Senior Project Manager

Lead delivery of a greenfield elastomer plant in the petrochemical sector at Al Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, as the single point of accountability for cost, schedule, quality, safety and start-up. Direct the full project management consultancy team, oversee the EPC contractor and licensor interface, and protect the owner's position from FEED through to handover.

About petenco

petenco is an independent advisory, investment partnership and delivery firm operating across the energy and chemicals value chain, including renewables, power and utilities, refining and petrochemicals, and storage and terminals. We combine board-level advisory with execution capability, taking assets from concept to operation through disciplined governance, strategy deployment and capital project oversight.

The Role

You will be employed by petenco on a full-time basis and deployed as the senior project management resource to a greenfield elastomer project under a project management consultancy agreement, reporting operationally to the CEO. You will hold single-point accountability for delivery of the plant on time, on budget and to specification, directing the full PMC team across project controls, technical, procurement, contracts, construction and commissioning. Scope covers the complete project life cycle: FEED, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, start-up, performance testing and handover to operations. The position is based at the Abu Dhabi head office with significant time required at the Al Ruwais site. Full project detail is shared with shortlisted candidates.

What you will do

• Act as single point of accountability for scope, schedule, budget, quality, HSE and start-up, establishing project governance and reporting cadence across all workstreams, and escalating material exposures to the CEO and shareholders with clear recommendations.
• Direct and supervise the EPC contractor across engineering, procurement and construction against the terms of the contract, monitor performance and resource deployment, intervene early where delivery is at risk, and manage the contractor, licensor and owner interface.
• Oversee FEED and detailed engineering across all disciplines for compliance with licensor requirements and the project basis of design, and control design changes through disciplined change management with cost, schedule and technical impact assessed before approval.
• Own the master schedule and project budget as the core owner-protection function, driving Primavera P6 planning, cost control, earned value analysis, contingency management and reliable forecasts of final cost and completion date.
• Administer the EPC contract and the feedstock and offtake interfaces, manage variations, claims and disputes to protect the owner's commercial position while keeping the contractor relationship workable, and maintain complete and defensible contractual records.
• Oversee site execution including QA/QC and site HSE performance, verify reported progress independently and drive recovery where slippage occurs, then carry the project through pre-commissioning, start-up, performance testing and handover to operations.

What you bring

Must-have

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering.
• 15 to 20 or more years of project management experience in EPC delivery within petrochemicals or chemicals.
• A minimum of two complete projects delivered end to end in the capacity of Project Manager, not as a team member, each with a capital value of not less than EUR 200 million.
• Direct experience on elastomer or polyolefin plants, including SBR, PBR, PE, PP or PS.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi-discipline project teams and EPC contractors of 50 to 200 or more personnel at peak.
• Expert-level cost and schedule control including Primavera P6, earned value management, forecasting and risk management, with a strong command of FIDIC and LSTK/EPC lump-sum turnkey contract forms including variations and claims.
• Full professional proficiency in English, the working language of the project.
• Willing to be based in Abu Dhabi and to spend significant time at the Al Ruwais site.

Nice-to-have

• Synthetic rubber or elastomer plant experience specifically, as opposed to polyolefins only.
• Greenfield delivery experience.
• Master's degree; Chartered Engineer or Professional Engineer status.
• Project management certification such as PMP, IPMA (Level A or B) or PRINCE2.
• Experience delivering projects in the Gulf region.
• Working knowledge of ASME, API, ISO, IEC, hazardous area requirements (ATEX, PED) and process safety practice (HAZOP, SIL, PSM).

Location

Abu Dhabi, UAE, with significant time at the Al Ruwais site. On-site. Full-Time.

Why join

Single-point accountability for a greenfield elastomer plant from FEED through to handover, with a direct line to the CEO and to shareholder and Board level reporting. Full authority across the PMC team and the EPC interface, genuine ownership of the owner's cost, schedule and quality position, and the scale and visibility that comes with a project of this profile in the Gulf.

To Apply

Apply via Easy Apply with your CV attached. We review applications on a rolling basis and will reach out if there is a fit.