Project Planner

Network Rail; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

Network Rail is seeking a Project Planner to create and maintain project plans within Primavera for various projects. The role involves ensuring compliance with standards, developing high-quality schedules, and interacting with project stakeholders. Ideal candidates will have relevant experience in scheduling engineering projects and knowledge of railway investment planning systems.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience in scheduling engineering projects.
• Experience with project management scheduling tools.
• Knowledge of railway investment planning systems.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain project plans within Primavera (P6).
• Monitor and progress the plan/schedule and make changes as required.
• Interact with project delivery teams to support effective delivery.

Skills

Scheduling of engineering projects

Knowledge of railway investment planning systems

Project management scheduling tools

Education

Membership of a relevant professional body

Six Sigma Yellow Belt

Job description

Location

Milton Keynes, GB

Department Name

Supply Chain Operations - Capital Programmes

About Network Rail

Join Our Team at Network Rail!

Are you ready to make a difference in people's lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country. We're an organisation where people truly matter, and when you join us, you matter to us and millions of others. Click here to watch our inspiring video to learn more about us!

We're dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the passengers we serve. To achieve this, we're committed to becoming an open, diverse, and inclusive workplace, leveraging the skills and expertise of our talented workforce. Together, we strive to create a safe and accessible railway for everyone. Discover more about the importance of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail by clicking here .

Investing in our people is key to enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our railway system. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact, then this opportunity is for you! Click here to learn about our vision for a simpler, better, greener railway, and here to learn about our approach to safety and how it’s at the heart of everything we do.

About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us , whilst you have a healthy work life balance.

We're also a Disability Confident Leader employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.

If you're ready to make a real difference, we'd love to hear from you!

Brief Description

Route Services is a division of Network Rail that provides the Routes with services so they can help Network Rail deliver a better railway for a better Britain. We support the Routes with a myriad of services and supplies they need to maintain and operate the railway To learn more, please click here to watch our video.

This role sits within Supply Chain Operations (SCO) , an area of the business which supplies and delivers the logistics, materials, components, rail and road fleet that enable the maintenance and renewal of the railway.

SCO keeps the materials, machinery and components required by its customers moving – making sure they are on-site when needed so work can go ahead as planned and on schedule. Watch our video Working in Supply Chain Operations

Working with us is More than a Salary

About The Role (External)

The Project Planner will play a vital role in creating and maintaining project plans within Primavera (P6) for the projects within the capex portfolio. Our delivery programmes are within several areas including Facilities &Fixed Plant, Electrical Safety Delivery (ESD), SCADA and Wheeled Plant.

The Project Planner will report to the Principal Programme Planner. It is essential for candidates to possess a comprehensive understanding of the project lifecycle, cost and resource loading, and the ability to manage all aspects of the schedule using Primavera. Additionally, it is highly desirable for candidates to have experience working with NEC contracts.

Our project planning service helps to and includes:

• Compliance with Network Rail standards
• Develop high quality schedules and plans within the Network Rail enterprise environment
• Cost loading within project plans
• Resource assignment within project plans
• Schedule assurance
• Contractor schedule integration and review
• Procurement tracker
• Authority tracker
• Input into tender process
• Dependency management
• L0/L1/L2 milestone tracker
• PMB management (schedule)
• Reporting
  
  
  

What does the average day look like?

In this role you will undertake a range of tasks which includes but is not limited to the following:

• Periodic planning review meeting with Project Managers and Programme Managers to update project plans within Primavera P6
• Attend periodic PACE Phase Review meetings to confirm the necessary activities have been completed prior to the project moving to the next PACE Phase
• Attend periodic Strategic Planning and Controls team meeting to interact with the wider team to provide team updates and knowledge share
• Interact with the Sponsor team to establish specific project activities and timelines for remits and panel attendance
• Interact with the various Power Bi Dashboards for quality data checks
• Attend SCO Strategic Programmes all hands calls as necessary
• Attend PBR’s meetings to confirm the necessary activities and timelines as the project progresses through the project lifecycle
  
  
  

You will develop project or integration programme plans / schedules on behalf of programme and project managers in order to meet overall requirements of the client / business in most cost effective and reliable manner.

Key Accountabilities

• Interact and become a key member of the project delivery team providing a quality service to support the effective delivery of the project.
• Interact and support the effective information sharing / collection with all the project stakeholders in an appropriate manner.
• Prepare a project work breakdown structure and plan / schedule which is capable of delivering the project objectives and providing effective project performance measurement and reporting.
• Develop the appropriate quality plan / schedule in line with the project scheduling principles and processes.
• Monitor and progress the plan / schedule and make changes as required. Develop recovery schedules and contingency plans in order to meet changed objectives as necessary.
• Input the planning issues into the project’s critical issues risk log. Review planning risks and monitor whether the risk register is updated accordingly.
• Report actual performance and variance against plan and forecast outcomes. Highlight key milestone and critical path issues to members of the team, provide an assessment of the impact of such issues and recommend solutions to correct the position.
• Monitor and audit contractor plans. Monitor contractor’s planning processes so that they comply with Network Rail procedure requirements.
• Interrogate contractor’s statement of progress for schedule adherence and payment purposes.
• Identify key resource requirements and monitor that these are properly booked and availability is maintained.
  
  
  

Essential

Job Skills, Experience and Qualifications

• Relevant experience in the successful scheduling of engineering projects.
• Knowledge of railway investment planning systems.
• Experience of using a number of project management scheduling tools & techniques
  
  
  

Desirable

• Membership of a relevant professional body
• Understanding of the engineering requirements of work on the railway
• Six Sigma Yellow Belt.
• Knowledge of Network Rails Governance (PACE & GRIP)
• Cost and Resource loading experience
  
  
  

How To Apply (External)

Vacancy type: These roles are permanent.

Location: This position is based in The Quadrant, Milton Keynes.

Hours: up to 35 hours per week with hybrid working and travel as required. Flexible working and job shares can be considered.

Salary range: £43,588 to £50,018 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

Closing date: 31 May 2025. Late applicants will not be accepted. This role is being advertisedinternally and externally.

You will need to complete a supporting statement addressing how you meet the essential criteria, please complete this as part of the application process and add this to your CV in one document . Applicants who do not complete this statement will not be shortlisted. Please see attached guide – How to complete Supporting Statement.

If you cannot access the guide, please contact [e-mail] and we will send you a copy.

Click ‘Apply now’ to submit your application.

If you would like to speak to the Resourcing Team, please contact [e-mail]

If you would like any reasonable adjustments support during your application or throughout the recruitment process , please do not hesitate to contact the Resourcing Team who will happily assist.

Below are some examples of adjustments we can make:

• Changing a provision, practice or ‘the way things are done’
  
  
  

For example, we can give candidates extra time to complete online, tasks or interviews as needed.

• Changing a physical feature of our workplace For example, office/room layout can be adapted to accommodate individual needs.
• Providing extra equipment or assistance For example, we can provide sign language interpreters and support workers where needed. Alternative document formats can be made available.
  
  
  

There are lots of other adjustments we can consider – please just ask!

The recruitment process will consist of shortlisted candidates being invited to take part in the following; delete as appropriate

• Competency Based Interview
• Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by phone or email.
  
  
  

For further information about how we recruit, please visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/careers/how-we-recruit/

Drugs and Alcohol Standard:

For some of our roles all prospective external candidates offered a conditional role will be required to undergo and pass a drugs and alcohol test. Your application will be rescinded if you record a positive test. All positive drugs and alcohol test results for prospective candidates will be securely held on Sentinel database and a 5 year suspension from applying for a safety critical role, a role which requires PTS certification or a Key Safety role on Network Rail Managed Infrastructure will be enforced.

More information can be found in our Drugs and Alcohol Guidance document.

You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you're unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.

Network Rail Benefits - To find out about what benefits we offer, click here

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information

• Some of our roles require face to face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.****