Project Planner / Planner

Project Planner
Burton upon Trent (Hybrid Working Available)
Competitive Salary + Car Allowance + Benefits

We're partnering with a well-established engineering business that delivers complex, high-value industrial projects across the UK. Due to continued growth and a strong pipeline of work, they are creating a brand-new Project Planner position to become a key part of their Engineering & Bid Team.

This isn't a role for someone who occasionally updates project plans. They're looking for a dedicated planning professional who can take ownership of complex project programmes, challenge assumptions, build robust schedules and become the planning expert within the business.

Working across projects valued from £3 million to over £20 million, you'll be involved from the earliest bid stages through to project execution, helping ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently and on schedule.

The Opportunity
You'll work closely with Project Managers, Engineers, and commercial teams to develop and maintain integrated project programmes covering the full project lifecycle. Initially, you'll be responsible for developing programmes within Microsoft Project, before supporting the company's transition towards Primavera P6 down the line. You'll transform engineering information, work breakdown structures and activity durations into logical, fully integrated project plans, providing valuable insight to support successful project delivery.

As projects move from tender through to delivery, you'll remain involved throughout, updating programmes, monitoring progress, producing look-ahead schedules, and providing clients with accurate planning information. This is a genuine opportunity to establish and shape the planning function within a growing engineering business.

Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain integrated project programmes from bid through to project completion.
- Build logical project schedules covering engineering, procurement, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning activities.
- Produce detailed programmes using Microsoft Project and Primavera P6.
- Develop Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), sequencing, milestones, and critical paths.
- Carry out critical path analysis and identify programme risks.
- Produce look-ahead programmes, progress updates, and programme revisions throughout project execution.
- Monitor project progress and percentage completes.
- Forecast engineering resource requirements and support capacity planning.
- Support project cost tracking and schedule performance reporting.
- Produce planning dashboards, milestone reports and project updates for internal stakeholders and clients.
- Attend client meetings and project sites to gather progress information and update programmes.
- Work alongside Project Managers during project execution to ensure programmes remain accurate and achievable.
- Support bid teams by developing competitive project programmes for tender submissions.
- Carry out scenario modelling and "what-if" analysis to assess the impact of design changes, procurement delays and programme risks.
- Maintain planning documentation, baselines, revisions, and change control throughout the project lifecycle.

About You
We're interested in experienced Project Planners, Planning Engineers or Project Controls professionals who enjoy creating structure from complexity. You don't need experience within our client's specific engineering sector. What's far more important is your ability to build and manage robust project programmes for complex engineering or infrastructure projects. You'll be someone who enjoys asking questions, challenging information, and working collaboratively with engineers and project teams to produce high-quality plans.

Essential Experience
- Proven experience as a Project Planner, Planning Engineer, Project Controls Planner or similar.
- Recent hands-on experience using Microsoft Project (MS Project/MSP).
- Experience using Primavera P6.
- Experience developing integrated project programmes rather than simply maintaining existing schedules.
- Strong understanding of project planning principles including:
o Critical Path Analysis
o Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
o Resource planning
o Programme logic
o Schedule baselining
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capability.

Desirable Experience
- NEC contract knowledge.
- Earned Value Management (EVM).
- Bid or tender planning experience.
- Engineering change management.
- Project Controls methodologies.
- APM, PRINCE2, PMI or equivalent qualifications.

Working Pattern
During the bidding and planning stages you'll typically spend 2-4 days per week in the Burton office. As projects move into delivery, you'll spend more time supporting project execution, including travel to client sites across the UK. Some projects may require overnight stays during key delivery phases. Hybrid working is supported where appropriate.

Why Apply?
This is a rare opportunity to join a business investing heavily in its project delivery capability and to play a leading role in developing its planning function. You'll work on technically challenging, high-value engineering projects from concept through to completion, becoming a trusted member of the wider project team and making a genuine impact on project success.