Purpose of the role

The Site Technical Manager / Preparation Manager owns everything that must be technically resolved, documented and secured before crews go to work. The role guarantees that each work front is released to construction genuinely "ready to build": design frozen and issued for construction, materials verified on site, methods and lifting studies approved, permits and HSE requirements in place, resources and equipment identified.
The role is also the single technical authority on site: it arbitrates between disciplines, channels all technical queries towards home-office engineering and the licensor and protects the project from uncontrolled field changes.

Key responsibilities

Work preparation and construction methods

•Build, issue and maintain the site work preparation plan; define the required level of preparation per discipline and work package.
•Break the scope down into executable work packages (AWP / IWP philosophy), each containing drawings, bill of materials, tooling and equipment, ITP and QC hold points, HSE requirements and budgeted manhours.
•Produce or validate method statements, lifting and rigging studies, heavy transport studies, scaffolding and temporary works designs, and specific procedures (tie-ins, hot work, confined space, work at height, hydrogen and hydrocarbon services).
•Run constructability and 3D model reviews with engineering; feed comments back before IFC issue to eliminate field rework at source.
•Verify work-front readiness ahead of the 3-week look-ahead: drawings, materials, permits, subcontractor resources, access and utilities no front released with an open constraint.
•Own the constraint register and drive it to closure with planning, procurement, engineering and construction.
•Manage site materials readiness with logistics and warehouse: take-off reconciliation, over/short/damaged reporting, free-issue material, preservation requirements.

Technical management

•Act as the site single point of technical authority and as the interface between home-office engineering, the licensor, vendors and the construction teams.
•Manage the site query and technical query registers; secure timely, traceable engineering responses and escalate ageing items.
•Control field change requests and design deviations: assess technical acceptability, then schedule, cost and warranty impact before any implementation.
•Review and approve subcontractor technical documentation, welding and testing procedures, and as-built documentation.
•Ensure compliance with project specifications, licensor requirements, applicable international codes (ASME, API, IEC, NFPA, EN) and Egyptian regulatory and permitting requirements.
•Support commissioning readiness: system and sub-system breakdown, mechanical completion strategy, walkdowns, punch list management and handover dossiers.
•Provide technical substantiation for variation orders and claims and contribute to risk reviews and close-out of HAZOP and constructability actions.

Team leadership

•Lead, organize and develop the site preparation and methods team, structured by discipline and by area.
•Set objectives, workload, priorities and quality standards for deliverables; review output and hold the team to schedule.
•Recruit, onboard, assess and develop team members; plan mobilization, rotation and demobilization in line with the construction curve.
•Develop local Egyptian engineering talent through mentoring, structured knowledge transfer and progressive delegation of responsibility.
•Foster a culture of anticipation rather than reaction: the team is measured on problems avoided, not on problems solved late.

Client, subcontractor and stakeholder interface

•Represent the project technical position in meetings with the Client, the licensor, the PMC / third-party inspection bodies and local authorities.
•Technically pilot subcontractors: review their preparation, methods, resources and productivity assumptions; validate their readiness before authorizing start of work.
•Challenge subcontractor performance factually, and document technical events that carry contractual consequences.

HSE and quality

•Ensure every method statement is supported by a risk assessment and validated by HSE before work release no exception.
•Enforce the project quality plan, ITPs and traceability requirements; support NCR treatment and root-cause analysis on preparation-related defects.
•Set the personal example on site: field presence, adherence to rules, and visible support to the safety leadership process.

Requirements:

Education and experience

•Engineering degree (mechanical, process, civil or industrial) or equivalent competence acquired through experience.
•12 to 15 years minimum in EPC industrial construction, including at least 5 years in a site preparation / methods management or site technical management role.
•Proven track record on at least one grassroots process plant refining, petrochemicals, biofuels, oil & gas or gas processing carried through to mechanical completion.
•Demonstrated experience leading a multidisciplinary team on an international site with a local workforce and international subcontractors.

Technical skills

•Solid multidiscipline background piping, static and rotating equipment, steel structures, electrical and instrumentation with the authority to arbitrate between disciplines.
•Mastery of work packaging (AWP / IWP), constructability methodology, progress measurement and productivity analysis.
•Fluent interface with planning tools (Primavera P6), 3D navigators (Navisworks, S3D / PDMS) and document control / EDMS systems.
•Working knowledge of international codes and standards (ASME, API, IEC, NFPA, EN) and of pre-commissioning and mechanical completion practice.

Languages

•English: fluent the project working language, mandatory.
•Arabic and/or French: a significant advantage for local workforce and authority interfaces.