Voyage Planner

UGR – United Global RoRo; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

UGR – United Global RoRo Dubai is seeking a Voyage Planning Manager who owns voyage capacity planning for deep sea trade, translating commercial plans into executable schedules and optimising vessel utilisation.

You will coordinate with Marine Operations and commercial teams, develop sailing plans, monitor KPIs, and deputise for the Deep Sea Line Manager on key topics. Fluent English and strong negotiation skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills.
• Experience in liner shipping and Ro-Ro/ConRo planning is preferred.
• Proven stakeholder management across international teams.
• Fluent English written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Define voyage capacity and allocate space across the assigned deep sea trade to optimise vessel utilisation.
• Process space requests and make cargo acceptance decisions within parameters.
• Develop and maintain sailing schedules and voyage plans with timely communications.
• Monitor port rotation, call sequence, and coordination with Marine Operations.
• Lead resolution of disruptions and re-plan voyages as needed.
• Provide input for voyage pre-estimations, P&L, budgeting, and forecasting.

Skills

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Negotiation skills

Cross-functional coordination

Fluent English

Education

Bachelor's degree in Maritime Transportation, Logistics, Transportation, Supply Chain Management, Engineering

Tools

Excel

Job description

Job Purpose

Own voyage-level capacity and schedule planning for the assigned deep sea trade, translating the trade and commercial plan into executable voyage plans that maximise cargo intake and utilisation across the full port-call rotation. The role is the Deep Sea Line Manager's right hand: beyond day-to-day planning it carries defined commercial responsibilities, contributes directly to voyage economics, and deputises for the Line Manager on agreed topics.

Key Responsibilities

• Define voyage capacity and allocate space across the assigned deep sea trade, balancing strong and weak legs to optimise overall vessel utilisation.
• Process space requests and make cargo acceptance decisions within agreed capacity and commercial parameters.
• Develop and maintain sailing schedules and voyage plans, ensuring proforma adherence and timely communication of schedule changes.
• Optimise port rotation and call sequence for cost and transit efficiency in coordination with Marine Operations.
• Monitor cargo volumes, vessel schedules and operational conditions and proactively re-plan voyages when required.
• Manage space charters and slot arrangements, including negotiation support and follow-up of commercial terms.
• Provide capacity and intake inputs for voyage pre-estimations and voyage P&L, and support budgeting and forecasting activities.
• Prepare booking curves, allocation plans, rate-impact analyses and breakeven views to support commercial decisions.
• Support OEM and key-account shipment planning, including committed volume programmes and capacity requirements.
• Monitor utilisation KPIs, fill rates, remaining quantities and outstanding cargo positions and report variances against plan.
• Identify capacity constraints and operational or commercial risks and drive timely corrective actions.
• Lead the resolution of shut-outs, port congestion, cargo diversions and schedule disruptions from the planning perspective.
• Monitor relevant geopolitical, regional and regulatory developments affecting the trade.
• Maintain planning reports and operational data and contribute to continuous improvement of planning processes and tools.
• Deputise for the Deep Sea Line Manager on agreed commercial and operational topics when required.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Maritime Transportation, Logistics, Transportation, Supply Chain Management, Engineering or a related field.
• Minimum 4–6 years of experience in liner shipping, including at least 2 years of experience in Ro-Ro / PCTC / ConRo voyage planning, space management or vessel operations.
• Demonstrated commercial exposure to voyage costing, P&L contribution, space charter or pricing support.
• Proven experience coordinating multiple stakeholders across international trade lanes.
• Sea-going or vessel operations experience is an advantage.
• Strong analytical skills and advanced Excel proficiency.
• Strong commercial judgement and negotiation skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional coordination skills.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.