Senior EPC Project Planning Manager (Utility Scale - Solar / Power Projects)

Planning Manager

Project: Khazna Solar PV Independent Power Project – 1,500 MW

Entity: ENGIE AMEA

Location: Project Site – Abu Dhabi, UAE

Business Line: AMEA

Reporting To: Site Manager

Employment Status: Permanent

Working Hours: 9 hours per day

Starting Date of Secondment: TBC

Annual Leave: 30 working days

About ENGIE

ENGIE is a global reference in low-carbon energy and energy services. With approximately 96,000 employees worldwide, ENGIE is committed to accelerating the transition towards a carbon-neutral world through reduced energy consumption and sustainable energy solutions.

ENGIE AMEA, headquartered in Dubai, develops and operates large-scale power generation, water desalination, district cooling, and renewable energy projects, including green hydrogen, wind, and solar. The entity operates across the full project value chain, including strategy, design, engineering, construction, financing, operations, and outcome assurance.

About the Project

ENGIE and its partners are developing the Khazna Solar PV Independent Power Project, a landmark 1,500 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Abu Dhabi and a major contributor to the UAE's clean-energy ambitions.

The Planning Manager will lead the overall planning and scheduling function for the project, ensuring effective schedule governance and timely achievement of key milestones under the EPC contract, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and financing framework.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish, develop, and maintain the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) covering engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and project interfaces.

• Lead the planning function and ensure project activities are aligned with contractual, technical, commercial, and project requirements.

• Establish and govern planning control systems, methodologies, procedures, and reporting frameworks in accordance with EPC and PPA requirements.

• Lead and coordinate EPC contractor and subcontractor planning teams, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance with project and ENGIE standards.

• Review and challenge contractor schedules, baselines, progress updates, forecasts, and recovery plans.

• Act as the primary counterpart to the EPC Contractor's Planning Manager on all planning and scheduling matters.

• Monitor project progress, key milestones, critical paths, float, schedule trends, and potential delays.

• Provide strategic advice to senior management regarding schedule risks, critical activities, mitigation measures, and recovery strategies.

• Lead scenario planning, what-if analysis, schedule forecasting, and recovery planning for delays, disruptions, and changes.

• Integrate procurement and logistics schedules for major equipment, including PV modules, inverters, transformers, and robotic cleaning systems, with construction activities.

• Coordinate planning interfaces between engineering, procurement, civil, mechanical, electrical, construction, commissioning, and grid connection activities.

• Ensure alignment between the project schedule, cost control, risk management, and overall project controls.

• Monitor and manage interfaces between the PV plant, substations, transmission infrastructure, and grid connection milestones.

• Prepare and present schedule performance reports, forecasts, and risk assessments to ENGIE management, the Owner's Engineer, EWEC, TRANSCO, lenders, auditors, and other stakeholders.

• Provide time-related inputs for claims, variations, delay analysis, time impact assessments, and extension-of-time evaluations.

• Ensure HSE-related milestones, constraints, and safe-execution requirements are incorporated into the project schedule.

• Identify schedule deviations and develop corrective and preventive actions in coordination with relevant project stakeholders.

• Maintain effective planning governance throughout the project lifecycle.

• Coach, mentor, and develop junior planning engineers and strengthen planning capabilities within the project team.

• Support senior management with accurate and timely schedule information for strategic decision-making.

Key Stakeholder RelationshipsInternal

• Project Team

• HQ / AMEA Reporting Functions

• Owner's Engineer

• Project Controls Team

External

• EPC Contractor Planning Teams

• Subcontractors

• EWEC

• MASDAR

• TRANSCO

• Lenders

• Independent Auditors

• Other project and regulatory stakeholders

Required Qualifications & ExperienceEducation

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline.

• Master's degree in a relevant field is preferred.

• PMP, PSP, or equivalent project controls certification is preferred.

Professional Experience

• Minimum 12 years of experience in project planning and project controls.

• At least 5 years of experience in a managerial planning role.

• Proven experience working on large-scale EPC, IPP, power generation, solar, or renewable energy projects.

• Demonstrated experience developing, managing, and governing integrated EPC schedules for utility-scale solar PV plants or power projects.

• Strong experience coordinating planning activities across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and grid connection scopes.

• Proven experience managing interfaces between PV plants, substations, transmission systems, and grid connection milestones.

• Experience working with EPC contractors, subcontractors, Owner's Engineers, government entities, lenders, and other major stakeholders.

Technical Competencies

• Advanced proficiency in Primavera P6.

• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Project.

• Strong understanding of schedule development, baseline management, progress measurement, forecasting, critical path analysis, and schedule control.

• Ability to perform or lead schedule risk analysis, what-if analysis, scenario modelling, and recovery planning.

• Strong understanding of construction sequencing across:

• Civil works

• Mechanical works

• Electrical works

• PV installation

• Substations

• Transmission/grid connection

• Testing and commissioning

• Strong understanding of project controls and the relationship between schedule, cost, risk, and change management.

• Strong contractual awareness and experience with:

• Delay analysis

• Time Impact Analysis (TIA)

• Extension of Time (EOT)

• Claims

• Variations

• Schedule entitlement assessments

Leadership & Behavioral Competencies

• Strong leadership and team-management capabilities.

• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and influencing skills.

• Ability to effectively challenge and manage EPC contractors and subcontractors.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work effectively within a complex, multi-disciplinary, and multi-stakeholder project environment.

• Strong commercial and contractual awareness.

• Ability to communicate complex schedule issues clearly to senior management, lenders, regulators, and other stakeholders.

• Highly organized, proactive, and results-oriented.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be a senior project planning professional with 12+ years of experience, including significant managerial experience on large-scale utility-scale solar PV, power generation, renewable energy, EPC, or IPP projects.

The candidate should have strong Primavera P6 expertise, proven experience managing integrated EPC schedules, and a strong understanding of construction, commissioning, procurement, grid connection, delay analysis, and contractual claims.

Experience working with major EPC contractors, government/regulatory stakeholders, lenders, and Owner's Engineers will be highly advantageous.

The successful candidate will be expected to provide strong leadership of the planning function and proactively drive schedule performance throughout the Khazna Solar project lifecycle.

Application Question(s):

• Are you comfortable with the salary range of AED 25,000–28,000?

Work Location: In person