Senior Planner

Go beyond. Leave a legacy.

Arafura is developing the Nolans, Australia's first integrated processing facility in the Northern Territory, a greenfield operation producing the rare earths that will enable the global energy transition and future technologies.

We are moving into delivery and construction, and we are looking for a Senior Planner reporting to the Project Controls Manager to own the schedule picture for the Owner's Team as the project builds.

We are delivering Nolans under an EPCM model with a lean Owner's Team.

For this role, our EPCM Contractor plans and delivers the work and Arafura holds accountability for the outcome. This is where the baseline, progress, float, change and forecast completion dates come together for the Owner, and where the schedule is assured well enough that the whole project team can rely on it. Assurance done well supports the EPCM, surfaces issues while there is still time to act, and is what lets us trust and empower the delivery teams. It suits someone who wants to be the Owner’s authority on project schedule.

The Senior Planner will act as the primary Owner's Team interface with the EPCM planning and project management teams, ensuring the integrated schedule remains a credible basis for decision-making throughout project delivery.

What you'll deliver

• The Owner's Team schedule and the Owner's view of the integrated project schedule, aligned to the project WBS and the approved baseline
• Owner's Team schedule forecasts, milestone forecasts and key resource trends, with schedule input consolidated and validated across the Area Managers
• Assurance over EPCM schedule deliverables, including baseline schedules, progress updates, forecasts, critical path analysis, float management and progress measurement, with claimed progress tested against evidence
• Float and schedule contingency governance, and the time side of project change, so baseline, progress and approved change always tie back to each other
• Schedule analysis and reporting that brings delay pressure and critical path movement to light early enough for leadership to act on

What you'll bring

• Experience identifying, analysing and communicating the schedule impacts of change, emerging risks, delays and recovery plans to project leadership.
• 8+ years in planning and scheduling on major resources or industrial capital projects, including time on an Owner's team
• Planning experience under an EPCM delivery model, including assuring contractor schedules and claimed progress against Owner requirements
• Strong skills in critical path method scheduling, logic and float analysis, progress measurement and earned value
• Experience building and holding a baseline, and managing schedule change through a formal change process
• Proficiency in Primavera P6. Experience with schedule risk analysis tools such as Acumen Fuse or Safran, and with Monte Carlo based analysis, is an advantage
• The ability to explain a schedule position in plain language to people who are not planners, and to hold a view on durations and logic while building strong working relationships

If this role sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.