Area Planning Lead – HS

Area Planning Lead – HS2

Working directly for High Speed Two (HS2 Ltd)

Salary: £100,000 – £120,000 + Excellent Benefits

Location:

London, Euston – Hybrid (3 days a Week)

Reporting to:
Head of Planning & Integration – c.£130,000–£140,000 + package

Team:
Leading a team of 7 Planning/ Project Controls professionals

Programme:
High Speed Two – London

High Speed Two (HS2 Ltd) is recruiting an Area Planning Lead to provide senior planning leadership within one of Europe's largest and most complex infrastructure programmes.

Working directly for HS2 Ltd, you'll lead planning integration across a major Area programme, managing a team of seven planners and bringing together programme, interfaces, cost, risk and change to support informed delivery decisions.

The HS2 Area Model is designed to create a single guiding mind with clear accountability for delivering an integrated transport hub across each Area.

As Area Planning Lead, you'll play a key role in creating a focused, aligned and empowered Area team, bringing stakeholders together around a common vision and ensuring the programme has the planning control and integration required to deliver efficiently.

You’ll work closely with senior HS2 leadership, delivery teams and major external stakeholders including Network Rail, TfL and DfT.

The role reports to the Head of Planning & Integration, providing a clear progression opportunity for an experienced planning leader.

You’ll take responsibility for evaluating project time across the relevant Area programme and ensuring projects, functions and stakeholders are working towards a coordinated and achievable delivery plan.

A key focus will be proactive interface management, identifying potential conflicts early, bringing the right stakeholders together and ensuring interfaces are resolved before they affect delivery.

You’ll also help correlate schedule, cost and risk information, providing senior leadership with a clear view of programme performance, emerging issues and potential mitigation.

The role has a strong continuous improvement focus, identifying opportunities to improve planning processes, increase efficiency and drive measurable performance benefits across the Area.

• Provide planning leadership to the Area team and lead a team of seven planning professionals.
• Lead integration of the Area Primavera P6 programme and provide a single, coordinated view of delivery.
• Evaluate project time and provide insight into programme performance, trends and emerging issues.
• Lead proactive interface management across projects, functions, contractors and stakeholders.
• Bring internal and external stakeholders together to resolve programme conflicts and maintain alignment.
• Work closely with Network Rail, TfL, DfT and other strategic stakeholders.
• Integrate schedule, cost and risk information to support informed decision-making.
• Lead What-If scenario planning and develop solutions to complex programme conflicts.
• Support baseline development, management, change control and re-baselining.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and drive planning efficiency across the Area.
• Apply HS2 planning systems, policies, standards and procedures to ensure compliance.
• Provide performance reporting and planning insight to senior leadership.
• Support delivery teams in integrating time, cost and quality information.
• Develop planning capability, share best practice and support the wider Planning & Integration function.

We're looking for an experienced Planning Manager, Senior Planning Manager, Planning Lead or Programme Controls professional who has operated on large, complex infrastructure or major capital programmes.

You must have previous management experience and be comfortable providing…