Senior Planner

Senior Planner

Location: Derby (Hybrid Working Available)
Salary: £70,000 - £77,000 

Our client is a leading organisation operating within the UK rail and infrastructure sector, delivering complex, safety-critical programmes for major industry stakeholders. Due to continued growth and a significant project pipeline, they are seeking an experienced Senior Planner to join their project delivery team.

This is an excellent opportunity for a planning professional looking to play a key role in the successful delivery of major rail and infrastructure projects, whilst also developing and mentoring a small planning team.

As a senior member of the planning function, you will lead project planning and controls activities across either a major programme or a portfolio of smaller projects. You will work closely with Project Managers, Commercial Managers, Finance teams and client stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered in line with programme objectives.

In addition to providing technical planning expertise, you will support the development of best practice planning processes and help coach and develop junior planning professionals.

• Provide planning and project controls leadership across assigned projects and programmes.
• Act as the technical planning authority within the project team, ensuring consistency of planning standards, procedures and governance.
• Develop, maintain and update integrated project programmes.
• Produce resource-loaded and cost-loaded schedules.
• Work closely with project, commercial and finance teams to ensure programme performance is accurately monitored and reported.
• Collaborate with site planners and delivery teams to ensure alignment between operational activities and the master programme.
• Support bid and tender planning activities through mobilisation and project delivery.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with clients and project stakeholders.
• Conduct critical path analysis and identify potential risks, constraints and recovery opportunities.
• Produce programme reporting including KPI dashboards, earned value analysis, schedule performance reporting and delay analysis.
• Undertake programme modelling and scenario analysis to assess the impact of change, risk and resource constraints.
• Promote planning excellence and continuous improvement across the wider business.
• Mentor and support junior planners and contribute to the development of planning capability within the team.

To be successful in this role, you are likely to have:

• Experience planning major infrastructure, rail, transportation, utilities, construction, nuclear or defence projects.
• Experience working directly with senior internal stakeholders and external clients.
• Strong knowledge of NEC contracts and programme management within NEC environments.
• Advanced Primavera P6 capability, with experience using additional planning tools such as Microsoft Project.
• Strong understanding of project controls, earned value management, schedule reporting and programme governance.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• A technical, engineering or project management background.
• Experience leading, mentoring or developing planners within a project environment.
• The confidence and communication skills to engage effectively with both project teams and customers.

Experience within rail infrastructure, signalling or rolling stock projects would be advantageous but is not essential for candidates able to demonstrate transferable experience from other complex, safety-critical industries.

• Salary between £70,000 and £77,000
• Annual bonus of up to 6%
• Hybrid working arrangement
• Flexible start and finish times
• Competitive pension scheme
• Private healthcare options
• Long-term project pipeline with excellent job security
• Structured career development and progression opportunities
• Opportunity to work on complex and nationally significant infrastructure programmes

This position would suit an experienced Senior Planner, Lead Planner, Planning Manager or Project Controls professional looking to take ownership of planning activities within a major project environment while helping to develop the next generation of planning talent.

Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group are in the business of people and performance. Our mission is to create one million better workdays through facilitating great recruitment, leadership and occupational mental fitness. We support our clients in their most challenging business areas – recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent from shop floor to boardroom.

• Ford & Stanley TalentWise – Business specialising in blue collar trade & technical services.

• Ford & Stanley Recruitment – Business specialising in white collar spanning all company functions.

• Ford & Stanley Executive Search – Business specialising in Executive Search & Executive Interim Solutions.

• Ford & Stanley Genius Performance – Performance coaching, training, and mental fitness.

Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group Ltd is a Disability Confident employer that is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers. We shall adhere to such a policy at all times and will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. We will treat everyone equally irrespective sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief or political beliefs and we place an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy.