Field Planner and Project Controls Lead
Position Overview:
Our client is seeking a site-based Field Planner / Project Controls Lead for the construction phase of a major infrastructure development project in Kern County, California. This role leads field planning, scheduling, progress measurement and performance analysis, providing project leadership with reliable forecasts and actionable information needed to deliver the work safely and efficiently.
The successful candidate will bring at least 10 years of project planning and controls experience in industrial construction, advanced proficiency in Oracle Primavera P6 and substantial hands-on expertise applying Earned Value Management in an industrial setting are essential. The role works closely with construction, engineering, contracts, procurement, cost control, commissioning and contractor teams.
Key Responsibilities
Project Controls Leadership
• Lead site project controls activities and establish consistent planning, scheduling, progress measurement, forecasting and reporting practices.
• Integrate schedule, cost, quantity, productivity, change and risk information into a reliable view of project performance.
• Provide clear analysis to the Construction Manager and project leadership regarding status, trends, emerging risks and required corrective actions.
• Coordinate project controls inputs from multiple teams, contractors, vendors and other stakeholders and verify the quality and consistency of submitted data.
• Maintain alignment between field execution priorities, contractual requirements, project milestones and the approved control baseline.
• Coach project and contractor personnel on planning, controls and Earned Value Management requirements.
Primavera P6 Schedule Management
• Develop, maintain and control integrated resource-loaded schedules in Oracle Primavera P6 for construction, engineering support, procurement, turnover and commissioning activities.
• Establish and maintain schedule coding, calendars, activity logic, constraints, milestones and baseline structures in accordance with project standards.
• Perform critical path and near-critical path analysis and evaluate float, logic quality, interfaces and schedule risk.
• Review contractor baseline schedules, updates, narratives and recovery plans for completeness, realism and contractual compliance.
• Manage regular schedule update cycles, validate actual dates and remaining durations, and ensure approved changes are incorporated through controlled processes.
• Prepare scenario analyses, what-if schedules and recovery options to support project decisions.
Field Planning and Workface Coordination
• Partner with construction leadership to develop integrated look-ahead schedules, short-interval plans and work-front priorities.
• Confirm that engineering, materials, equipment, labor, access, permits, temporary works and predecessor activities are ready to support planned execution.
• Facilitate planning meetings with discipline teams and contractors, document constraints and track assigned actions through resolution.
• Coordinate interfaces among heavy civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, controls and commissioning scopes.
• Monitor field productivity and installed quantities and use actual performance to improve forecasts and future work plans.
• Support sequencing, logistics, systemization and turnover planning from mobilization through project closeout.
Earned Value Management
• Design, implement and maintain the project Earned Value Management framework in alignment with the work breakdown structure, cost breakdown structure and control accounts.
• Establish measurable rules of credit, progress-weighting methods, performance measurement baselines and reporting calendars.
• Calculate and analyze planned value, earned value, actual cost, schedule performance and cost performance using credible industrial project data.
• Analyze schedule and cost variances, productivity trends, estimate-at-completion outcomes and forecast impacts.
• Validate contractor earned value submissions, progress curves, quantity records and supporting evidence before acceptance into project reporting.
• Translate Earned Value Management results into clear explanations, forecasts and recommended actions for project leadership.
Progress Measurement and Forecasting
• Develop progress measurement systems appropriate to engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning scopes.
• Verify physical progress through field observations, quantity tracking, installed-status records and objective completion criteria.
• Maintain planned and actual progress curves and produce accurate weekly and monthly performance forecasts.
• Evaluate productivity, production rates, remaining quantities and resource requirements and identify deviations early.
• Coordinate forecast dates and completion projections with cost, contracts, construction and commissioning teams.
• Ensure progress information is traceable, consistent and supported by auditable source records.
Cost Schedule and Change Integration
• Coordinate with cost control and contracts personnel to align commitments, actual costs, accruals, forecasts, schedule status and approved changes.
• Assess the time and performance implications of potential and approved changes and incorporate authorized impacts into control baselines.
• Support evaluation of contractor change requests, time-impact analyses, delay claims and mitigation proposals.
• Maintain visibility of pending changes, trends, risks and opportunities that may affect milestones or forecast completion.
• Provide schedule and progress information for payment reviews, commercial evaluations and management decisions.
Performance Analysis and Reporting
• Prepare concise weekly and monthly project controls reports, dashboards and narratives covering schedule, progress, earned value, productivity and forecast performance.
• Identify root causes of variance and work with responsible teams to develop measurable corrective and recovery actions.
• Track action effectiveness and communicate when performance is not improving as planned.
• Develop milestone, critical-path, look-ahead, manpower, progress and productivity reports suited to different project audiences.
• Present complex controls information clearly to project leadership, technical teams and contractor representatives.
Risk and Schedule Assurance
• Support schedule risk assessments, risk workshops and quantitative or qualitative evaluation of uncertainty.
• Monitor critical and near-critical paths, key interfaces, long-lead items and external dependencies.
• Conduct schedule quality reviews addressing open ends, excessive constraints, unrealistic durations, out-of-sequence progress and logic integrity.
• Challenge unsupported assumptions and ensure forecasts reflect current field conditions and credible execution plans.
• Maintain required controls records and support internal, client and contractor audits.
Commissioning and Closeout
• Integrate construction completion, testing, turnover, pre-commissioning and commissioning activities into the master schedule.
• Coordinate system and subsystem priorities with construction, commissioning and operations stakeholders.
• Track punch-list completion, documentation, training, regulatory milestones and final handover requirements.
• Support final progress reconciliation, schedule closeout, performance reporting and lessons learned.
Qualifications and Experience
Required
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, project management or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience may be considered.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive planning, scheduling or project controls experience on industrial construction or major capital projects.
• Advanced hands-on proficiency with Oracle Primavera P6, including development and maintenance of integrated, logic-driven construction schedules.
• Extensive practical knowledge of Earned Value Management in an industrial setting, including baselines, rules of credit, variance analysis, performance indices and estimate-at-completion forecasting.
• Demonstrated experience integrating schedule, cost, progress, quantities, productivity, change and risk information.
• Strong understanding of construction sequencing, field planning, critical path methods and contractor schedule oversight.
• Ability to interpret engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning information and convert it into credible plans and forecasts.
• Strong analytical, written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex performance information to project leaders.
Preferred
• Experience in mining, process, heavy civil or mechanical construction projects.
• Experience developing or administering contractor schedule specifications and reviewing time-impact analyses or delay claims.
• Working knowledge of cost-control systems, estimating, contract administration and change management.
• Experience supporting construction through commissioning, startup and final handover.
• Certification such as AACE Planning and Scheduling Professional, AACE Earned Value Professional, PMI Scheduling Professional, PMP or a comparable credential.
• Experience with schedule risk analysis, business intelligence tools and integrated project-controls platforms.
Core Competencies
• Analytical rigor and the judgment to distinguish meaningful performance signals from unreliable data.
• Strong field orientation and the ability to build practical plans with construction teams.
• Attention to logic, detail, data quality and documentation while maintaining focus on project outcomes.
• Confidence challenging assumptions, communicating forecast risk and recommending recovery action.
• Collaborative leadership across construction, engineering, contracts, procurement, cost and commissioning functions.
Work Environment
This is a site-based position at a major construction project in Kern County, California. The role combines office-based planning and analysis with regular participation in field meetings and periodic access to active construction areas. Required personal protective equipment and site safety rules apply. Extended hours or schedule flexibility may be required during critical construction, update and commissioning periods.