SPN Lead Planner

Overview

This Lead Planner will report to the Project Controls, Data and Planning Manager and will work within the Capital Programme – Planning based in our Maidstone or Crawley offices. You will be a permanent employee. As the Lead Planner, you will lead the region's planning team, taking direct accountability for the quality of planning performance, planning outputs and overall service provided in the region to the delivery team.

Through leadership, you will own and drive the planning strategy in the region, regularly interfacing with the multi‑disciplinary Managers of the region to assure the highest level of service execution and provision by the region's planning team.

• Begin and remain compliant with current governance and control procedures.
• Set up, manage and report performance of P6 schedules in accordance with project controls and planning procedures.
• Audit schedules regularly in line with best practice project controls and planning procedures.
• Assure proper resource allocation and manage interfaces between planning and other functions, providing feedback to foster continuous improvement.
• Drive continuous improvement programmes within the planning team and across other teams to enhance planning service reliability.
• Maintain continuous stakeholder management with Design, Commercial, Contractors, UKPN Direct Operations, Consents and delivery teams within the DNO.
• Develop and positively influence relationships with contractor planning managers/teams to uphold standards and ensure high‑quality construction planning service.
• Own the region's planning engagement, embody UKPN company values, create a positive workplace and support staff development.
• Ensure each planning team member has a development plan and hold them accountable through regular reviews, feedback and continuous improvement.
• Set up opportunities for shadowing, knowledge sharing, mentoring and learning to help planners develop careers and improve regional planning capability.
• Manage the region's planning team (APP and Connections) and own delivery of a full‑suite planning service for all construction projects from gates A to
  
  D.
• Hold all other disciplines (Project Management, Commercial, Design, Operations, Consents, etc.) accountable for inputs required to planning.
• Ensure the planning team is directly engaged and visible on project site.
• Maintain robust plans across the region with accurate monthly, yearly and completion forecasts for costs, milestones and activities with proper coding and data structures for reporting and compliance.
• Own and drive collaboration and continuous improvement between planning and other functions to positively impact planning service delivery.
• Audit all critical/high‑value schemes to ensure robust plans stand up to scrutiny.
• Record and implement planning lessons learned across the region.
• Ensure all planning, including support for other disciplines reliant on P6, is completed on time and checked for end‑of‑month reporting.
• Run the project setup and allocation process and manage the P6 administration required.
• Own baselining, challenge and escalate poor performance within other disciplines that negatively impacts planning service delivery and end‑of‑month reporting.
• Support the planning manager to implement continuous improvement projects.
• Manage embedded contractor planners' performance and project allocation.
• Provide line management for the region's planning team and responsibilities.
• Contribute to schedule risk and change management across the region.
• Maintain adherence of region schedules to requirements of the Project Controls, Data and Planning Manager.
• Lead rollout of process changes to the planning team.
• Manage the region's client‑side P6 planning team to create and maintain P6 schedules for the Distribution Network Capital Programme and Connections major projects.

• Engineering‑based degree or equivalent required.
• Professional qualifications (e.g., APM‑PMQ, PMI‑SP, L5 project controls, L5 management) desirable.
• Substantial experience managing complex construction programmes using Primavera P6 within multi‑disciplined delivery environments essential.
• NEC professional with experience in…