Position Summary

The Master Scheduling Lead is a senior individual contributor leads enterprise-level project planning and field travel coordination functions.across GSI’s infrastructure repair portfolio This role has direct pathway to leadership accountability for a team of Master Schedulers and a Travel Services team. This role drives the end-to-end scheduling lifecycle from sales handoff through project close, with an intense focus on resource optimization, schedule stability, and field productivity. The Lead owns the planning function independently—without direct reports—and is accountable for the key mandate of driving the highest possible volume of projects into stable execution 2–4 weeks before start while simultaneously building the systems, tools, and talent that make the planning function world-class.

Core Responsibilities

Enterprise Project Planning

• Receive project handoffs from Sales via PM and translate scope, specs, and commitments into fully resourced master schedules.
• Plan and allocate all resources required for project execution: materials, equipment, manpower, and subcontractors.
• Manage scheduling across both a production model (repeating, high-volume work) and project execution model (complex, one-off projects).
• Target all non-urgent projects entering execution with a stable start date, scheduled at 1 month and locked at 2 weeks prior to mobilization.
• Maintain a portfolio view of all active and upcoming projects with real-time awareness of resource constraints and interdependencies.

Flex Resources & Recovery Planning

• Develop and maintain a pre-qualified bench of flex resources — material vendors, equipment providers, manpower, and subcontractors—specifically designated for schedule recovery.
• Deploy flex resources proactively when planned schedules slip due to delays, change orders, or emergency work insertions.
• Ensure emergency projects can be mobilized rapidly without disrupting committed planned work.
• Maintain escalation protocols and pre-negotiated terms with flex resources to minimize activation lead time.

Daily Management & Cross-Functional Alignment

• Initiate and facilitate daily management-style standup meetings with all Master Schedulers and the Travel Services to align priorities and resolve execution conflicts.
• Serve as the coordination hub between Procurement, Fleet, Warehouse, Scheduling, and Travel to ensure resource alignment across the portfolio.
• Escalate schedule risks, resource gaps, and prioritization conflicts to the VP of Operational Excellence with clear options and recommendations.

Planning Tool Development

• Partner in the design and development of a next-generation dynamic scheduling and resource planning tool capable of running real-time what-if scenarios and optimizing resource allocation across the portfolio.
• Define functional requirements for multi-dimensional project views including: individual project phase breakdowns, equipment with full spec tracking across all projects, craft manpower with certifications (union vs. non-union, qualifications), subcontractor assignments by project, and material plans with delivery dates.
• Support the build-out of a Gantt-style master view showing all projects with phase-level dependencies, resource assignments, and RAG (Red/Amber/Green) schedule status across the full portfolio.
• Serve as primary subject matter expert and user advocate throughout tool development and deployment.

KPIs, Reporting & Financial Impact

• Develop and own the scheduling KPI framework: schedule adherence rate, % of projects locked 2–4 weeks prior to start, resource utilization by type, and schedule recovery rate.
• Build and maintain financial impact reporting that quantifies the cost consequences of schedule changes: delay penalties, demobilization/remobilization costs, expedite premiums, and lost productivity.
• Track and report equipment utilization across the portfolio to maximize asset throughput and minimize idle time.
• Produce regular executive-ready dashboards and reports for the VP of Operational Excellence.

Continuous Improvement (Lean Building)

• Champion a Lean Building mindset: continuously identify and eliminate waste in the scheduling and planning process.
• Bias every improvement initiative toward clearing the path for field crews to work productively without delays, rework, or resource gaps.
• Lead root cause analysis on schedule failures and drive systemic fixes into standard planning processes.
• Document and standardize scheduling best practices, templates, and playbooks for consistent execution.

Qualifications

Required:

• 8+ years of experience in project scheduling, planning, or operations in infrastructure repair, construction, utilities, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-project portfolios at an enterprise scale.
• Demonstrated experience in change management
• Proficiency in scheduling software; ability to evaluate and adopt new planning tools.
• Strong understanding of resource planning across craft labor (union and non-union), equipment, subcontractors, and materials.
• Experience developing KPIs, dashboards, and financial impact reports tied to schedule performance.
• Exceptional facilitation and cross-functional communication skills.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Operations, Business, or related field.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or demonstrated Lean/continuous improvement experience.
• Experience in infrastructure repair, industrial field services or construction environments.
• Experience contributing to the design or implementation of enterprise planning/scheduling tools.