Planning & Scheduling Manager

Role focus: Client-side governance, contractor oversight, independent assurance, integrated forecasting, and decision support.

Key Responsibilities:
Planning Governance & Baseline Assurance:

• Define and administer the client’s planning and scheduling requirements, governance framework, coding standards, calendars, control levels, and reporting expectations.
• Review and challenge contractor WBS, schedule architecture, planning basis, logic, durations, resources, and narratives for alignment with contract requirements and the approved execution strategy.
• Lead baseline readiness reviews and provide an evidence-based recommendation for client approval or rejection of contractor baseline submissions.
• Protect baseline integrity through disciplined change control and complete traceability of approved revisions.

Integrated Schedule & Interface Oversight:

• Oversee development and maintenance of the client integrated master schedule, consolidating contractor, subcontractor, vendor, operations, and third-party schedules.
• Verify alignment of contractual milestones, package interfaces, long-lead procurement, permitting, tie-ins, shutdowns, systems completion, commissioning, and handover.
• Facilitate cross-functional planning and interface reviews to resolve logic gaps, ownership conflicts, and schedule disconnects before they affect execution.
• Ensure schedule information is integrated with cost, risk, change, procurement, progress, and project reporting.

Progress, Forecasting & Schedule Assurance:

• Establish owner requirements for progress measurement, rules of credit, schedule updating, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Validate contractor-reported progress and forecasts against objective evidence, quantities, productivity, resources, field conditions, and procurement status.
• Provide weekly and monthly insights on milestones, critical and near-critical paths, float erosion, trends, look-aheads, constraints, and recovery priorities.
• Develop independent completion forecasts and scenario analysis, clearly distinguishing contractor positions from the PMC assessment.
• Lead schedule quality reviews and quantitative schedule risk analysis, aligning results with the project risk register and contingency strategy.

Contract, Change, Claims & PMC Leadership:

• Administer schedule-related contract provisions and assess contractor compliance with submission, update, narrative, recovery, and record-keeping requirements.
• Review time impact analyses, extension-of-time requests, delay narratives, recovery schedules, and concurrency positions; advise the client’s commercial and legal teams.
• Lead the PMC planning team, define package responsibilities and escalation protocols, and act as principal planning interface with client and contractor stakeholders.
• Support stage gates, audits, peer reviews, tender evaluations, contract exhibits, milestone payment structures, and lessons learned.

Required Education, Experience & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, or a related technical discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• 12+ years of planning and scheduling experience on major EPC/EPCM projects, including 5+ years in a lead or management role.
• Demonstrated PMC, owner’s team, consultant, or independent assurance experience overseeing contractor schedules.
• Lifecycle experience from FEL/FEED through engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Advanced Primavera P6 capability and strong command of CPM, progress measurement, earned value, schedule risk, change control, and delay analysis.
• Strong client-facing facilitation, negotiation, and written reporting skills, including the ability to defend independent recommendations.

Preferred Education, Experience & Skills:

• Professional credential such as AACE PSP/CCP, PMI-SP, RICS, or equivalent.
• Experience with Deltek Acumen, Primavera Risk Analysis, Safran Risk, Power BI, EcoSys, SAP PS, or comparable platforms.
• Familiarity with advanced work packaging, systems completion, construction-driven planning, and 4D planning.
• Experience supporting claims avoidance, dispute resolution, independent project reviews, JV governance, or lender assurance.

Success Measures:

• Timely, objective, and evidence-based advice to the client and project leadership.
• Reliable contractor data, transparent forecasts, and early escalation of material deviations.
• Consistent compliance with contract requirements, governance procedures, and approved baselines.
• Clear ownership and closure of actions arising from reviews, audits, and assurance activities.