Planning Manager

Company Overview

With over four decades of dedicated service, ECEC specializes in delivering innovative and exceptional architectural and engineering design solutions. Our team of seasoned professionals leverages cutting-edge technology across all disciplines to continually enhance core skills through ongoing research, collaboration, and awareness of emerging working methods. We serve projects within Saudi Arabia and internationally.

Project Details

Project: Mixed-Use Residential Villa Development
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Reporting To: Project Director

Role Overview

We are looking for a seasoned, detail-oriented Planning Manager to lead all planning and scheduling functions for a prestigious residential villa supervisory construction project in Riyadh. This role involves overseeing contractor progress, ensuring strict compliance with the master schedule, and providing insightful guidance to project leadership to mitigate potential delays. As a member of the Owner’s Supervision Team, primary responsibilities focus on monitoring and validating contractor performance against schedules rather than initial schedule creation, acting as the custodian of the project timeline and enforcing contractual milestones.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate and manage the contractor’s Baseline Construction Program developed in Primavera P6, analyzing logic, resource loading, and contract compliance.
• Track progress relative to the baseline schedule, identifying deviations, delays, and risks impacting the critical path.
• Develop and issue proactive look-ahead schedules (4-week and 8-week) in conjunction with on-site supervision teams for optimized resource allocation.
• Assess contractor catch-up schedules and recovery plans during delays, advising the Project Director with recommendations.
• Lead preparation and submission of monthly progress reports to the Client, including S-Curves, histograms, and variance analyses.
• Conduct regular site visits to verify the accuracy of reported contractor progress percentages physically.
• Represent planning status during weekly progress and stakeholder meetings with clear, concise presentations.
• Analyze contractor Extension of Time (EOT) claims by reviewing delays, contemporaneous documentation, and their effects on the critical path.
• Maintain a detailed "As-Built" program and delay register safeguarding client interests.
• Advise on variations and change orders by evaluating potential effects on project completion timelines.
• Coordinate closely with site supervision, design teams, and contractors to align construction activities with design requirements.
• Collaborate across disciplines including Architectural, Structural, and MEP to ensure planning data reflects current site conditions.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Architecture, or Construction Management is required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Professional certifications such as PMP or CCP are highly desirable.
• Advanced expertise in Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project is essential; strong skills in Microsoft Excel and Power BI for reporting are advantageous.
• At least 15 years of comprehensive planning experience within the construction industry.
• Minimum 5 years' recent experience specifically as a Planning Manager on construction supervision projects (PMC/Consultant side).
• Demonstrated history of managing large residential villa projects in the Middle East, ideally in Saudi Arabia.
• Experience managing multiple villa clusters or phases concurrently is a significant advantage.

Core Competencies

• Exceptional analytical skills to interpret complex scheduling data and develop actionable solutions.
• Expertise in forensic planning and delay analysis, including Time Impact Analysis and As-Planned vs. As-Built comparisons.
• Fluent English communication skills; Arabic language skills are a plus but not mandatory. Capable of simplifying complex scheduling information for non-technical stakeholders.
• High professional integrity to ensure balanced and objective evaluation of contractor performance.
• Proactive mindset with foresight to identify potential risks and recommend preventive measures to management.