Planning Engineer

Balfour Beatty plc; Ipswich; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Smart working (up to 40% remote)

25 days paid annual leave

Pension and share incentive plan

Volunteering leave

Job summary

Balfour Beatty plc is seeking an experienced Planning Engineer to deliver Bramford Substation project in Suffolk. You will develop, manage and maintain programmes from pre-construction through commissioning and handover, enabling UK energy transition.

You will lead baseline schedules, monitor progress, assess risks and produce leadership-ready dashboards. Strong collaboration with project teams and stakeholders is essential.

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering or related discipline with construction/infrastructure exposure.
• Proven experience as Planning Engineer on major infrastructure or energy projects.
• Experience with substation, transmission, civil works or multidisciplinary construction.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain fully resourced, logically linked project programmes.
• Create and manage baseline schedules aligned with scope and milestones.
• Monitor progress and identify opportunities to improve performance.
• Analyse risks, critical paths, float, and delays with mitigation actions.
• Support change management and maintain records.
• Produce planning reports, dashboards and KPIs for leadership.
• Collaborate with PMs, engineers, commercial teams, suppliers and clients.
• Prepare short-term lookaheads and integrated delivery schedules.
• Contribute to tender planning and scenario analysis.

Skills

Primavera P6

Asta Powerproject

Excel

Earned Value Management

QSRA

TRA

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder communication

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent in Engineering/Construction Management

Tools

NEC3/NEC4 contracts

Job description

About The Role

Join our Power Transmission & Distribution team as a Planning Engineer and play a key role in delivering the Bramford Substation project in Suffolk, supporting the UK’s transition to Net Zero. Working on a major transmission infrastructure project, you will be responsible for developing, managing, and maintaining project programmes from pre‑construction through to commissioning and handover. This is an opportunity to contribute to a nationally significant energy project while working alongside industry‑leading professionals in a collaborative and forward‑thinking environment.

What You’ll Be Doing

As a Planning Engineer, you will support the successful delivery of the Bramford Substation project through effective programme management and planning excellence.

Your Responsibilities Will Include

• Develop and maintain fully resourced, logically linked project programmes across all stages of the project lifecycle.
• Create and manage baseline schedules, ensuring alignment with project scope, milestones, and delivery objectives.
• Monitor progress against programme targets and identify opportunities to improve performance.
• Analyse programme risks, critical paths, float consumption, and potential delays, implementing mitigation measures where required.
• Support change management processes by assessing programme impacts and maintaining accurate records.
• Produce regular planning reports, dashboards, KPIs, and strategic insights for project leadership and client stakeholders.
• Collaborate with project managers, engineers, commercial teams, suppliers, and clients to ensure programme alignment.
• Support the preparation and maintenance of short‑term lookaheads and integrated delivery schedules.
• Contribute to tender planning and scenario analysis where required.
• Promote planning best practice and support the development of junior planning team members.

Who We’re Looking For

We are seeking an experienced planning professional with a strong background in major infrastructure and energy projects.

You Will Have

• A degree or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related discipline.
• Proven experience in a Planning Engineer role within power transmission, utilities, energy, or major infrastructure projects.
• Experience working on substation, transmission, civil engineering, or multidisciplinary construction projects.
• Strong proficiency in Primavera P6 and/or Asta Powerproject.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience producing planning reports and dashboards.
• A sound understanding of NEC3 and NEC4 contracts.
• Knowledge of earned value management, quantitative schedule risk analysis (QSRA), and time risk allowance (TRA) methodologies.
• Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and communication skills.
• The ability to build effective working relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Membership of a relevant professional body or progress towards chartership would be advantageous.

Why Work for Us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Benefits

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata).
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave.
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…

About Us

Balfour Beatty’s Power Transmission & Distribution teams work with regional, national and international electricity network owners and operators to provide technical engineering solutions across the full spectrum of the electricity grid, including overhead lines, cabling, substations and distribution networks. From scoping and feasibility, to design, construction and on‑going maintenance, our in‑house experts, flexible resources and industry‑leading innovations support customers in the development of some of the UK’s most ambitious power transmission and distribution projects.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion. We are members of WISE, ENEI, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long‑term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long‑term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at [e-mail].