct involvement in planning and controlling major capital projects within Abu Dhabi’s well‑established Oil and Energy sector. You will influence execution strategies, contractor performance, schedule recovery, payment verification and management decisions across complex project portfolios. The role offers broad exposure to Pre‑FEED, FEED, PMC, EPC, construction, commissioning and shutdown activities and is suited to experienced planning professionals seeking responsibility for high‑value projects, complex contractor interfaces and strategic project control within a large integrated energy organization.

About the Company

ADNOC Group is a major integrated energy organization headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Its operations span exploration, production, processing, refining, petrochemicals, logistics, trading and lower‑carbon energy solutions. The group delivers complex capital programmes underpinned by disciplined engineering, project management, contractor governance, cost control and planning systems designed to maintain safe execution, schedule certainty, asset reliability and long‑term value.