Planning Leader

Laing O'Rourke; Dartford; Remote; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Laing O'Rourke is seeking a Planning Leader to shape and deliver best-in-class planning across our projects and programmes. This senior role sets direction, drives consistency in planning standards, and embeds robust project controls across complex, high-value programmes.

You will work with senior stakeholders to influence strategy and optimise delivery methodologies, ensuring planning capability supports both internal teams and client organisations.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading planning and controls across complex projects.
• Expertise in project/programme controls, contract planning, and strategic planning.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders with data, insight, and commercial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage integrated programmes across all project stages, including digital and 4D modelling alignment.
• Establish and maintain robust project controls, reporting, forecasting, and performance analysis.
• Define key milestones, production outputs, and resource requirements to optimise delivery.
• Lead, develop, and support planning teams, ensuring capability, performance, and succession planning.

Skills

Planning leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decision making

Project controls

Tools

Planning systems

Job description

Laing O'Rourke is looking for a Planning Leader to play a key role in shaping and delivering best-in-class planning across our projects and programmes.

This is a senior leadership position, focused on setting direction, driving consistency in planning standards, and ensuring robust project controls are embedded across complex, high-value programmes. You will work closely with senior stakeholders to influence strategy, optimise delivery methodologies, and ensure planning capability supports both internal teams and client organisations.

If you bring strong strategic thinking, leadership capability, and deep technical expertise in planning and project controls, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact at scale.

What will the role look like?

• Develop and manage integrated programmes across all project stages, including digital and 4D modelling alignment
• Establish and maintain robust project controls, reporting, forecasting, and performance analysis
• Define key milestones, production outputs, and resource requirements to optimise delivery
• Lead, develop, and support planning teams, ensuring capability, performance, and succession planning

What skills & experience are we looking for?

• Proven experience leading planning and controls functions across complex projects or business units
• Strong expertise in project/programme controls, contract planning, and strategic planning methodologies
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders using data, insight, and commercial awareness
• Experience implementing systems, driving improvement, and embedding best practice across teams

About you:

• Clear and confident communicator, able to engage effectively at all levels
• Strategic and analytical thinker, able to challenge and improve delivery approaches
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise in complex environments
• Motivating leader who develops teams and drives high performance

Don't match all the criteria? We are open and always happy to hear from people with transferable skill sets and a commitment to learning.

About us:

We are an international engineering and construction company delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and buildings projects for clients in the UK, Middle East and Australia.

Certainty, reliability, quality – this is what our clients want. And at Laing O'Rourke, we have more than 150 years of experience delivering it. Laing O'Rourke's story is one of energy, passion, ambition, people and teamwork. We harness the power of our experience, stretching back over a century and a half to deliver certainty for our clients.

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we would like to enable access to candidates with long term health conditions and disabilities through the ‘Offer an interview scheme'. This supports applicants that meet the essential criteria by offering an interview for the advertised position. Please let us know prior to interview what adjustments are required as well as discussing how we can support you in the workplace.