Planner

Aerospace Planner – London Heathrow

Location: London Heathrow
Salary: £35,000 per annum, depending on experience
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to approximately 5:30pm–6:00pm
Positions available: One, potentially two
Reports to: Operational Manager UK – London Heathrow

Role Overview

The main purpose of the Aerospace Planner role is to optimise asset utilisation and load factor while minimising route costs and maintaining consistently high levels of customer service.

You will work as part of a busy operational team, maintaining close communication with drivers, customers and colleagues throughout the UK and Europe.

The position involves planning the movement of aircraft engines, related components and exceptional cargo using a range of specialised vehicles.

Once fully trained and familiar with the operation, you will also need to be available by telephone during some evenings and weekends to provide backup support to drivers when questions or issues arise. A team member covers most weekends, and the wider team monitors a shared email inbox outside normal office hours.

Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate should have:

At least three years’ experience within logistics
Knowledge of customs procedures
Knowledge of logistics and transport-planning principles
Knowledge of drivers’ hours and relevant transport legislation
An understanding of automated planning systems and an interest in using them
Basic knowledge of cost-price calculations
Good spoken and written English
Strong communication and organisational skills
The ability to remain calm and organised within a busy operation

Previous experience within aerospace, specialist transport or exceptional-load planning would be advantageous.

Duties and Responsibilities
Plan the movement of aircraft engines, related components and exceptional cargo within a 24/7, 365-day operation
Communicate daily with blue-chip clients and other business professionals
Ensure planned collections and deliveries achieve required on-time performance
Plan work across a range of specialised vehicles
Optimise vehicle utilisation and load factor
Minimise empty running wherever possible
Plan efficient routes to reduce kilometres, toll charges and overall route costs
Monitor and improve truck productivity across individual trips and the wider fleet
Plan fuel stops during trips in line with fleet planners’ requests
Maintain active communication with drivers and operational colleagues
Work closely with teams across Europe, including freight planning, expedition, customer service, truck planning and fleet service
Help ensure the smooth and calm running of a busy planning team
Provide out-of-hours telephone backup once fully trained and familiar with the operation
Monitor the shared team email inbox outside normal office hours as part of the wider team arrangement
Key Performance Indicators

Performance within the role will be measured against:

On-time performance
Truck productivity
Asset utilisation
Load factor
Reduction of empty running
Planned route costs
Account service and customer performance