Hitachi Energy is seeking an experienced Senior Project Planner to serve as the Planning Subject Matter Expert (SME) for our regional project execution organization.

This role goes beyond traditional project scheduling. You will play a critical role in driving planning excellence across multiple engineering and infrastructure projects, influencing planners and project teams across the region, and ensuring consistent planning standards, governance, and best practices.

Working closely with Project Managers, Operations Leaders, Engineers, Procurement and Commercial teams, you will provide strategic planning leadership, schedule insight, and project controls expertise to support successful project delivery.

Your Responsibilities

Lead the development, maintenance, and governance of integrated project schedules using Primavera P6 and other planning tools.
Establish and maintain schedule baselines, monitor progress, perform forecasting, and identify potential project risks and delays.
Conduct critical path analysis and provide recommendations to improve project performance and delivery outcomes.
Act as the regional Planning Subject Matter Expert (SME), driving planning standards, methodologies, and best practices across the project organization.
Influence and support planners across multiple business units, providing functional leadership without direct line management responsibility.
Proactively engage stakeholders to gather, validate, and challenge project information, ensuring planning accuracy and transparency.
Facilitate schedule reviews, planning workshops, and governance meetings with project teams and leadership.
Collaborate with Project Managers, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement and Construction teams to develop realistic and achievable project plans.
Support project controls activities, including schedule performance measurement, forecasting, earned value analysis, and reporting.
Analyse contractor and third-party schedules to assess progress, risks, and alignment with project objectives.
Develop commissioning, startup, and execution schedules for complex projects.
Mentor and coach planners and project teams on planning principles, schedule management, and project controls best practices.
Contribute to resource planning, workforce planning, and future capability development within the project execution organization.

What We're Looking For

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
Minimum 8-10 years of project planning and scheduling experience within engineering, energy, utilities, industrial, infrastructure, EPC, or large-scale project environments.
Advanced proficiency in Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project.
Strong understanding of project controls, critical path methodology, schedule risk analysis, forecasting, and earned value management.
Experience managing complex project schedules across multiple stakeholders and project phases.
Demonstrated ability to influence, engage, and gain commitment from stakeholders without direct authority.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to extract information, challenge assumptions, and drive alignment across diverse teams.
Experience establishing or improving planning standards, governance frameworks, and project controls processes is highly desirable.
PMP, PMI-SP, AACE, or equivalent project management/planning certifications are advantageous.

What Makes This Role Different

This is not a traditional scheduling role focused solely on maintaining project plans.

We are looking for someone who can combine strong planning expertise with stakeholder engagement and functional leadership. As the Planning SME, you will help shape planning excellence across the organization, influence a network of planners and project teams, and drive consistency, quality, and visibility across a growing portfolio of regional projects.