Strategy & Planning SME - Damascus Based

Overview

Position Objective

Job Description & Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the overall project master programme, integrating inputs from land acquisition, design, procurement, construction, and commissioning workstreams to produce a coherent and realistic delivery schedule.
• Lead the strategic planning process for data centre rollout across Syria, defining phasing options, sequencing logic, and dependency mapping in alignment with the client’s business objectives and capacity targets.
• Prepare strategic planning documents, feasibility assessments, and options analyses to support project governance decisions and client briefings at key stage gates.
• Monitor progress against the master programme regularly, identifying critical path deviations, float erosion, and emerging schedule risks, and proposing mitigation measures to keep the project on track.
• Facilitate planning workshops and coordination meetings with functional SMEs, design leads, and the Project Manager to align workstream plans, resolve interface conflicts, and validate schedule assumptions.
• Produce concise planning and strategy reports for internal and client audiences, covering programme status, key risks, phasing recommendations, and forward-looking planning for the next reporting period.
• Support the Architecture & Planning domain in developing and refining planning standards, templates, and methodology guides to be applied consistently across the data centre programme in Syria.
• Contribute to risk identification and management processes, ensuring that planning risks are captured in the project risk register with appropriate owners, likelihood assessments, and response plans.

Qualifications & Experience

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Architecture, project management, or a related discipline is preferred. Candidates with substantial relevant experience and a strong portfolio of planning deliverables will be considered instead of a formal degree.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in project planning, programme management, or strategy development within the construction, infrastructure, or technology sector, with exposure to data centre, critical facilities or mega infrastructure projects being an advantage.
• Proficiency in scheduling and programme management tools such as Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, or equivalent; familiarity with critical path method (CPM) and resource levelling techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to develop multi-workstream programme plans and strategic delivery frameworks, with experience in presenting planning outputs to senior stakeholders and clients in a clear, structured manner.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess complex scheduling scenarios, identify interdependencies, and communicate options and recommendations concisely.
• Full professional proficiency in Arabic is required; a working knowledge of English is an advantage for producing technical planning documents, reports, and correspondence with international project teams.
• Willingness to travel between project sites and attend stakeholder meetings across the country as required by the programme.