Planning Engineer - Transport Projects, Dubai

About the role

Zutari, a buildings, infrastructure engineering and advisory practice with over 90 years of heritage across Africa and the Middle East, is looking for a Planning Engineer to join its Transport Unit in Dubai. The role supports project managers and delivery teams in planning, scheduling, monitoring and reporting on transport and infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, interchanges and transport-adjacent works. It calls for strong project controls capability, analytical skills and the ability to communicate progress and schedule risks to clients, contractors and local authorities.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, review and maintain detailed project schedules using Primavera P6 and other planning tools.
• Support project managers with baseline schedules, WBS, programme narratives and resource/cost loading.
• Monitor progress against baseline, identify slippages and critical path impacts, and recommend corrective actions.
• Coordinate with design, procurement, utilities and construction teams to keep forecasts realistic.
• Prepare weekly and monthly progress reports, dashboards and schedule narratives for internal and client reporting.
• Support look-ahead programmes, milestone trackers and interface schedules (utilities diversions, traffic management, permits and approvals).
• Assist with delay analysis, EOT support and delay impact assessments, including FIDIC where applicable.
• Take part in risk reviews and workshops, and maintain schedule risk items, constraints and mitigations.
• Ensure planning outputs follow Zutari standards and client requirements, including documentation control and auditability.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Construction Management or a related discipline.
• 3-5 years' experience in planning and scheduling on major transport, infrastructure or construction projects.
• Consultancy, engineer's representative or project management experience preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal English; Arabic is an advantage.
• UAE experience is highly desirable, including familiarity with local authorities and clients (RTA, Dubai Municipality, DEWA, Etisalat/du, NOC).

Required skills

• Proven expertise in Primavera P6 and MS Project (Power BI is a plus).
• Solid understanding of FIDIC contracts, programme management and cost/schedule risk management.
• Proficiency in Excel and schedule dashboards.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills.