Planning Consultant

Job Description Overview

Empowering projects in a complex world. Are you ready to start a vital role in shaping our exciting Portfolios, Programme and Projects? How about joining our talented team, where everyone has a voice, and together we face our clients' problems head-on. As a Consultant Programme and Project Planner in Secure Government, you'll be part of our Delivery Optimisation Practice. In your role you will be working with our clients, suppliers, and AtkinsRéalis teams to enable and achieve maximum benefits from digital transformation and innovative operations.

With opportunities across the UK, we are looking for experienced professionals whose primary specialism is planning and scheduling within complex transformation delivery. You do not need to have held "Planner" in your job title, but planning must have been a substantial and recurring part of your role. Broader experience across project or programme controls and governance is also highly valued.

We provide consulting services across the entire project lifecycle across our key sectors: aviation; defence; security; critical national infrastructure; and local and central government. We also collaborate with our colleagues in other parts of the AtkinsRéalis business world-wide. We solve the most interesting challenges facing organisations today by promoting an innovative and collaborative culture. We know that different people have different priorities, which is why we're here to support you.

Flexible working is a central part of our culture. So, talk to us about what's ideal for you - from reduced weeks or buying more leave over school holidays. And if you're returning from a career break, ask us how we can help you transition back into work with us.

You will provide specialist consultancy advice on planning, scheduling and related controls and governance disciplines. Working independently within an agreed direction, you will lead planning activities, resolve complex scheduling issues and produce clear, high-quality outputs that shape client understanding and decision-making. You will work with schedule owners and delivery teams to facilitate workshops and build, maintain, analyse and assure credible schedules.

At programme level, you will assess integration, dependencies, critical paths and alignment with delivery methodologies, governance arrangements and approved standards. At portfolio level, you will connect critical milestones to strategic objectives. You will also mentor and coach colleagues, sharing knowledge to strengthen capability across the wider project management community. Provide trusted specialist advice to clients and colleagues on planning, scheduling, controls and governance best practice.

Lead the creation, baselining, maintenance and assurance of integrated portfolio, programme and project schedules. Resolve complex scheduling issues through robust logic, milestones, assumptions, dependencies and critical-path analysis. Lead schedule update cycles, assess progress, forecast delivery outcomes and communicate clear recommendations. Conduct schedule analysis, health checks and assurance, constructively challenging assumptions and influencing improvements. Integrate planning information across waterfall, Agile and hybrid delivery environments while maintaining end-to-end visibility of milestones and dependencies.

Connect schedule insight with wider controls and governance, including risk, cost, change, reporting, resource management, assurance and decision-making forums. Facilitate workshops and mentor or coach colleagues, sharing practical knowledge and supporting their development. Contribute to service improvement, client value, case studies and bid activity where appropriate.

We welcome applications from a range of backgrounds, but your CV should clearly show that planning and scheduling is a core professional capability. Demonstrable specialist knowledge and substantial hands-on experience of planning and scheduling in complex portfolio, programme or project environments. Planning should be a core specialism within your career, rather than an occasional responsibility. A track record of developing, baselining, maintaining, analysing and assuring logic-linked schedules, including milestones, dependencies, critical paths and progress updates.

Strong knowledge of waterfall planning principles and methods. Experience of Agile or hybrid delivery is valued but should complement rather than replace this capability. Experience of integrated planning across multiple work streams, projects or delivery teams, including cross-cutting dependencies. Experience in one or more broader project or programme controls or governance disciplines, such as risk, cost, change, performance reporting, resource management, assurance, stage gates or governance forums.

Competence in Primavera P6 and/or Microsoft Project; experience of Jira or other Agile delivery tools is beneficial. The ability to work independently with limited…