Associate Director Planning (Project Controls) - Energy & Natural Resources Turner & Townsend Warrington, United Kingdom 13 hours ago

Vochure; Warrington; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Turner & Townsend seeks an Associate Director Planning (Project Controls) to lead planning and scheduling across major programmes. You will shape governance, develop integrated schedules, and advise clients on performance across the project lifecycle.

You will manage high-performing teams, foster collaboration with multidisciplinary groups, and contribute to business development while promoting excellence and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, or related discipline is required.
• Extensive expertise in Primavera P6 with schedule governance, critical path analysis, resource loading, progress reporting.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Planning and Project Controls across major programmes and projects.
• Lead, develop and manage high-performing Planning and Project Controls teams with coaching and career development.
• Establish and maintain governance frameworks for planning, scheduling and project controls.
• Oversee development, review and assurance of integrated schedules and critical path analysis.
• Act as trusted advisor to clients and senior stakeholders on planning and project performance.
• Lead project controls activities including schedule management, progress monitoring, change control, risk management, and reporting.
• Drive proactive identification and mitigation of programme risks and opportunities.
• Manage resource planning and utilisation across multiple commissions to support growth and delivery.
• Provide clear reporting on project performance, schedule health, risks, and recommendations to clients and leadership.
• Collaborate with Project Management, Cost Management, Commercial Management, Risk Management and Engineering teams for integrated control.

Skills

Planning leadership

Project controls

Primavera P6

Stakeholder engagement

Team development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, or related discipline

Tools

Primavera P6

Job description

At Turner & Townsend our award-winning Controls & Performance team are focused on driving innovation, enhancing our client’s integrated controls capability, improving performance, and delivering better programme outcomes. We have a growing national team of over 600 Controls & Performance professionals. The breadth and scale of our team provides great opportunities to reach back and draw upon a vast pool of experience to enhance your knowledge and career. Our strong capability, discipline communities and varied client base, provides a great opportunity to drive your career, supported by our career pathways.

Please find out more about us at:https://www.turnerandtownsend.com/en/about-us/our-purpose-and-values/

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Associate Director Planning (Project Controls) to lead the planning and scheduling discipline across a portfolio of major programmes and projects. This senior leadership role is responsible for driving planning excellence, establishing robust project controls practices, and ensuring successful delivery outcomes for clients.

As an Associate Director, you will provide strategic leadership across planning and project controls functions, working closely with clients, programme leadership teams, and senior stakeholders to develop integrated schedules, manage risks, optimise performance and support informed decision‑making. You will also play a key role in developing people, growing client relationships, and contributing to business development activities.

Day to day duties:

• Provide strategic leadership for Planning and Project Controls services across a portfolio of major programmes and projects, ensuring alignment with client objectives and organisational goals.

• Lead, develop and manage high‑performing Planning and Project Controls teams, providing line management, coaching, mentoring and career development support to build capability and succession within the business.

• Establish and maintain robust planning, scheduling and project controls governance frameworks, ensuring consistency, quality assurance and compliance with industry best practices.

• Oversee the development, review and assurance of integrated project schedules, ensuring accurate critical path analysis, resource planning, forecasting and performance measurement throughout the project lifecycle.

• Act as a trusted advisor to clients, programme leadership teams and senior stakeholders, providing informed recommendations and strategic direction on planning, scheduling and project performance.

• Lead project controls activities including schedule management, progress monitoring, change control, risk management, earned value management and performance reporting.

• Drive proactive identification and management of programme and project risks, opportunities and constraints, ensuring appropriate mitigation and recovery strategies are implemented.

• Manage resource planning and utilisation across multiple commissions, balancing workload requirements while supporting business growth and project delivery objectives.

• Provide clear and insightful reporting to clients and senior leadership, communicating project performance, schedule health, emerging risks and recommended interventions.

• Collaborate with Project Management, Cost Management, Commercial Management, Risk Management and Engineering teams to ensure fully integrated project controls and effective decision‑making.

• Support business development activities including bids, proposals, client presentations and framework opportunities, helping to grow the Planning and Project Controls service offering.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key clients and stakeholders, acting as the senior point of contact for planning and project controls matters.

• Champion innovation, digital tools and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance planning capability, project controls maturity and delivery performance.

• Contribute to the development of departmental strategy, operational objectives and service delivery standards, ensuring the Planning function remains aligned with wider business priorities.

• Foster an inclusive, collaborative and high‑performance culture that promotes professional excellence, knowledge sharing and continuous learning across the Planning and Project Controls community.

You will have significant Project Controls and Planning leadership experience, gained across major capital projects and programmes within sectors such as Nuclear, Energy, Infrastructure, Transportation, Defence, Utilities, or Construction.

You will be recognised as a subject matter expert in planning and scheduling, with extensive experience across the full project lifecycle, from project development and pre‑contract phases through to delivery, commissioning, and close‑out.

You will be a strong communicator and leader, capable of influencing senior stakeholders, developing high‑performing teams, and driving a culture of excellence, accountability, and inclusivity.

You also:

• Be eligible to obtain BPSS level security clearance.
• Hold a bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
• Have substantial experience leading Planning and Project Controls teams on major projects and programmes.
• Demonstrate advanced expertise in Primavera P6, with experience in schedule governance, critical path analysis, resource loading, progress measurement, and performance reporting.
• Have experience implementing and assuring Project Controls frameworks, methodologies, and reporting standards.
• Possess strong knowledge of project lifecycle management, programme controls, schedule risk analysis, and integrated project performance management.
• Be experienced in managing client relationships and engaging with senior stakeholders at Director and Executive level.
• Have a strong understanding of programme governance, change management, earned value management (EVM), and project assurance practices.
• Demonstrate excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and decision‑making capabilities, with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights.
• Be experienced in leading multidisciplinary teams, coaching and mentoring colleagues, and supporting the professional development of planning and project controls professionals.
• Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present confidently to senior audiences and facilitate stakeholder engagement.
• Have strong commercial awareness and experience supporting business development, bids, framework opportunities, and service growth initiatives.
• Be adaptable and comfortable working within complex, fast‑paced environments with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Maintain a commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and the advancement of industry best practices in Planning and Project Controls.

Desirable

• Experience within Nuclear, Energy, Infrastructure, Defence, Rail or other major capital project environments.
• Professional accreditation through APM, PMI, AACE, CIOB or equivalent professional body.
• Experience of schedule risk analysis tools such as PRA, Deltek Acumen Risk, Safran Risk or equivalent.
• Line management, practice leadership, or regional discipline leadership experience.
• Experience supporting organisational capability development and Project Controls maturity improvement programmes.

Our inspired people share our vision and mission. We provide a great place to work, where each person has the opportunity and voice to affect change.

We want our people to succeed both in work and life. To support this we promote a healthy, productive and flexible working environment that respects work‑life balance.

Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and actively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Please find out more about us atwww.turnerandtownsend.com/

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It is strictly against Turner & Townsend policy for candidates to pay any fee in relation to our recruitment process. No recruitment agency working with Turner & Townsend will ask candidates to pay a fee at any time.

Any unsolicited resumes/CVs submitted through our website or to Turner & Townsend personal e‑mail accounts, are considered property of Turner & Townsend and arenot subject to payment of agency fees. In order to be an authorised Recruitment Agency/Search Firm for Turner & Townsend, there must be a formal written agreement in place and the agency must be invited, by the Recruitment Team,to submit candidates for review.