Project Planner

Project Planner

6 month contract initially

£500 per day (Inside IR35)

Hybrid – 3 days per week in Milton Keynes

You must Hold SC Clearance or be Eligible for SC Clearance

We are currently recruiting for a Project Planner to develop, maintain and monitor high-quality project plans and schedules with Project Managers across a range of operational areas, including T&O, E&O, Global Services, Logistics, and Corporate functions.

You will need to ensure activities, milestones, dependencies, deliverables and governance requirements are clearly defined, accurately managed, and support successful project mobilisation and delivery.

Key responsibilities

Coordinate project-level planning and scheduling, partnering with Project Managers and Programme Planners to keep delivery on track.

Create, maintain and monitor robust project plans that clearly capture activities, milestones, dependencies, deliverables and governance requirements.

Track progress against approved baselines, identify variances and potential delays, and recommend corrective action to protect delivery.

Identify and manage project dependencies, assumptions, constraints and risks that could affect successful delivery.

Validate schedule updates, progress reports and forecast completion dates to enable accurate reporting and informed decision-making.

Carry out schedule assurance and health checks, ensuring plans meet agreed planning standards, methodologies and governance requirements.

Highlight and escalate planning risks, governance concerns and non-compliance, providing clear recommendations for resolution.

Present schedule-review findings and practical recommendations to Programme Planners and Project Managers.

Provide expert planning guidance to Project Managers and delivery teams, promoting consistent use of established processes, tools and standards.

Analyse planning and performance data to uncover trends, variances and emerging delivery risks, escalating material issues promptly.

Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, translating their requirements and priorities into clear project plans.

Supply accurate, timely project information to support programme and portfolio planning.

Help embed planning standards, assurance processes and continuous improvement across the wider planning community.

Key skills and experience

Essential: 

Delivering planning across projects, developing and implementing planning structures and schedules that are robust, strategically aligned, and fit for purpose within project delivery environments. 

Applying planning standards and structured methodologies across all levels of plans and schedules, ensuring plans are fit for purpose to support project deliverables and outcomes. 

Recognising, anticipating, and effectively managing conflict at individual and team levels, using sound judgement and professional credibility to maintain alignment, manage tensions, and support effective decision making in fast paced settings.

Clear evidence of a customer focused and outcomes driven approach, with experience of improving value, benefits or service outcomes 

Strong experience of influencing without direct authority, including providing professional challenge and advice 

Analytical and detail oriented, with strong problem-solving capability

Good working knowledge of MS Project and Power BI, or similar project management and reporting tools

Desirable:

PRINCE2 or equivalent (for example APM) qualification

Experience of analysing data and providing recommendations

Experience of undertaking quality reviews