Project Planner

AALTO; Farnborough; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market-aligned full-time salary

Bonus/incentive plan

25 days holiday

Private medical insurance

Dental and optical cash back

Personal pension plan

Income protection and life assurance

Employee assistance programme

Perkbox discounts

Job summary

AALTO, based in Farnborough, seeks a PMO Senior Manager / Programme Manager to support governance, planning and controls for the Zephyr Programme. You will ensure schedules, risk registers and KPI dashboards are maintained while coordinating inputs from multiple stakeholders.

Hybrid role with occasional travel. The ideal candidate has aerospace/defence PMO experience and strong analytical, communication and Excel skills to drive programme success.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in Engineering, Business, Project Management or related discipline.
• Experience in aerospace, aviation or defence PMO, programme controls or project coordination.
• Knowledge of planning, scheduling, milestone tracking, dependency management, risk and issue management, change control.
• Strong analytical, organisational and communication skills with ability to manage priorities and present data clearly.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day coordination and control of the Zephyr Programme.
• Coordinate inputs from workstream leads, project managers and functional stakeholders.
• Support schedule maintenance, milestone tracking, dependency management and baseline updates.
• Prepare governance inputs, reports, dashboards and review materials for programme and executive forums.
• Maintain action, decision, issue, dependency, change, risk and opportunity records through to closure.
• Coordinate programme meetings, including agendas, minutes, actions, decisions and follow-up.
• Monitor progress and highlight variances, blockers and delivery risks.
• Support PMO process improvements, reporting consistency, digitalisation and lessons learned.

Skills

Analytical skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Degree or equivalent (Engineering/Business/PM)

PMO/Project management qualification (APM/PRINCE2/PMI)

Tools

Power BI

Microsoft Project

SharePoint

Planisware

Job description

Welcome to AALTO, a global leader in Stratospace. Based in Farnborough, AALTO is an Airbus subsidiary that manufactures, operates, and delivers services with its solar-powered, stratospheric platform: Zephyr. Zephyr’s persistence enables continuous flight for months at a time. Its current flight-time record of over 67 days in the stratosphere. From above 60,000+ft, or 20km above ground, AALTO can deliver several applications including direct-to-device connectivity and high-resolution Earth observation. AALTO operates in a new operational layer between most of air traffic and low-Earth orbit, Stratospace. This is where high-altitude platforms led by Zephyr deliver services to commercial and government partners. We can help monitor environments, observe borders, track natural disasters and connect unconnected communities. Join us as we create a new domain of aerospace: Stratospace. You’ll be part of a highly-skilled, innovative and passionate group of people – Team AALTO. Together, we can Unlock Stratospace.

Job Purpose

Supporting our PMO Senior Manager and Programme Manager in delivering programme governance, planning, reporting, risk and issue management, action tracking and programme controls for the Zephyr Programme.

Key Deliverables

• Maintained programme schedules, milestone plans, dependency trackers and status updates.
• Accurate governance packs, KPI dashboards, reports and stakeholder updates.
• Action, decision, issue, dependency, change and risk logs maintained through to closure.
• Risk and opportunity updates, mitigation tracking and escalation inputs.
• Meeting agendas, minutes, actions, decisions and follow-up records.
• Controlled PMO documentation, templates, data quality checks and audit trails.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day coordination and control of the Zephyr Programme.
• Coordinate programme inputs from workstream leads, project managers and functional stakeholders.
• Support schedule maintenance, milestone tracking, dependency management and baseline updates.
• Prepare governance inputs, reports, dashboards and review materials for programme and executive forums.
• Maintain action, decision, issue, dependency, change, risk and opportunity records through to closure.
• Coordinate programme meetings, including agendas, minutes, actions, decisions and follow-up.
• Monitor progress and highlight variances, blockers, overdue actions and delivery risks.
• Support risk and opportunity management, including register updates, mitigation tracking and escalation inputs.
• Maintain PMO documentation, templates, audit trails and controlled programme records.
• Support PMO process improvements, reporting consistency, digitalisation and lessons learned.

Essential

Experience and Qualifications:

• Degree, HNC/HND or equivalent experience in Engineering, Business, Project Management, Programme Management or a related discipline.
• Experience in aerospace, aviation or defence, preferably in PMO, programme controls, project controls, scheduling or project coordination.
• Working knowledge of planning, scheduling, milestone tracking, dependency management, risk and issue management, action tracking and change control.
• Strong analytical, organisational and communication skills, with the ability to manage priorities, present data clearly and follow up across cross-functional teams.
• High attention to detail, problem-solving capability and ability to maintain accurate records under pressure.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly PowerPoint.

Desirable

• Formal qualification in Project Management, Programme Management, Risk Management, Scheduling or PMO discipline, such as APM, PRINCE2, MSP, PMI or equivalent.
• Experience with Power BI, SharePoint, Microsoft Project, Planisware, Planview, ERP systems and programme reporting tools.
• Experience supporting customer, supplier, programme or governance reviews in a complex delivery environment.

Working Pattern and Location

This role is based in Farnborough, with hybrid working flexibility and occasional travel to support programme, supplier and governance activities.

What We Offer

• Attractive, market‑aligned full time salary.
• Rewarding Excellence: Benefit from our short-term incentive plan that rewards your hard work and dedication.
• Enjoy Your Time Off: Benefit from 25 days of holiday to relax and recharge.
• Stay Healthy: We’ve got your health covered with private medical insurance, along with dental and optical cash back.
• Secure Your Future: Take advantage of our personal pension plan to ensure a comfortable retirement.
• Peace of Mind: Our income protection and life assurance schemes are there to support you when you need it most.
• We Care About You: Our employee assistance programme is always available to provide the support you need.
• Perks Galore: Enjoy a range of employee discounts via Perkbox, because you deserve a treat!

At AALTO, we take pride in building and offering an exceptional work environment that values your well-being and rewards your dedication. We believe in recognising your hard work and commitment, which is why we provide a fantastic bonus scheme that rewards your contributions. Additionally, we understand the importance of financial security and support your future with a competitive pension plan. When you join us, you become part of a workplace that not only encourages your professional growth but also cares about your personal fulfilment and financial stability.

AALTO is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status or pregnancy and maternity.