Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Regional Construction Planner

🎯 Role Definition

The Regional Construction Planner coordinates, develops and governs construction schedules and resource strategies across multiple projects within a geographic region. This role ensures on-time delivery by creating robust baseline and look-ahead schedules, monitoring critical path activities, aligning subcontractors and suppliers, and driving proactive mitigation plans. The Regional Construction Planner partners with Project Managers, Project Controls, Procurement, Engineering and site teams to optimize sequencing, minimize disruption and realize regional portfolio objectives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Planner / Assistant Scheduler
Site Engineer or Construction Engineer seeking planning specialization
Project Controls Analyst

Advancement To:

Senior Regional Construction Planner
Regional Project Controls Lead
Program Construction Manager

Lateral Moves:

Construction Manager
Schedule & Cost Control Specialist
BIM Coordinator / Integrated Planning Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, maintain and govern integrated master schedules and detailed construction schedules across a portfolio of regional projects, using critical-path method (CPM) scheduling to establish realistic baselines and update cycles that align with contract milestones and handover requirements.
Prepare and present monthly and fortnightly schedule performance reports, including earned value schedule analysis, progress curves, percent complete, float consumption, critical path changes and recovery plans for regional steering committees and executive stakeholders.
Create and manage rolling 12-week look-ahead schedules and resource-loaded short-term plans to enable site teams and subcontractors to coordinate labor, equipment and material deliveries, reduce idle time and improve first-time quality.
Perform resource forecasting and leveling across projects to optimize crew deployments, plant and equipment allocation, and regional materials staging; identify and escalate resource conflicts early to Procurement and Operations leadership.
Coordinate constructability and sequencing reviews with Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) teams to identify long-lead items, design clashes, temporary works needs and permit dependencies that impact schedule and cost.
Lead schedule integration between owner, engineering contractors and multiple specialty subcontractors to ensure alignment of milestones, interfaces, testing and commissioning activities; resolve schedule discrepancies and accuracy issues.
Maintain baseline and planned vs. actual schedule data in scheduling software (Primavera P6, Microsoft Project or equivalent), ensuring consistent coding structures (WBS/OBS), activity logic, durations and status updates for accurate analytics.
Develop and monitor mitigation and recovery plans for schedule slippage, workforce shortages, material delays and adverse weather; quantify cost and time impacts and recommend prioritized corrective actions to regional management.
Conduct weekly site visits and progress verification walks to validate progress reports, update percent complete, confirm critical activities and ensure the schedule reflects real site conditions and constraints.
Facilitate and lead schedule review workshops, pre-construction meetings and coordination sessions with project teams and subcontractors to drive alignment on interfaces, start/finish constraints, and risk mitigation actions.
Maintain contractual schedule requirements, including compliance with milestone payment triggers, liquidated damages, interim milestones, and ensure documentation and notices are prepared in accordance with contract terms.
Produce sensitivity analyses and scenario planning (what-if) to evaluate the schedule impacts of scope changes, permit delays, supply chain interruptions, or acceleration options and present recommendations for approval.
Support procurement planning by identifying long-lead and critical-path equipment and materials, providing realistic delivery windows and insertion points to Purchasing and Logistics to prevent schedule bottlenecks.
Integrate BIM deliverables and 4D simulations into the schedule where applicable to visualize sequencing, identify clashes and improve stakeholder understanding of complex construction sequences.
Develop and maintain schedule risk registers, quantify schedule contingency needs, and collaborate with Risk & Audit teams to ensure risks are tracked, mitigated and reported at program level.
Validate subcontractor schedule submissions and resource plans, ensure alignment to the master schedule, and monitor subcontractor performance against agreed look-ahead commitments; escalate non-performance with evidence and recommended remedies.
Collaborate with Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) teams to ensure schedule assumptions include required safety constraints, permits and shutdown windows; coordinate access and temporary works planning to maintain safe operations.
Prepare and deliver clear, executive-level schedule briefings and visual dashboards for regional directors, highlighting near-term priorities, key risks, earned schedule metrics and decisions required.
Manage and control schedule change processes; evaluate schedule change requests, quantify time and cost impacts, document approved changes and ensure as-built / record schedules are updated accordingly.
Ensure data integrity and standardization for planning metrics across the region, including consistent activity templates, coding conventions, baseline acceptance criteria and regular audits to improve planning maturity.

Secondary Functions

Support project close-out by creating as-built schedules, lessons learned logs and archive documentation for continuous improvement across the region.
Contribute to the regional planning & project controls strategy by recommending process improvements, governance enhancements and training needs to elevate planning maturity.
Provide ad-hoc schedule analytics and exploratory data analysis to senior management, including trend identification, KPI dashboards and variance root-cause assessments.
Assist in the development of planning templates, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training materials for site planners and project teams.
Collaborate with Procurement and Logistics to coordinate staging yards, delivery windows and off-site prefabrication sequencing to minimize on-site congestion and double-handling.
Participate in risk workshops and change control boards to ensure schedule impacts are assessed before approvals and that mitigation accountability is assigned.
Mentor and coach junior planners and schedulers across the region, review schedule submissions and provide actionable feedback to raise the quality of schedule deliverables.
Liaise with client representatives and third-party inspectors to coordinate access, testing and commissioning windows and to ensure client-driven milestones are embedded within the program.
Support cost control teams by providing schedule-driven forecast inputs for manpower, equipment utilization and ramp-down schedules to align budget forecasts with updated timelines.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives by capturing best practices, automation opportunities (scripts, macros, dashboards) and by piloting digital tools such as 4D simulations and schedule heat mapping.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced CPM scheduling and baseline management experience with tools such as Oracle Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, Asta Powerproject or equivalent; demonstrated ability to build resource-loaded schedules and maintain schedule logic integrity.
Proficiency in schedule analysis techniques: critical path analysis, float management, earned value schedule (EVS), recovery planning and what-if scenario modeling.
Strong Excel and data-analysis skills (pivot tables, Power Query, advanced formulas) to manipulate schedule exports, build dashboards and perform trend analyses.
Familiarity with BIM integration for planning (4D scheduling), clash detection impacts on sequencing and visual planning tools.
Understanding of construction methods, temporary works, sequencing for civil, structural, mechanical and finishing trades across multi-site regional programs.
Experience with document control and planning databases (SharePoint, Aconex, Procore, SAP, or similar) to maintain schedule files, approvals and audit trails.
Technical knowledge of procurement and logistics planning, including long-lead item identification, vendor delivery coordination and staging/routing strategies.
Ability to produce and interpret schedule KPIs and dashboards using visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau) to provide concise executive reports.
Knowledge of contract administration fundamentals (milestones, liquidated damages, claims, change order impacts) and experience supporting schedule-related claims or notices.
Competence in risk-based scheduling, schedule-based cost forecasting and integration with cost control systems for program-level planning.

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder management: ability to influence Project Managers, subcontractors and commercial teams to drive schedule compliance and mitigate conflicts.
Excellent verbal and written communication, capable of delivering executive briefings, technical schedule narratives and concise daily/weekly updates.
Problem-solving mindset with a bias for practical, implementable mitigation actions and the ability to make timely decisions under schedule pressure.
Leadership and mentoring aptitude to coach junior planners and build planning capability across geographically dispersed teams.
Detail-oriented with high standards for data integrity, schedule logic quality and audit-ready documentation.
Adaptability to work across multiple projects and shifting priorities while maintaining focus on critical regional milestones.
Negotiation and conflict-resolution skills to align competing priorities across projects, contractors and functional departments.
Time management and prioritization skills to handle concurrent schedule updates, meetings and site visits without loss of quality.
Collaborative team player who proactively builds relationships with Procurement, Engineering, HSE and Operations to remove barriers to progress.
Analytical thinker able to combine quantitative schedule metrics with qualitative site observations to form balanced recommendations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Project Management or related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, or Project Controls; certifications such as PMI-PBA, PMI-SP, AACE PSP, or equivalent are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Construction Management
Civil / Structural Engineering
Project Controls / Project Management
Architecture
Quantity Surveying

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–12+ years of progressively responsible planning, scheduling or project controls experience in heavy civil, buildings, infrastructure or industrial construction environments.

Preferred:

7+ years’ experience as a construction planner or scheduler with multi-project/regional responsibility.
Direct experience with Primavera P6 (or MS Project/Asta) for multi-million dollar construction programs.
Proven track record coordinating across multiple sites, managing subcontractor scheduling, and delivering projects on time within complex regulatory and permitting environments.