Senior Planner

Willmott Dixon; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced pension

Private medical

Life assurance

Incentive bonus & car scheme

MEA allowance

Job summary

Willmott Dixon is recruiting a Senior Planner to support our Preconstruction team in the North West, based from our Oldham office. This role works in a hybrid manner with 2 days per week from home, handling tender and preconstruction programmes across the region.

You will develop robust, evidence-based programmes aligned to customer requirements, project scope and current legislation, while supporting the wider bid team to ensure programmes are buildable and commercially informed.

Qualifications

• Proven planning experience within a main contractor or construction environment
• Ability to produce accurate programmes, sequencing and logistics plans using Asta Powerproject
• Strong understanding of construction methods and technology (steel frame, concrete frame, timber frame)
• Able to interpret drawings, specifications and technical information
• Good understanding of site set-up, preliminaries and temporary works
• Experience of supporting preconstruction and delivery teams on complex projects
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Site-based planning experience (desirable)
• Working towards MCIOB (desirable)
• Awareness of digital construction, 4D planning and emerging planning tools (desirable)

Responsibilities

• Produce robust tender and preconstruction programmes using Asta Powerproject
• Develop planning reports, programme commentaries and method statements to support tender submissions
• Prepare auditable programmes based on outputs, sequencing and supply chain engagement
• Produce site logistics plans and planning information for tender adjudication
• Advise bid teams on the programme and logistical impact of design changes
• Support project presentations and present confidently at post-tender interviews
• Identify opportunities for MMC, innovation and value engineering during tender development
• Support live projects when required, including programme management and progress monitoring
• Undertake site visits and reports, and use as-built data to support benchmarking and productivity improvement

Skills

Asta Powerproject

Programmes

Drawing interpretation

Site-based planning

CSCS card

MCIOB (desirable)

Education

Level 4 qualification (HNC/NVQ4 or equivalent)

Tools

Digital planning tools

Job description

Willmott Dixon is looking to recruit a Senior Planner to support our Preconstruction team in the North West. Based from our Oldham office, this role supports projects across the region, working in a hybrid manner with 2 days per week from home.

Reporting to the Preconstruction Manager, you will play a key role in producing realistic, robust and de-risked programmes for tenders and preconstruction activity across a range of sectors. This is an opportunity to work on complex, high-value and fast-track projects typically ranging from £10m to £100m across the North West.

As Senior Planner, you will work closely with our preconstruction, operational and supply chain teams to develop accurate, evidence-based tender and construction programmes aligned to customer requirements, project scope and current legislation. You will also support the wider bid team by ensuring programmes are commercially informed, buildable and clearly communicated.

Key responsibilities

• Produce robust tender and preconstruction programmes using Asta Powerproject
• Develop planning reports, programme commentaries and method statements to support tender submissions
• Prepare auditable programmes based on outputs, sequencing and supply chain engagement
• Produce site logistics plans and planning information for tender adjudication
• Advise bid teams on the programme and logistical impact of design changes
• Support project presentations and present confidently at post-tender interviews
• Identify opportunities for MMC, innovation and value engineering during tender development
• Support live projects when required, including programme management and progress monitoring
• Undertake site visits and reports, and use as-built data to support benchmarking and productivity improvement

What we're looking for

• Proven planning experience within a main contractor or construction environment
• Ability to produce accurate programmes, sequencing and logistics plans using Asta Powerproject
• Strong understanding of construction methods and technology, including steel frame, concrete frame and timber frame solutions
• Able to interpret drawings, specifications and technical information
• Good understanding of site set-up, preliminaries and temporary works
• Experience of supporting preconstruction and delivery teams on complex projects
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain programmes clearly to internal teams, customers and consultants
• Analytical, detail-focused and commercially aware approach
• Ideally site-based planning experience
• Relevant Level 4 qualification (HNC/NVQ4 or equivalent) and appropriate CSCS card
• Working towards MCIOB (desirable)
• Awareness of digital construction, 4D planning and emerging planning tools (desirable)

Additional Information

We reward our people generously with a competitive package that gives you flexible benefits to fit your lifestyle and priorities.

• enhanced pension scheme
• private medical
• life assurance
• incentive bonusaccess to a market-leading sustainable car scheme
• motoring expenditure allowance (MEA)

At Willmott Dixon, we provide an inclusive and flexible working environment where people can thrive, and we are proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme.

About Us

With over 170 years of history, Willmott Dixon is a privately owned business with a purpose beyond profit - delivering brilliant buildings, transforming lives, strengthening communities and enhancing the environment for future generations. In 2025, we were recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the Top 10 Big Companies to Work For, ranked in the Top Five of Europe's 1,000 best workplaces by the Financial Times, and became the first major contractor and developer to win a King's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.