Planning Leader

Laing O'Rourke; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Access support for long-term conditions and disabilities

Job summary

A leading engineering and construction firm in Greater London is seeking a Planning Leader. In this critical role, you will shape and deliver best practices in project planning, influence senior stakeholders, and ensure project controls are effectively implemented. With a strong emphasis on strategic thinking and technical expertise, you will lead a team to optimise delivery and drive performance across complex projects. This role is ideal for someone with a proven track record in project controls and leadership capabilities.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading planning and controls functions across complex projects.
• Strong expertise in project/programme controls, contract planning.
• Ability to influence stakeholders using data and insight.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning activity, embedding robust processes.
• Develop integrated programmes across all project stages.
• Establish project controls, reporting, and performance analysis.
• Define milestones and resource requirements.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership capability

Technical expertise in planning

Project/programme controls

Data analysis

Job description

Overview

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?

You will play a central role in leading planning activity, embedding robust processes, and ensuring successful project delivery.

• 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?

We are looking for a credible planning leader who combines strategic thinking with strong delivery expertise.

• 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

You will bring a combination of leadership, technical expertise, and strong interpersonal skills.

• 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

About Us

Laing O''Rourke 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 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 if you would like to opt in to this scheme and let us know if you require any adjustments for the interview process.

We want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you need the application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please email [e-mail]