What does a project planner do?
A project planner is responsible for determining project management procedures according to business requirements and client specifications. Project planners schedule deliverables of outputs for every milestone to ensure that the team follows the track of guidelines, adhering to the company policies and project plans. They write status reports, conduct cost expenses analysis, and strategize techniques in maximizing the team's productivity and efficiency. A project planner also identifies opportunities to improve project workloads and adjust procedures as necessary to meet the highest goals and objectives.
Project planner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real project planner resumes:
- Utilize SharePoint and manage content to display and capture progress report information.
- Manage logistics of all facets of the transition from housing, moving, inter-service agreements and education.
- Manage event day logistics, including staging, set-up and strike; adherence to event schedule, and guest hospitality.
- Follow EPC projects from the engineering office to the construction site to manage the execution and performance of the construction effort.
- Manage retrofit projects for progressive stamping equipment.
- Experience with CMMS (maximo), including writing job plans and pm's.
- Obtain, review & approve detail time schedule and WBS of subcontractors and integrate time schedules to the projects master schedule.
- Used SharePoint for version management of all the documentation.
- Fill out new BOMs and enter purchase requisitions into Maximo.
- Facilitate complex cross-team plan collaboration sessions with CSC and AFMC (PMO, LTO).
- Develop and support an integrate EPC schedule for brownfield and greenfield FPSO projects scopes of work.
- Have implemented a training program to ensure all maintenance planners have sufficient knowledge in the CMMS system.
- Involve with multiple projects, within a PMO structure organization, budget at $500,000 to one million plus.
- Coordinate with multidisciplinary engineers to define WBS.
- Monitor modification schedules to assure installation is completed within schedule outage requirements.
Project planner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Project Planners are proficient in Project Management, Project Planning, and Microsoft Project. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Customer-service skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Project Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 20%
Provided project management for Engineering design validation by effectively managing preferred suppliers given constraints of time, budget, and quality.
- Project Planning, 8%
Perform professional engineering, project planning and engineering design for the operation and maintenance of the overhead and underground electrical system.
- Microsoft Project, 4%
Created detailed project schedules and material requirements plan using Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project.
- Project Scope, 4%
Meet with customers, government agencies, other utilities and city managers to coordinate overall project scope, designs and budget.
- Primavera P6, 4%
Utilized Primavera P6 resource leveling capability to optimize capital equipment acquisition costs and schedule incentive payments.
- Project Controls, 3%
Coordinate with project managers and project engineer and supervises project staff to ensure correct implementation of project control/business procedures and requirements.
Most project planners use their skills in "project management," "project planning," and "microsoft project" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential project planner responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a project planner to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "material and product inspecting clerks must pay attention to detail when checking items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." Project planners often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "obtained, reviewed & approved detail time schedule and wbs of subcontractors and integrated time schedules to the projects master schedule. "
Customer-service skills. Another essential skill to perform project planner duties is customer-service skills. Project planners responsibilities require that "material recording clerks may interact with customers in order to respond to problems or complaints." Project planners also use customer-service skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "performed critical path analysis coordinated the development and submittal of critical contract data requirements for the fbi customer. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of project planners is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday project planner duties, as "material recording clerks may need to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "lead revision of quantitative risk analysis tool and procedure. "
Communication skills. For certain project planner responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a project planner rely on this skill, as "material recording clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, or managers and need to convey their company’s needs effectively." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what project planners do: "served as liaison between project management, project team, and it management to ensure proper communications and reporting practices. "
The three companies that hire the most project planners are:
- Pfizer10 project planners jobs
- The Walt Disney Company9 project planners jobs
- Alstom6 project planners jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable project planner resume templates
Build a professional project planner resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your project planner resume.
Compare different project planners
Project planner vs. Expeditor
The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors. They are also responsible for streamlining interdepartmental communication, monitoring job progress, and collaborating with project managers to collect relevant information about job status. This role requires specific skills and qualifications, including a high school diploma or an associate degree in food service, business management, and hospitality management, relevant work experience, and certifications in CCP, CPSM, or CPPB.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a project planner are more likely to require skills like "project management," "project planning," "microsoft project," and "project scope." On the other hand, a job as an expeditor requires skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "house training," and "team work." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Expeditors tend to make the most money working in the construction industry, where they earn an average salary of $46,040. In contrast, project planners make the biggest average salary, $87,022, in the hospitality industry.expeditors tend to reach lower levels of education than project planners. In fact, expeditors are 12.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Project planner vs. Material coordinator
A material coordinator is in charge of processing requisitions and ensuring that all departments receive necessary goods and materials within a company. Aside from this, they must maintain positive engagements with vendors, suppliers, and business partners, negotiate contracts, manage schedules of deliveries, and prioritize cost-efficient goods. It is also a material coordinator's responsibility to keep an accurate record of inventory, secure sensitive data, and coordinate with all departments to ensure that all transactions are efficient and precise.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that project planner responsibilities requires skills like "project management," "project planning," "microsoft project," and "project scope." But a material coordinator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "logistics," "customer service," "inventory control," and "data entry."
On average, material coordinators earn a lower salary than project planners. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, material coordinators earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $41,571. Whereas project planners have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $87,022.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Material coordinators tend to reach lower levels of education than project planners. In fact, they're 10.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Project planner vs. Document control coordinator
A document control coordinator is responsible for sorting and filing necessary documents for project management and business requirements. Document control coordinators compile reports, analyze contracts, and ensure that the documents are filled out accurately. They also check the validity of every contract and document and properly dispose of outdated ones. A document control coordinator should always adhere to the company's protocols and guidelines to maintain the safety and security of the information database and prevent unauthorized access to confidential data.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from project planner resumes include skills like "project management," "project planning," "microsoft project," and "project scope," whereas a document control coordinator is more likely to list skills in "patients," "data entry," "infection control," and "fda. "
Document control coordinators earn the highest salary when working in the construction industry, where they receive an average salary of $59,278. Comparatively, project planners have the highest earning potential in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $87,022.Most document control coordinators achieve a lower degree level compared to project planners. For example, they're 8.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Project planner vs. Master scheduler
A master scheduler is in charge of overseeing and developing a company's overall production schedule, ensuring quality and workforce adherence. Their responsibilities revolve around liaising with clients to determine their needs, developing daily schedules and objectives, disseminating scheduling notices, and conducting regular inspections to ensure the completion of projects in a timely and efficient manner. Furthermore, a master scheduler must produce progress reports and encourage workforce members to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between project planners and master schedulers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a project planner might have more use for skills like "project management," "project planning," "project scope," and "primavera p6." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of master schedulers require skills like "customer service," "program management," "continuous improvement," and "primavera. "
The energy industry tends to pay the highest salaries for master schedulers, with average annual pay of $78,633. Comparatively, the highest project planner annual salary comes from the hospitality industry.The average resume of master schedulers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to project planners. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.Types of project planner
Updated January 8, 2025
