Planning Engineer (Consultancy)

Our Leading Architectural Design Consultancy client has a new requirement for a well experienced consultant Planning Engineer to join their team in Dubai to work on a new mid-rise project. Successful candidates will have a proven background as a consultant Planning Engineer on mid or high rise construction and fit out projects in the UAE or the wider GCC region and will have worked for a recognised design or engineering consultancy or PMC company previously.

This role is available for immediate joining and is an initial 24 month contract position employed as outsourced staff through J10 Consulting.

Key Responsibilities:

The Planning Engineer (Consultant side) is responsible for overseeing and verifying the contractor’s project schedule, progress reporting, and recovery planning for a G+11 residential development. The role ensures that construction activities comply with the approved baseline program, contractual milestones, and authority requirements. The Planning Engineer acts as the time-control representative of the consultant, maintaining accurate, evidence-based project progress records and supporting management in all matters related to schedule performance, delays, and claims.

Review & Validation of Contractor Schedules

• Review and approve the contractor’s baseline program, verifying logic links, activity durations, and critical paths.
• Ensure compliance with contractual requirements (FIDIC or equivalent) and consultant procedures.
• Evaluate revised and updated programs submitted by the contractor and provide technical comments.
• Monitor interdependency between trades (structure, MEP, façade, finishes) to ensure a realistic sequence of works.

Progress Monitoring & Verification

• Conduct weekly site inspections with the contractor’s planning and site teams to verify actual progress.
• Compare planned vs actual progress for all major trades (structure, blockwork, plaster, MEP, façade, etc.).
• Validate the contractor’s weekly and monthly progress reports, including S-curves and histograms.
• Record achieved milestones, noting any deviations from the approved program.
• Ensure the contractor maintains updated as-built records aligned with actual site progress.

Reporting & Communication

• Prepare consultant-side progress reports summarizing site progress, delays, and potential schedule risks.
• Report to the Project Manager / Resident Engineer any discrepancies between reported and observed progress.
• Present monthly progress summaries to the client, highlighting critical delays, recovery actions, and forecasts.
• Coordinate with the QS team to verify that progress claimed for payment aligns with physical progress achieved.

Delay Analysis & Recovery Monitoring

• Review and comment on the contractor’s recovery or catch-up programs.
• Identify critical or near-critical activities and recommend mitigation measures to maintain project milestones.
• Participate in delay analysis reviews and support the preparation of EOT evaluations.
• Maintain a delay register and ensure all time-related correspondences are logged and tracked.

Coordination & Interface Management

• Liaise with Architectural, Structural, and MEP teams to align their inspections and deliverables with the schedule.
• Coordinate with authority teams to track key approval and NOC dates affecting project milestones.
• Monitor interface points between packages (main contractor, façade, ID, landscape, etc.) to ensure synchronized progress.

Documentation & Control

• Maintain a comprehensive record of schedules, updates, and progress logs in accordance with project QA/QC procedures.
• Ensure approved baseline and revised programs are properly archived and referenced in reports.
• Support the consultant’s document control team with verified progress inputs for contractual and claim-related documentation.

Requirements: