Project Controls / Planning Manager

Job Description

WSP Middle East is seeking an experienced Project Controls / Planning Manager to join our supervision team for a major infrastructure development at King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

The project involves construction supervision across multiple infrastructure packages, including road networks, potable water, firefighting, gas distribution, stormwater, sewerage, power distribution, street lighting, telecommunications, irrigation, and landscaping.

The successful candidate will lead the project controls and planning function, ensuring effective programme management, schedule control, progress measurement, reporting, risk monitoring, and coordination across contractors and project stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead project controls, planning, scheduling, progress measurement, forecasting, and reporting activities.
• Establish and maintain the overall project controls framework, procedures, systems, and reporting requirements.
• Develop, review, and maintain the integrated master programme using Primavera P6.
• Review contractors’ baseline programmes, recovery programmes, revised schedules, and periodic updates.
• Monitor actual progress against approved baselines, milestones, contractual dates, and key performance indicators.
• Identify critical and near-critical activities, schedule risks, delays, and emerging programme issues.
• Analyse schedule variances and recommend mitigation, recovery, and acceleration measures.
• Prepare weekly and monthly progress reports, dashboards, presentations, and management summaries.
• Coordinate programme interfaces and dependencies across the different construction packages.
• Lead planning and progress meetings with the client, contractors, consultants, and project teams.
• Review resource loading, productivity, procurement schedules, material tracking, and construction sequencing.
• Maintain progress measurement systems and ensure consistent reporting across all packages.
• Support the assessment of extension-of-time submissions, delay events, claims, and variations.
• Undertake schedule impact assessments and support forensic delay analysis when required.
• Monitor key project risks and ensure that programme mitigation measures are incorporated into project schedules.
• Support cost control, earned value management, cash-flow forecasting, and change-control activities.
• Provide regular advice to the Project Director and senior management on programme performance and potential risks.
• Lead and mentor planners, schedulers, and project controls personnel.
• Ensure compliance with contractual requirements, WSP procedures, client standards, and project reporting protocols.
  
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in project planning and project controls.
• Strong experience working with an engineering consultancy, supervision consultant, PMC, or project management consultancy.
• Demonstrable project controls experience on major roads, utilities, infrastructure, or land-development projects.
• Previous experience managing multiple construction packages and programme interfaces.
• Strong working knowledge of Primavera P6 and other relevant planning and reporting applications.
• Thorough understanding of critical-path analysis, progress measurement, resource loading, earned value, forecasting, and schedule risk analysis.
• Experience reviewing baseline programmes, recovery schedules, extension-of-time submissions, and contractor claims.
• Knowledge of construction methodologies and programme requirements for roads, wet utilities, dry utilities, power, telecom, and landscaping works.
• Strong reporting, analytical, leadership, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to lead planning meetings and communicate programme risks clearly to senior management and clients.
• Previous experience in Saudi Arabia or the wider GCC is strongly preferred.
• PMP, PMI-SP, PSP, or an equivalent relevant professional certification would be advantageous.
  
  
  

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