Principal Planner

Rate: Starts at $70/hr
Duration: 1-year
Schedule: M-F; 40-hour work week
Location: Houston TX 77042

*Location will primarily be Houston, with travel to site locations approximately once per month, on average, to interface with local site management teams.*

Description:
The Principal Planner will ensure the schedule complies with project scheduling standards and key procedure. This individual will be coordinating weekly call-in meetings with internal and external Project Schedulers to ensure standardization of output. Review project schedules for the Project Leaders to determine if the sequence of activities will deliver the product and project scope within the parameters of the project objectives through leading the integration and roll-up of contractors/owner schedules, coordination of schedule risk analysis, leading interface of independent project reviews, defining and optimizing critical paths, and establishing schedule milestones. The Planning Lead will work with the contractors are aware of the Enterprise Schedule architecture, software requirements, reporting requirements and any modifications that are made.

Responsibilities
In the Pre-execution Phase:

• Originate and update an integrated schedule system
• Identify all activities on the project and develop logic using critical path method (CPM)
• Prepare risk assessment and earned value for project reporting
• Program logic to include project benchmarks for the duration of the project
• Construct logic network modifications to facilitate risk mitigation and contingency planning process
• Maintain the integrated schedule reflecting the relationship and interdependencies of the engineering, procurement and construction functions
• Reviewing schedule, progress and productivity of contractors, monitor and verify monthly earned value
• Performing an analysis of the critical path Collecting/reporting progress, evaluating variances, developing work-around plans, and
• coordinating resolution of variances
• Established project, global resource and activity codes will be used to standardize and define the project

In the Execution Phase:

• Ensuring that everything is on time so the deadlines of the project can be met
• Reviewing schedule, progress and productivity of contractors, monitor and verify earned value
• Monitors actual progress and comparison to baseline, and reports the analysis, against the schedule, to project manager and Functional Managers
• Consolidates information from Engineering, Procurement and Construction Project Management and Project Discipline Leads to develop the project schedules (baseline time-phased schedule with proper constraints) and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for assigned projects
• Participates in weekly Schedule Reviews to ensure that schedule requirements are being met
• Meets with Engineering, Procurement, Project Management and Project Discipline Leads to obtain project status (e.g. engineering deliverables, procurement delivery schedules, installation start dates, etc.) in order to update the project schedule
• Prepare Reports of Earned Value and variance of the Project Plan
• Interface with the Contractor's Planning and Scheduling Specialists to ensure that task data is incorporated into the integrated project schedule
• Will coordinate with the Contractor and lead planning-oriented meetings with disciplines engineers and project management that will highlight and report status on upcoming project milestone events

Basic/Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or 5+ years planning/scheduling experience
• Minimum 5 years' experience in scheduling for small to large size downstream projects
• Field scheduling experience on domestic projects
• Prior oil and gas experience supporting complex capital projects and coordinating with site stakeholders; minimum 8 years preferred
• Demonstrates ability to independently consolidate and analyze information from various sources to develop effective overall project schedules
• Technical competency in preparation of automate and integrated project controls

Preferred Skills and Competencies

• Proficiency in use of project planning software (Primavera version 6; MS Project;)
• BS Degree in Construction Management, Engineering or other equivalent experience i.e. mathematics, statistics or project administration
• Knowledge of Project Controls, Planning and Scheduling, Progress Measurement (Earned Value)? Demonstrates effective organization and
• project planning skills
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and changing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrable ability to develop reports for, and presentations to management.
• Ability to work with excel and build pivot tables etc. will be a plus.

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.