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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Yacht Program Analyst

💰 $80,000 - $120,000

MaritimeYachtOperationsProgram ManagementTechnical

🎯 Role Definition

A Yacht Program Analyst is responsible for the planning, delivery and continuous improvement of yacht programs across a fleet or single large yacht project. The role combines technical understanding of marine systems, program and project management, financial ownership of CAPEX/OPEX budgets, maintenance planning using PMS, and hands-on coordination with shipyards, suppliers and internal stakeholders. The Yacht Program Analyst ensures safe, compliant, cost‑effective, and timely delivery of refits, upgrades, planned maintenance and operational projects while providing actionable analytics and reporting to senior leadership.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Yacht Operations Coordinator / Yacht Scheduler
  • Junior Technical Superintendent or Marine Engineer
  • Fleet Administrative Analyst or Marine Project Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Yacht Program Analyst
  • Technical Superintendent / Fleet Manager
  • Yacht Program Manager / Head of Yacht Programs
  • Director of Fleet Operations or Head of Technical Services

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Manager (Marine or Construction)
  • Charter Operations Manager
  • Procurement Manager (Marine Suppliers / Shipyards)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, own and execute multi‑year program plans for yacht refits, scheduled maintenance and upgrades, including production of integrated timelines, critical path analyses and milestone tracking to ensure on‑time delivery and minimized downtime.
  • Manage the end‑to‑end budgeting lifecycle for CAPEX and OPEX workstreams: prepare cost estimates, track actuals vs budget, identify cost drivers, produce variance analysis and recommend corrective actions to control program spend.
  • Lead technical scope development for refits and mod projects by collaborating with marine engineers, naval architects and onboard technical staff to convert operational needs into detailed work packages, technical specifications and RFQs for shipyards and vendors.
  • Coordinate shipyard and contractor selection, commercial negotiation and contract management; evaluate bids, negotiate rates, manage change orders and ensure contractual compliance and scope control through to final acceptance.
  • Maintain and optimize the Planned Maintenance System (PMS) and maintenance schedules; define preventive maintenance tasks, assign skill requirements, prioritize workload for shipboard teams and external vendors to uphold safety and reliability metrics.
  • Serve as primary interface between ownership, captains, crew, procurement, finance and third‑party managers; translate stakeholder requirements into program deliverables and provide regular status reporting and risk escalation.
  • Conduct technical and regulatory compliance reviews to ensure all refit and maintenance activities meet IMO, SOLAS, MARPOL, ISM code and flag state requirements; prepare and maintain technical dossiers and certificates required for class and flag inspections.
  • Prepare scope, technical drawings, material lists and BOQs for major equipment replacements (engines, generators, HVAC systems, navigation suites) and manage procurement lead times to synchronize deliveries with dock schedules.
  • Plan and manage drydock and in‑water periods, including resource allocation, orientation of shipyard teams, supervision of critical lifts and coordination of commissioning and sea trials to ensure safe and efficient execution.
  • Implement risk management and contingency planning for program activities: identify technical, schedule and supply‑chain risks, quantify impacts, propose mitigation plans and maintain a risk register with ownership.
  • Oversee quality assurance and site acceptance testing (SAT); define acceptance criteria, coordinate inspections, witness tests, capture punch lists and ensure clearance of outstanding items before handover.
  • Analyze operational and maintenance data to produce KPI dashboards (MTBF, downtime, maintenance cost per hour, ticket backlog) and produce actionable recommendations to improve reliability and reduce lifecycle costs.
  • Drive vendor and supplier performance management by creating SLAs, tracking delivery and quality KPIs, running vendor scorecards and leading corrective action processes for repeated issues.
  • Coordinate warranties and warranty claims: document defects, manage vendor communications, support technical substantiation and negotiate remedial actions to protect client interests.
  • Manage documentation control for technical drawings, equipment certificates, vendor manuals and service records; ensure all documentation is version controlled and available for class surveys and audits.
  • Lead cross‑functional project teams through Agile or Waterfall methodologies as appropriate: prepare project charters, facilitate planning sessions, manage sprints or stage gates and ensure deliverables meet quality and timeline objectives.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives in program delivery by standardizing procedures, templates, scopes of work and procurement frameworks to reduce cycle time and improve cost predictability.
  • Provide on‑call technical support during critical in‑service or operating incidents; triage faults, coordinate troubleshooting with OEMs and technical teams, and lead corrective maintenance planning.
  • Facilitate training needs analysis and competency planning for onboard technical staff and contracted technicians to ensure repair and maintenance tasks are performed safely and to standard.
  • Prepare and present regular executive‑level program reports, financial forecasts, scenario planning and post‑project reviews that summarize outcomes, lessons learned and recommendations for future programs.
  • Lead environmental and sustainability initiatives related to refits and operations such as fuel efficiency upgrades, grey/black water systems, energy management solutions and green procurement alternatives.
  • Support insurance and claims processes by providing technical documentation, incident timelines, repair estimates and liaising with surveyors and underwriters as required.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad‑hoc data requests, exploratory data analysis and creation of reports to answer stakeholder questions related to fleet health, maintenance backlog and cost trends.
  • Maintain and improve the fleet asset database and CMMS/PMS configuration to ensure accurate BOMs, equipment hierarchies and lifecycle data for analytics and procurement planning.
  • Contribute to the organization’s technical roadmap and digitalization initiatives by identifying tooling requirements (PMS, ERP, cost control systems) and piloting new solutions.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate operational needs into procurement and engineering requirements; assist procurement in sourcing technical vendors and managing supplier qualification.
  • Participate in program governance, steering committees and sprint planning when multi‑disciplinary teams are using Agile practices for delivery of program improvements.
  • Represent the yacht program function in pre‑delivery inspections, acceptance tests and client handover activities, documenting deficiencies and validating rectifications.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Planned Maintenance System (PMS) administration and optimization (e.g., DNV, AMOS, SAP PM or equivalent).
  • Strong technical knowledge of yacht systems: propulsion, auxiliary machinery, HVAC, stabilizers, electrical distribution, navigation and automation systems.
  • Project and program management skills with experience in Gantt/schedule creation, MS Project or Primavera and integrated master scheduling.
  • Budgeting, financial forecasting and cost control for CAPEX/OPEX, including familiarity with variance analysis and cost reporting.
  • Contract and commercial management for shipyards, OEMs, and service providers; experience with RFQs, tender evaluations and change order control.
  • Regulatory compliance knowledge: ISM code, SOLAS, MARPOL, flag state and class society requirements and survey processes.
  • Technical specification writing, scope of work development, BOQ and bill of materials creation for refits and upgrades.
  • Strong vendor/supplier management skills and experience managing SLAs, warranties and performance remediation.
  • Data analysis and reporting: advanced Excel (pivot tables, lookups), Power BI/Tableau for KPI dashboards, and basic SQL for data extraction.
  • Risk management and root cause analysis methodologies (FMEA, 5 Whys, RCA) applied in operational and technical contexts.
  • Experience with drydock planning, commissioning, sea trials and site acceptance testing (SAT).
  • Familiarity with procurement systems and ERP integration for inventory management, purchasing and invoicing workflows.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent stakeholder management and client-facing communication with ability to distill technical detail into executive summaries.
  • Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail and the ability to translate data into actionable decisions.
  • Effective negotiation and commercial acumen when dealing with shipyards, suppliers and insurers.
  • Problem‑solving orientation and resilience under pressure during critical maintenance or refit/program events.
  • Leadership and team collaboration skills to coordinate cross‑functional workstreams and third‑party contractors.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance reactive maintenance with planned program deliverables.
  • Adaptability and continuous improvement mindset to implement process standardization and digital tools.
  • High integrity and safety‑first mentality aligned with maritime safety management systems and safety culture.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Maritime Operations, Business or related technical field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree or postgraduate qualification in Naval Architecture, Marine Systems, Maritime Management, or an MBA is advantageous.
  • Professional certifications (PMP, Prince2, TOGAF for digital initiatives) and maritime certificates (STCW, Class/Flag familiarization training) are desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Naval Architecture
  • Marine/Mechanical Engineering
  • Maritime Business or Management
  • Project Management
  • Supply Chain / Procurement / Finance (as complementary)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3 – 8 years in yacht technical operations, marine programs, technical superintendent or project management roles.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years managing yacht refits, shipyard projects or fleet maintenance programs with demonstrated ownership of budgets, schedules and vendor relationships.
  • Prior hands‑on experience on superyachts, in a technical superintendent capacity, or within yacht management companies, shipyards or OEM technical departments.
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