Planning Manager

Job Description: Planning Manager

Position Overview

The Planning Manager is the senior leader of the project planning and control function, responsible for establishing and governing the entire planning framework across one or multiple large-scale, complex offshore construction projects. This role transcends individual schedule development to focus on system optimization, organizational capability building, and strategic decision support. The Planning Manager ensures schedule integrity across all tiers, drives cross-functional alignment, and provides executive-level foresight to mitigate portfolio-level risks, ultimately guaranteeing on-time project delivery within the constraints of quality and cost.

Key Responsibilities

1. Planning Governance & System Optimization

• Establish, implement, and continuously improve the company's planning and scheduling policies, procedures, and best practice guidelines across all project phases (engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and commissioning).
• Lead the strategic setup and customization of the enterprise planning system (Primavera P6), defining data structures, coding systems, and standard WBS/activity coding dictionaries to ensure consistency across all projects.
• Conduct regular health checks and maturity assessments of the planning system, driving corrective actions to close gaps in schedule quality and reliability.
• Approve and govern all Level 3 (Project Control) and Level 2 (Summary Master) schedules, ensuring they are fully resource-loaded and logic-linked, and provide the baseline for all performance measurement.

2. Multi-Project Portfolio Oversight & Strategic Analysis

• Oversee the integrated master schedule for the entire project portfolio, identifying interdependencies, critical paths, and potential bottleneck constraints across multiple work fronts and subcontractor scopes.
• Lead deep-dive schedule risk analyses (SRA) and what-if scenario planning, providing directional recommendations to senior management for critical trade-off decisions related to resource allocation, procurement strategies, and contingency planning.
• Develop and present high-level dashboard reports to the executive team, translating complex schedule data into clear, actionable business intelligence covering project health, key milestone trends, and overall portfolio performance.

3. Cross-Functional Coordination & Resource Optimization

• Act as the central coordination point between project management, engineering, procurement, construction, marine operations, and commercial departments to ensure all functional plans are synchronized with the master schedule.
• Identify, escalate, and facilitate resolution of cross-departmental conflicts, particularly regarding shared critical resources (e.g., heavy-lift vessels, specialist crews, engineering man-hours).
• Collaborate with the Commercial Department to validate schedule substantiation for both subcontractor progress payments and client variation orders/claims, providing authoritative planning expertise in contractual negotiations.

4. Subcontractor & Vendor Performance Management

• Define and enforce stringent planning and reporting requirements in all subcontractor and vendor contracts, ensuring clarity on deliverable formats, update frequencies, and acceptance criteria.
• Review, audit, and approve all subcontractor schedule submissions (Level 4 & 5), progress measurement systems, and weekly reports, confirming strict alignment with the project master schedule.
• Proactively monitor subcontractor performance trends, issuing early warnings and directing corrective actions to prevent downstream schedule impacts.

5. Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of planning engineers, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Assign workloads and responsibilities effectively, balancing team capacity to meet project demands.
• Develop and deliver internal training programs to uplift team competencies in P6 advanced functionalities, schedule risk analysis, and effective reporting techniques.
• Conduct performance appraisals and identify career progression pathways for team members.

6. Claims Avoidance & Schedule Recovery

• Proactively maintain comprehensive schedule documentation and contemporaneous records of all delays, disruptions, and scope changes to support entitlement notices and minimize claims exposure.
• Lead the development and implementation of accelerated recovery plans when projects deviate from the baseline, managing the associated trade-offs in cost and resources.
• Evaluate and respond to time extension requests (EOT) and variation orders from a planning perspective, providing data-backed recommendations.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline. A Master's degree (MBA or MSc in Project Management) or professional certifications (e.g., PMI-SP, PRINCE2, RMP) are highly preferred.
• Experience: Minimum 12+ years of overall project controls/planning experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership or managerial capacity. Proven track record in large-scale offshore oil & gas, marine engineering, or EPCI projects is mandatory.
• Technical Expertise:

Expert-level proficiency in Primavera P6 (including database administration and custom reporting) and Microsoft Project.

Advanced skills in Power BI, Excel (VBA/macros for data manipulation), and PowerPoint for executive presentations.

Deep understanding of earned value management (EVM), critical path methodology (CPM), and schedule risk analysis (SRA) techniques.

• Core Competencies:

Strategic thinker with strong business acumen; ability to see the big picture and anticipate future risks and opportunities.

Exceptional leadership, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management skills.

Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and senior management without direct authority.

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, capable of articulating complex technical issues to non-technical audiences.

Language: Full professional proficiency in English is a must; proficiency in additional languages (e.g., Chinese, Malay, or Arabic) is a significant advantage.

• Other Requirements:

Deep commitment to HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) standards and promoting a safety-first culture.

Flexibility to work extended hours during critical project phases (e.g., sail-away, offshore hook-up) and ability to undertake short-term offshore/onsite visits as required.

Proven experience in managing and developing multidisciplinary planning teams across different geographical locations is preferred.

Key Competency Shift from Senior Engineer to Manager:

From building schedules to governing the scheduling framework.

From tracking progress to driving strategic recovery and risk mitigation.

From individual contribution to team leadership and capability building.

From data provision to executive-level insight and decision support.

Employment Type:The employement type for this position is third-party staffing. The employees shall enter into an employment contract via HR agency and provide services to COOEC.