Principal Project Planner

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Project Planner to lead the planning and scheduling of major rail programmes in Scotland. This pivotal role combines strategic planning, team leadership, and performance reporting to ensure successful project delivery. You will play a key role delivering rail infrastructure and driving continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Lead planning and scheduling on complex rail projects, ensuring robust project controls throughout the lifecycle.

Develop and maintain project baseline plans, work breakdown structures, and schedules aligned with delivery objectives.

Monitor progress, identify variances, and implement recovery and contingency plans.

Provide expert input into bids, estimates, and resource planning to support business growth.

Report on earned value, progress, and performance to inform financial forecasting and decision-making.

Analyze project and programme data to identify trends, risks, and anomalies.

Ensure compliance with planning standards and lifecycle frameworks.

Audit contractor plans and monitor adherence to Network Rail procedures.

Mentor and support planners, fostering skills development and knowledge sharing.

Collaborate with clients, multidisciplinary teams, and stakeholders to deliver value and build strong relationships.

Drive continuous improvement in planning processes and adopt emerging digital tools.

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

10+ year experience in project planning and scheduling, ideally within major rail or infrastructure programmes.

Degree/HNC/HND in Engineering, Project Management, or a related subject.

Strong understanding of UK rail sector and project delivery requirements.

Proven ability to lead and develop teams in a fast-paced environment.

Proficient in planning software (e.g., Primavera P6, MS Project).

Excellent organizational, commercial, and communication skills.

Experience with project controls, cost engineering, and financial operations.

Familiarity with different contracting environments and commercial models.

Desirable

Membership of a relevant professional body.

Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification.

Broad understanding of railway engineering and investment planning systems.

Why Us?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone’s contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Us. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.