Lead Planner — Integrated Scheduling for Fusion Program

STEP Fusion; Retford; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Defined benefit pension

Corporate bonus up to 7%

Relocation allowance

Flexible working

Employee Assistance Programme

Generous annual leave

Career development opportunities

Job summary

STEP Fusion in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Planner to drive the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) for a high‑value fusion programme at West Burton, Nottinghamshire. You will provide schedule intelligence to senior leadership, ensuring governance and on‑time delivery within budget.

You will partner with Programme Managers, IPT Directors and technical teams to translate complexity into clear, actionable insight and support strategic decisions through scenario planning and KPI dashboards.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, Physics, Project Management, Construction Management, or equivalent experience.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Expert level proficiency in programme management and scheduling tools such as Primavera P6 and MS Project.
• Proven experience in leading multidisciplinary teams in a complex engineering and high‑technology environment.
• Experience in Earned Value Management.
• Proven experience in SRA (Monte Carlo) schedule analysis.
• Able to translate complex physics/engineering design into structured quality plans and schedules.
• Proven experience in programme and project planning for large‑scale engineering, energy, or construction programmes.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a fully integrated IMS (L0–L4) across engineering, manufacturing, construction, and commissioning.
• Drive alignment across programme disciplines, ensuring dependencies and interfaces are clearly defined.
• Identify critical paths, risks, and optimisation opportunities.
• Deliver scenario modelling, 'what-if' analysis, and data-driven insights to support executive decisions.
• Develop KPIs and dashboards to track performance and resource utilisation.
• Lead schedule risk analysis and contribute to programme‑level risk management.
• Lead planning for a programme valued at >£20M.
• Oversee WBS development, baselining, forecasting, and recovery planning.
• Apply earned value management to monitor progress.
• Mentor planners, engineers, and project teams on best practice in planning and scheduling.
• Champion continuous improvement and industry‑leading standards.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships across a complex programme environment.

Skills

Program scheduling

Stakeholder management

Leadership

What-if analysis

Data-driven insights

Communication

Team mentoring

Nuclear/energy domain

Education

Engineering degree

Physics degree

Project Management degree

Construction Management degree

Tools

Primavera P6

MS Project

Job description

STEP Fusion in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Planner to drive the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) for a high‑value fusion programme at West Burton, Nottinghamshire. You will provide schedule intelligence to senior leadership, ensuring governance and on‑time delivery within budget.

You will partner with Programme Managers, IPT Directors and technical teams to translate complexity into clear, actionable insight and support strategic decisions through scenario planning and KPI dashboards.