Senior Planner

Your new Role 

National Highways have an excellent opportunity for a Senior Planner to join our team in the South West region. The Senior Planner will report to the Programme Management Office Manager in delivering excellence in planning and scheduling across all programmes and schemes at a Regional level. Embedding the programme planning strategy and associated management processes, tools and documentation into the region, driving measurable improvements in planning and scheduling across the National Highways teams and supply chain. 

What you’ll lead on 

• Provide specialist support to delivery teams (e.g. Project Managers and Programme Delivery Managers to build, document and maintain programme delivery plans and schedules, tracking and monitoring in-year delivery against planned budgets, timescales and quality. 
• Compile yearly scheme programmes for the regional Operations Programme Office that can be used as the cornerstone of delivering in year and future year targets. Supporting the team in working towards and maintaining the “one programme” approach. 
• Update scheme progress on a regular basis with consistent use of project controls. Provide strategic data, programme status and variance reports including recommendations to fully support internal month end and year end reporting. Lead on provision of key programme information including forecast/actual dates and outputs. 
• Ensure that regional delivery plans are version controlled and maintained in accordance with agreed Operations and wider National Highways common standards and requirements. 
• Ensure that supply chain contractors project plans and schedules are of a quality, logic, format and content that enable accurate and robust interrogation and are contract compliant; analyse and challenge critical path and time risk allowance of supplier and project schedules. 
• Maintain continual liaison and collaboration with the programme delivery team, other HE sections, designers, contractors and other stakeholders in producing, reviewing and updating both the in-year and future programmes. 
• Take an active role in collaborative planning initiatives, visual planning meetings and meetings that seek to maximise delivery and bundling efficiencies across Operations to co-ordinate works 

To be successful 

• Operational experience with professional accreditations in planning & scheduling, project & programme management. 
• Skilled and experienced in project and programme management methodology and techniques (Primavera P6, MSP, APM, etc.). 
• Detailed operational working knowledge of Primavera P6. 
• Thorough understanding of the NEC Contract and its requirements from a planning and scheduling perspective. 
• Understanding of planning theory; critical path analysis, linking, float, re-scheduling, maintaining and tracking base-lines, etc with a good understanding and application of collaborative planning techniques.
• Experience of managing a small team (planning specialists), looking after areas such as work loads, quality checking and personal development.

A bit about us

Making sure our customers have safe and reliable journeys is at the heart of everything we do in Operations. We keep the roads open for business and play a key role in making sure the network we manage is fit for purpose today and for the future. 

Want to know more?

To request a copy of the role profile, please contact hrhighwaysengland@mailgc.cx.ukg.oraclecloud.com quoting reference number #5091

Why you should join us

At National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this.  We’re proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers. 

So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it – then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation.

Our benefits package

• Our total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonus
• Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%
• Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)
• Flexible hours and blended working between base location/home
• Life assurance of 4 times annual salary
• Health and wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccines
• A cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel
• Significant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience

And we are

• Family friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilities
• Money friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programme
• Community friendly – offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/year plus an extra 3 days to support the national Covid effort

If you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:       

• Right to work check
• 3 year employment history references
• DBS criminal record check
• Social media and adverse journalism check
• Driving licence check (if applicable)
• Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)

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