Planning Manager

Planning Manager

The Planning Manager is responsible for leading project planning and scheduling efforts across multiple large-scale capital projects. This role oversees the development and execution of integrated project schedules, while managing a team of planners and ensuring alignment across engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities.

This individual will act as both a strategic leader and hands-on expert, driving best practices in scheduling, forecasting, and portfolio planning within a fast-paced, schedule-driven environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of project planners/schedulers, providing guidance, mentorship, and performance oversight
• Oversee the development and maintenance of Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) across multiple capital projects
• Establish planning standards, processes, and governance across the project portfolio
• Partner with project leadership to ensure schedule alignment, resource planning, and execution readiness
• Drive portfolio-level planning, prioritization, and reporting across concurrent projects
• Ensure accurate forecasting, progress tracking, and schedule performance analysis
• Identify critical path risks, constraints, and dependencies, and implement mitigation strategies
• Oversee schedule integration with cost, resource loading, and financial systems
• Ensure alignment between scheduling tools (Primavera P6 / Primavera Cloud) and ERP systems (e.g., SAP)
• Support development and alignment of Statements of Work (SOW) with project timelines and deliverables
• Provide executive-level reporting, dashboards, and insights to support decision-making
• Collaborate cross-functionally in a highly schedule-intensive environment with multiple stakeholders
• Drive continuous improvement in planning tools, systems, and methodologies

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related field
• 710+ years of project planning/scheduling experience supporting large capital projects
• Proven experience in a leadership role managing planners or scheduling teams
• Advanced expertise with Primavera P6 and/or Primavera Cloud
• Experience working with SAP and/or Oracle-based systems
• Demonstrated experience building and managing Integrated Master Schedules (IMS)
• Experience operating as a project planning lead or project "owner" on complex projects

Preferred Skills & Attributes

• Strong people leadership and team development capabilities
• Experience managing multi-project portfolios in large capital environments
• Deep understanding of full project lifecycle (engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning)
• Expertise in schedule-driven forecasting and performance management
• Strong knowledge of SOW development and alignment to execution plans
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including executive-level interaction
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, high-growth, and schedule-intensive environments
• Strong analytical mindset with a proactive, solution-oriented approach