Yard Planner Advance Planning

About the Role

DP World Jeddah is seeking an Advanced Yard Planner to join its Planning team in Jeddah, Makkah. This full-time role is responsible for developing strategic yard plans and optimization recommendations to enhance terminal operations. The position requires 2-5 years of relevant experience.

Role Purpose and Impact

The Advanced Yard Planner develops forward-looking yard plans, capacity forecasts, and optimization recommendations. This involves aligning yard strategy with vessel schedules, gate demand, inventory, and equipment capabilities. The role focuses on improving planning parameters, allocation strategies, anticipating congestion, reducing re-handles, and supporting data-driven continuous improvement across terminal operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare forward-looking yard plans for vessels expected within 24–72 hours and maintain a rolling view of upcoming vessel volumes, gate demand, inventory, and available capacity.
• Develop allocation strategies for various cargo types, including import, export, transshipment, empty, reefer, IMDG, OOG, and special cargo, ensuring compliance with approved yard strategy, segregation requirements, and SOPs.
• Forecast yard utilization, block occupancy, stacking density, and capacity pressure by block and time period, identifying risks early and proposing mitigation plans.
• Coordinate with Vessel Planners to align yard plans with vessel schedules, stowage and loading sequences, POD, container size, weight class, and cargo-specific requirements.
• Design and refine allocation approaches across RTG/AeRTG/ECH and other applicable blocks, balancing capacity, equipment capability, workload, accessibility, and expected cargo flows.
• Analyze re-handle ratios, housekeeping moves, mixed stacks, dwell time, gate demand, and yard-related vessel delays to identify root causes and develop measurable improvement actions.
• Review yard planning filters, groups, ranges, stacking rules, and TOS parameters, collaborating with the Yard Strategist and IT/TOS teams to test and improve automated and manual planning processes.
• Develop planning scenarios for peak volumes, high yard utilization, empty-container surges, equipment constraints, and changes to vessel schedules, recommending practical contingency plans.
• Establish and maintain planning reports, forecasts, and dashboards to support decisions on yard capacity, cargo allocation, reefer plug requirements, and operational performance.
• Review long-staying containers, overstays, and empty inventory trends with relevant teams and shipping lines, assessing their impact on future capacity and recommending actions.
• Define and communicate yard planning standards, allocation principles, and handover requirements, supporting knowledge sharing and consistent planning practices across shifts.
• Support TOS upgrades, user acceptance testing, planning-system enhancements, and continuous improvement projects, documenting requirements, test outcomes, and recommended changes.
• Provide supervisors and management with clear analysis of capacity risks, plan deviations, root causes, proposed actions, and expected operational benefits.

Qualifications and Experience

• 2-5 years of experience in yard planning and container terminal operations.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to operational excellence.

Application Process

Candidates with relevant experience in yard planning and container terminal operations are encouraged to apply.