Planning Engineer

Overview

• About Arada
• Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Sharjah, UAE, Arada was created to build spaces that inspire, connect, and enrich communities.
• As one of the region’s fastest-growing master developers, Arada has delivered landmark residential, retail, hospitality, and lifestyle destinations that redefine modern living.
• At Arada, our people are at the heart of everything we do.
• We foster a collaborative, innovative, and high-performance culture where talented professionals are empowered to make a meaningful impact on the communities we create.

Role Purpose

• Portfolio Data Consolidation & Reporting Governance

• Central Database Management: Establish and maintain the department's central project controls database, ensuring seamless data harvesting and consolidation from all project sites.
• Reporting Standardization: Design, implement, and enforce standardized weekly and monthly reporting templates across contractors, consultants, and internal project teams to ensure consistency, accuracy, and transparency.
• Periodic Audit & Review: Conduct rigorous reviews of incoming site reports, cross-verifying contractor progress claims against actual site conditions and flagging critical path anomalies, schedule risks, and reporting inconsistencies directly to the Project Controls Director.

• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Coordination (Pre-Contract Tracks)

• Design & Procurement Tracking: Establish, manage, and continuously update comprehensive trackers and dashboards for pre-construction activities, with a strong focus on design development, authority approvals, procurement milestones, and package award schedules.
• Internal Stakeholder Interface: Coordinate directly with Development Managers, Design Directors, and Procurement leads to resolve scheduling conflicts and ensure pre-contract deliverables align with planned construction commencement dates.
• Master Program Development: Support the Project Controls Director in developing, maintaining, and logic-linking portfolio-level master programs that integrate design, permitting, tendering, procurement, and construction activities.

• Executive Analytics & C-Suite Presentations

• Dashboard Management: Maintain and oversee the department’s live Power BI and ERP-based dashboards, transforming complex project, commercial, and schedule data into meaningful performance indicators and executive-level insights.
• Executive Presentation Development: Consolidate portfolio-wide progress updates, schedule risks, delay exposures, and cost-related insights into professional, structured presentations and briefing materials for the CDO, CFO, CEO, and Executive Leadership Team.
• Special Briefings & Ad-Hoc Analytics: Act as an operational extension of the Project Controls Director by conducting deep-dive analyses, forensic schedule reviews, and focused data audits on critical or distressed project packages as required.

• Site-HO Bridging & Compliance Enforcement

• Site Coordination: Maintain close engagement with embedded site planning teams, consultants, and contractors to ensure real-time visibility of progress, risks, and emerging critical path delays.
• Process Enforcement: Audit planning and reporting compliance across all projects, ensuring schedule networks, baseline updates, milestone reporting, and delay notifications adhere strictly to Arada’s Project Controls Manual and governance requirements.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
• PMP or PMI-SP (Scheduling Professional) certifications are highly advantageous.

Experience

• 7–10 years of progressive project planning and scheduling experience within the UAE real estate, developer, or construction sector.
• A balanced background is essential, including:
• + Minimum 3–4 years of hands-on site-based construction planning and execution experience.
• + Minimum 3–4 years within a Head Office PMO, Project Controls, or Developer corporate environment.
• Proven experience supporting multiple projects simultaneously and coordinating across diverse stakeholder groups.

Technical Skills

• Advanced to expert-level proficiency in Primavera P6.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel reporting and analytical capabilities.
• Strong Power BI dashboard development and data visualization skills.
• Advanced PowerPoint presentation design with the ability to prepare executive-level reporting materials.
• Strong understanding of project controls methodologies, schedule governance, and portfolio reporting frameworks.

Core Competency

• Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and organizational agility.
• Ability to confidently engage with senior leadership while maintaining strong technical credibility with consultants, contractors, and project teams.
• Strong analytical mindset with the capability to challenge assumptions, identify reporting inconsistencies, and provide data-driven recommendations.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of operating effectively in a fast-paced, multi-project environment.