Senior Project Planner

Astek Middle East; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 260,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Astek Middle East is seeking a Senior Project Planner to support planning, scheduling, and progress monitoring for energy efficiency, sustainability, construction, and infrastructure projects across Saudi Arabia. You will develop and maintain schedules, analyze progress, and provide planning insights to project teams for timely delivery.

Ideal candidates have 3+ years in planning, with experience in Saudi Arabia or GCC and strong English communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in project planning and scheduling; candidates with 10+ years are welcomed.
• Experience in Saudi Arabia or the GCC, and working with project management teams and multiple stakeholders.
• Professional accreditation relevant to planning or project management; SCE registration where applicable.
• Knowledge of WBS, critical path, S-curves, and look-ahead schedules.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain detailed project schedules, including WBS, critical path, and resource-loaded plans.
• Monitor progress against baselines and identify delays.
• Prepare weekly and monthly planning reports, S-curves, look-ahead schedules, and milestones.
• Coordinate with PMs, engineers, contractors, and stakeholders to collect progress data.
• Conduct schedule analysis and identify bottlenecks and critical path impacts.
• Support schedule recovery planning and mitigation of delays.
• Assist with time-impact analysis and extension-of-time claims.
• Participate in project meetings and provide planning input.
• Maintain planning records and ensure timely updates.
• Support teams with planning data, forecasts, and analysis.
• Ensure planning activities follow PM procedures and standards.

Skills

Project planning

Scheduling

Progress monitoring

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

English communication

Primavera P6

Microsoft Excel

Power BI

Earned Value Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Construction Management

Tools

Primavera P6

Microsoft Project

Excel

Power BI

Job description

Astek Middle East is part of Astek, a global engineering and technology consulting group founded in France in 1988 and now present on five continents. The Middle East entity delivers IT and technology services across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan, supporting clients in public and government, healthcare, transportation, banking, retail, airlines, and tourism. With 10,000 employees worldwide and revenue of €620 million in 2023, Astek focuses on digital transformation and complex systems engineering for international clients. The group promotes a strong culture of entrepreneurship, innovation, and continuous skills development. More information is available on the Astek Saudi Arabia and UAE country pages, and candidates can reach Astek Middle East at [e-mail].

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Project Planner to support the planning, scheduling, and progress monitoring of energy efficiency, sustainability, construction, and infrastructure projects across Saudi Arabia. The role will be responsible for developing and maintaining project schedules, tracking milestones, analyzing schedule performance, and providing planning insights to project management teams to support timely project delivery.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain detailed project schedules, including WBS, critical path, and resource-loaded plans.
• Monitor project progress against approved baseline schedules and identify delays and variances.
• Prepare weekly and monthly planning reports, S-curves, look-ahead schedules, and milestone tracking.
• Coordinate with project managers, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders to collect and validate progress data.
• Conduct schedule analysis and identify potential bottlenecks and critical path impacts.
• Support schedule recovery planning and mitigation of project delays.
• Assist with time-impact analysis and extension-of-time claims when required.
• Participate in project meetings and provide planning and scheduling input.
• Maintain accurate project planning records and ensure schedule updates are completed on time.
• Support project teams with planning data, forecasts, and schedule-related analysis.
• Ensure planning activities follow established project management procedures and standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field.

Required Skills

• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in project planning and scheduling.
• Candidates with extensive experience, including 10+ years.
• Proven experience in project planning, scheduling, and progress monitoring.
• Professional experience in Saudi Arabia or the GCC.
• Demonstrated experience working with project management teams and multiple stakeholders.
• Professional accreditation relevant to planning or project management.
• SCE registration if holding an engineering qualification, where applicable.
• Strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and spoken.

Preferred Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Primavera P6.
• Experience with project scheduling, resource loading, baseline management, and progress tracking.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Project.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including data analysis, pivot tables, and reporting.
• Knowledge of Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Experience with schedule delay analysis and Time-Impact Analysis (TIA) is an advantage.
• Knowledge of Power BI or similar reporting and dashboard tools is a plus.
• Strong understanding of WBS, critical path analysis, S-curves, and look-ahead schedules.
• AACE Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) certification.
• PMP certification.
• Experience in energy efficiency, construction, infrastructure, or sustainability projects.
• Experience with contract administration, claims, and extension-of-time processes.
• Previous project experience in Saudi Arabia.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for an experienced Project Planner who can take ownership of project schedules, identify schedule risks, provide accurate planning information, and work effectively with project teams and stakeholders. Candidates with 3+ years of relevant experience including professionals with significantly more extensive experience.