Project Controls Manager – High-Speed Rail Project (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

Role overview

Planning and scheduling

• Lead the project controls, planning, and progress reporting team.
• Develop and monitor the integrated Primavera P6 schedule and align it across work packages, engineering teams, partners, and subcontractors.
• Monitor baselines, milestones, and critical path; identify deviations and develop recovery plans.
• Prepare look-ahead schedules covering approvals, procurement, permits, site access, resources, and construction readiness.

Reporting, cost, and risk controls

• Validate actual progress and prepare weekly and monthly reports, dashboards, and management presentations.
• Coordinate with Commercial and Finance on budgets, commitments, forecasts, and cash flow; apply EVM to evaluate performance.
• Assess schedule risks, conduct delay analysis, evaluate changes, and support Extension of Time submissions.

Stakeholder coordination

• Coordinate engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning teams and participate in stakeholder progress meetings.
• Present project controls findings, schedule performance, and recovery strategies to senior management.
• Ensure reported progress is consistent with site records and project schedules.

Mandatory qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline, or equivalent demonstrated experience under applicable contractual requirements.
• At least 10 years of project controls, planning, and scheduling experience, including controls management on major multidisciplinary construction or infrastructure projects.
• Advanced knowledge of Primavera P6, CPM, resource planning, progress measurement, and schedule recovery.
• Experience in cost control, forecasting, EVM, risk management, and delay analysis.
• Demonstrated team leadership and multidisciplinary stakeholder coordination; strong analytical, reporting, communication, and leadership skills.
• Fluent written and spoken English; willing to work full-time in Abu Dhabi.

Preferred qualifications

• 15 or more years of relevant experience, including project controls team leadership.
• Contractor-side railway infrastructure experience; high-speed rail experience is highly desirable.
• Experience coordinating civil works, buildings, track works, railway systems, testing, and commissioning; UAE or GCC infrastructure experience is preferred.

Additional information

• The selected candidate is subject to approval as contractual Key Personnel by the relevant project authority.