Lead Project Planner

Location: Manchester, Warrington or Derby with Hybrid Working

Salary: £60,000.00 - £78,750.00

At Rolls-Royce SMR, we're building something world-changing, and strong, credible planning is critical to our success.

We're looking for a Lead Project Planner to join our Project Management Office, where you'll provide leadership, direction and expertise across our planning function. You'll oversee a team of planners, ensuring schedules are realistic, integrated and aligned to programme objectives, while providing strategic planning insight to support effective decision-making across complex engineering programmes.

You'll play a key role in developing planning capability, driving best practice, and ensuring planning standards are consistently applied across the business.

We need you to:

• Lead and develop a team of planners, providing direction, support, coaching and mentoring
• Oversee the development, maintenance and management of detailed integrated project schedules using Primavera P6
• Ensure schedules are realistic, achievable and aligned with programme objectives and business priorities
• Lead planning meetings and schedule reviews with cross-functional stakeholders
• Monitor project progress, identify schedule risks and delays, and implement effective mitigation strategies
• Provide strategic planning insight and schedule analysis to support programme delivery and executive decision-making
• Produce and present dashboards, reports and forecasts that highlight key milestones, schedule performance and variance analysis
• Support resource planning and allocation to optimise efficiency and productivity across programmes
• Ensure planning standards, governance processes and best practice methodologies are consistently applied
• Act as a Rolls-Royce SMR Subject Matter Expert within planning and project controls disciplines
• Drive continuous improvement across planning processes, tools and reporting capability
• Work closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement, Programme Management and Manufacturing stakeholders to ensure integrated delivery planning.

What you'll bring

We're not looking for a "perfect" candidate. If you feel you meet around 75% of the below, we'd really like to hear from you.

You'll bring:

• Significant experience working within a planning or project controls environment
• Experience leading planning teams and supporting team objectives and day-to-day delivery
• Experience coaching, mentoring and developing planners and junior project controls professionals
• Strong knowledge of integrated programme planning, including Master Integrated Plans (MIP/IMS) and integrated milestone management
• Experience working across large, complex programmes with multiple stakeholder groups
• Strong stakeholder management skills with experience engaging Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement, Programme Management, Operations and Manufacturing teams
• Advanced Primavera P6 expertise, including schedule development, WBS structures, coding structures, resource dictionaries and schedule architecture
• Strong understanding of Earned Value Management (EVM), baseline management and change control processes
• Experience integrating schedule, cost and risk management frameworks
• Experience identifying, monitoring and mitigating schedule risks through proactive planning
• Experience within complex engineering, nuclear, regulated or highly technical programme environments
• Knowledge of engineering design maturity and programme delivery lifecycles would be advantageous.

Essential training & qualifications

We need you to have:

• Strong knowledge of Primavera P6 (Practitioner level or equivalent experience)
• APM PMQ or equivalent qualification
• Significant experience working within a Project Controls or PMO environment on complex programmes
• Strong knowledge of project controls disciplines including Earned Value Management, reporting, change control and baseline management.

Ideally, you'll also bring:

• APM PPC (Practitioner) or a similar project controls qualification
• Experience within the nuclear sector or other highly regulated industries.

Equivalent experience is welcomed where formal qualifications differ.

Success in this role means:

• Delivering mature, integrated schedules that are robust, achievable and fit for purpose
• Providing high-quality planning insight that supports informed decision-making across the programme
• Successfully developing planning capability through coaching, mentoring and training activities
• Driving consistency in planning standards, governance and best practice across projects
• Proactively identifying and mitigating schedule risks before they impact programme delivery
• Being recognised as a trusted planning and project controls Subject Matter Expert across Rolls-Royce SMR.

Reward & benefits

• Salary £60,000.00 - £78,750.00
• £2,200 flexible benefits allowance
• 12.5% bonus opportunity
• 6x pensionable salary life assurance
• 50% income protection
• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays
• £250 new joiner payment

Pay Range:

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Why Join Us?

You’ll be joining a forward-thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness, and innovation. We offer:

•    A flexible, inclusive, and supportive working environment.
•    Opportunities for career growth in a rapidly scaling business.
•    A culture that values diversity, innovation, and continuous learning.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you.

Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector-jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.

Our Application Process

Due to the safety regulations within the nuclear industry, applicants will be required to participate in additional screening. These are:

•    Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance
•    Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
•    Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check
 

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