Senior Planner

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1. Strategic Production Planning & Scheduling (Ownership)

Lead formulation of:

• Monthly and rolling production plans

• Weekly operating targets

Translate economic optimum into feasible, executable plans

Balance:

• Unit constraints

• Inventory limitations

• Maintenance activities

Own the planning risk register and mitigation actions

2. Economic–Operational Bridging

Apply economic guidance to:

• Feedstock allocation

• Blending strategies (volume & spec optimization)

Minimize quality giveaway while ensuring market responsiveness

Challenge LP outputs when operationally infeasible (with justification)

3. Sensitivity & Scenario Support

Support scenario planning by:

• Testing operational constraints

• Evaluating shutdowns, rate changes, feedstock swaps

Provide operational insight into scenario outcomes

4. Cross Functional Leadership

Primary planning interface with:

• Scheduling

• Operations

• Maintenance

Lead planning coordination meetings

Mentor Junior Planners

Key Requirements

Education and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Economics, Finance, or a related quantitative discipline.

• A Master’s degree, MBA, or relevant professional certification (such as CFA or PMP) is advantageous

• Minimum of 7-10 years of proven experience in production planning and scheduling within the petroleum, petrochemicals, or refining industries. Experience with large-scale operations and complex production environments is essential.

Functional Competencies

A Senior Planner combines economic literacy, operational realism, and disciplined judgment to deliver stable, margin protective refinery plans.

Technical Competencies

1. Refinery Process & Configuration Knowledge

• Understanding of refinery units, interdependencies, and operating envelopes

• Ability to identify bottlenecks and rate/yield trade offs

2. Integrated Production Planning

• Development of monthly, rolling, and weekly production plans

• Integration of maintenance, inventory, and logistics constraints

3. Economic Interpretation (Margin Awareness)

• Interpretation of LP outputs and marginal economics

• Identification and mitigation of margin leakage and quality giveaway

4. LP Output Translation

• Conversion of economic optimization results into executable plans

• Structured feedback on infeasible LP recommendations

5. Scheduling & Logistics Awareness

• Understanding of tankage, receipts, and lifting constraints

• Ability to ensure plans are schedulable (without performing scheduling)

6. Blending & Product Quality Management

• Knowledge of blend component properties and specs

• Minimisation of quality giveaway while meeting demand

7. Scenario & Contingency Planning

• Evaluation of operational scenarios (rate changes, outages, feedstock swaps)

• Contribution to sensitivity and “what if” planning

8. Planning Tools & Data Literacy

• Proficient use of planning tools, dashboards, and analytical models

• Strong data integrity and version control discipline

Non Technical Competencies

1. Decision Discipline & Governance

• Adherence to planning governance and segregation of duties

• Appropriate escalation of margin impacting decisions

2. Cross Functional Collaboration

• Effective engagement with Operations, Scheduling, Maintenance, and Economics

• Ability to align stakeholders around a single executable plan

3. Analytical Judgment & Problem Solving

• Clear distinction between planning, execution, and market driven variances

• Practical, risk aware decision making under uncertainty

4. Communication & Influence

• Clear articulation of plans, risks, and trade offs to technical and non technical audiences

• Credible challenge and constructive negotiation

5. Planning Leadership & Coaching

• Mentoring of Junior Planners

• Knowledge transfer and succession readiness