Senior Planning Manager

Title

Senior Planning Manager

Location

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Hiring Manager Role

Project Controls Director

Location Split

100% Project Office On-Site at Diriyah Gate, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Job Purpose

The Senior Planning Manager plays a crucial role in the successful execution of a portfolio of Programmes, Districts, Mega Projects and Projects. They oversee and manage key aspects of Planning & Scheduling ensuring effective large volume data management, baselining, quality assured progress outputs, forecasts, trends and monitoring to drive and achieve both innovative and established goals within scope, budget, time, quality and risk management constraints.

The role requires a comprehensive understanding of Project Management principles, exceptional leadership skills and a deep knowledge of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) processes. The unique construct of the KBR delivery environment focusses the need for an ability to collaborate with a wide range of key stakeholders at Executive, Client, Programme, Project and Supply Chain level, and more broadly across industry.

Reporting to the Project Controls Manager - Planning, the Senior Planning Manager is responsible for every aspect of Planning & Scheduling for the Programme within their area of the Programme and Projects, including integration, collaboration and liaison internally with KBR Teams, with the wider Client Project Controls Team, Client Delivery and Developments Teams, Design, PMO and PMC Teams and all Supply Chain Teams to ensure that success factors, requirements and expectations are always surpassed.

Project Description

The Diriyah Gate II (DII) project, located on the Western outskirts of Riyadh, is a 7.1 million square-metre major infrastructure programme and mixed-use development aiming to be a global landmark, recognized for its unique vision and position as an authentic destination in Riyadh. The Diriyah Gate community will be a distinct, self-sustaining hub for Riyadh offering a wide range of iconic assets. KBR provide Project Management Consultancy Services in Project Controls, Project Planning, Design and Engineering Management, as well as implementation of development and early works packages.

Responsibilities

• To lead and manage a specific area of the DII KBR PMC1 Planning and Scheduling Team.
• To be accountable for contributing to the defining and maintaining of Planning and Scheduling data, metrics and information frameworks, including the establishment of best-in-class Planning and Scheduling standards, policies, procedures, protocols and systems to facilitate efficient and effective Project Management and Execution.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and mentoring to their element of the Planning and Scheduling Team. Foster a collaborative and high-performance work environment, promoting continuous learning and professional development. Lead and manage Planning and Scheduling resources at Programme level and resources and Teams embedded within Projects.
• To be accountable for best-in-class and innovative quality, timeliness and consistency of scheduling work produced by the Planning Team element, including all Planning and Scheduling Assistants.
• To be accountable for providing leadership and insight on breakdown structures, coding structures, interdependencies, baselines, trends, forecasts and performance, along with Subject Matter Expert (SME) advice to Senior Leaders in managing the successful delivery of KBR Programme and Projects. To contribute to the development and implementation of Planning and Scheduling strategies aligned with organizational objectives, ensuring effective Planning and Scheduling practices are established and followed throughout the Project Lifecycle.
• To be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the compilation, delivery and successful management of: Planning and Scheduling PEP or PXP / WBS / OBS / CBS / CPA / CPM / EVM / QSRA / Data Analysis / Option Scheduling / Mitigation and Recovery Scheduling / Delay Impact Analysis Scheduling / Schedule Progress Implementation and Management across all EPC stages.
• To be expert level in the technical management of, and practical use of, Primavera P6, MSP, Excel and Powerpoint.
• To be conversant with Power BI, PowerApp and PMIS systems, software and use.
• To be accountable for supporting, challenging and influencing Senior Leaders to ensure ‘best for KBR and Client’ decisions and to be accountable for ensuring that the vertical Supply Chain, at all levels, develop and deliver Planning and Scheduling Reports in accordance with leadership requirements. Work with their Team and leaders across KBR and Clients to highlight trends and performance insights.
• To be responsible for contributing to and coordinating Planning and Scheduling protocols, processes and activities within the Supply Chain, development and delivery areas to assure the accuracy and quality of information being captured across all functional, Programme and Project disciplines.
• To be accountable for providing strategic analysis of schedule data and outputs submitted and provide insights, trends on performance and risks to support decision making and to provide periodic project performance updates to key Senior Stakeholders, with key strategic insights and trends to support development and delivery trade off decisions.
• To be accountable for the specific timely, accurate, comprehensive, quality assured and delivery of all reports contained within the Project Controls Performance and Reporting daily, weekly, monthly and ad-hoc cadence for their area of responsibility.
• To be accountable for the comprehensive collection, analysis and assessment of dates, metrics and information across all disciplines within the KBR Team, Client Teams, Consultant Programme Teams and Supply Chain.
• Establish and enforce governance and quality control measures to ensure adherence to Programme specifications, industry standards and regulatory requirements. Implement robust assurance processes to identify and resolve quality issues promptly.
• Integrate with the Information Management & Technology Leads, and Project Controls Leads, establish Programme and Project wide Digital Strategies and identify, establish, implement and manage innovative software, tools, controls systems, workflows, processes and tools.
• Coordinate with Functional Teams to ensure appropriate identification, onboarding and allocation of resources, including personnel, equipment, and materials, to support Project Execution. Optimize resource utilization to maximize efficiency and productivity. Manage resource performance and attrition.
• Undertake self-assessment of procedural compliance and sharing lessons learnt, and best practice within the Project Controls community.
• Actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.
  
  

Technical Skills

• The Senior Planning Manager will be an expert level developer, implementor and manager of Planning and Scheduling systems, capable of transforming large volume raw data into meaningful, logical, interactive and user-friendly dashboards and reports in Power BI, Excel, Word, PowerApps, PMIS and Powerpoint.
• A demonstrable ability to implement, manage and control best-in-class solutions, processes and delivery within the Planning and Scheduling capability.
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Programme management innovation, principles, practices, and methodologies.
• Expert in the use of Project Control and Project Management tools and software relating to Planning and Scheduling, including but not limited to: Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, Data Analysis and Reporting systems, Risk Management tools (facilitating and analysing), Cost Management systems, Estimating systems, Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to anticipate and mitigate Project risks and capitalise on Project opportunities.
• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong organizational and time management abilities, with the capacity and ability to manage multiple projects and large Teams simultaneously.
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant industry standards, regulations and best practice.
  
  

Experience, Skills And Knowledge Requirements

• Essential: Degree (BSc, BA, BEng) level professional qualification in Project Management, Project Controls or Engineering disciplines, or equivalent experience.
• Essential: A minimum of 15 years of relevant industry and Planning and Scheduling experience at a senior management level with proven, extensive and demonstrable experience in Planning and Scheduling management within the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) industry, with a track record of successfully delivering complex and high value Programmes, Mega Projects and Projects.
• Essential: A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in similar volume Programme and Projects and a minimum of 5 years of Middle East regional experience, managing and working with diverse Teams and people.
• Essential: Membership of a role appropriate cognate Professional Institute or recognised Certificates of Learning and Competence.
• Essential: A high standard of spoken and written English.
• Essential: A commitment to future learning and education in industry innovation, development and change with a demonstrable recent record of Continued Professional Development (CPD).
• Desirable: Arabic language skills.
  
  

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