Strategic Planning Specialist

Laing O'Rourke group; Dartford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Laing O'Rourke is seeking a Strategic Planning Specialist in Dartford. You will shape and strengthen the end-to-end strategic cycle, partnering across the business to develop durable plans and long-range models that support confident decision-making.

In this role you will build 5–7 year outlooks, align strategy with budgeting, and create tools that uplift planning capability across the organisation. You’ll also coach colleagues and present insights to executives.

Qualifications

• Experience with strategic planning cycles and long-range modelling in complex environments.
• Strong analytical capability and scenario exploration.
• Clear communication translating analysis into insight.
• Ability to build relationships across teams and functions.
• Comfort with ambiguity and structured problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Lead and improve strategic planning framework and annual cycle.
• Translate priorities into practical, achievable plans with teams.
• Develop 5–7 year strategic and financial outlook models.
• Collaborate with Finance to align strategy and budgeting.
• Prepare executive materials for decision-makers.
• Build tools and templates to uplift planning capability.
• Coach junior team members.

Skills

Strategic planning

Analytical

Scenario planning

Stakeholder engagement

Ambiguity tolerance

Financial modelling

Job description

Business Unit: Europe Hub

Laing O'Rourke's purpose is to push the boundaries of what's possible in service of humanity. Our Strategy & Transformation community plays a central role in shaping how we achieve that ambition.

Location: Dartford

Laing O'Rourke's purpose is to push the boundaries of what's possible in service of humanity. Our Strategy & Transformation community plays a central role in shaping how we achieve that ambition.

Are you excited by the idea of helping an organisation think long‑term, make thoughtful choices, and build future‑ready plans? Do you enjoy creating clarity, enabling collaboration, and turning complexity into something meaningful? If so, this could be the role for you.

As a Strategic Planning Specialist, you will shape, coordinate and continuously strengthen Laing O'Rourke's end‑to‑end strategic cycle. You'll partner across the business to develop high‑quality business plans and long‑range models that support confident decision‑making. This role offers broad exposure, a collaborative environment, and the chance to make a lasting impact.

What will you be doing?

Strategic Planning

• Lead and improve the organisation's strategic planning framework and annual planning cycle.
• Help teams translate strategic priorities into practical, achievable plans.
• Facilitate conversations that encourage curiosity, challenge, and alignment. Ask yourself: Do you enjoy guiding teams through structured thinking and big‑picture decision‑making?

Business Planning & Partnership

Do you thrive when building relationships across diverse teams and finding common ground?

• Work closely with strategy, commercial, operational and functional colleagues to co‑develop data‑informed business plans.
• Act as a supportive, thoughtful partner—helping teams connect insights, test assumptions, and identify opportunities.

Long‑Range Modelling & Insight

Do you enjoy creating models that tell a story and help people make better decisions?

• Build and maintain 5–7 year strategic and financial outlook models.
• Collaborate with Finance to ensure strong alignment between strategy and budgeting.
• Present clear, accessible insights to senior stakeholders.

Capability Building

• Create tools, templates and processes that uplift planning capability across the organisation.
• Coach and mentor junior team members.

Executive Communication

• Prepare high‑quality strategic materials for Executive and Board audiences.

What skills and experience do you bring?

You may come from strategic planning, corporate strategy, consulting, financial planning or another analytical, future‑focused role. We are open to people with transferable skills and a commitment to learning.

We're Looking For Someone Who

• Has experience with strategic planning cycles, business planning or long‑range modelling in a matrix or complex environment.
• Brings strong analytical capability and enjoys exploring scenarios and patterns.
• Communicates clearly, with an ability to translate analysis into meaningful insight.
• Builds positive working relationships at all levels and contributes to a collaborative team culture.
• Is comfortable with ambiguity and brings a balanced, thoughtful approach to problem‑solving.
• Has experience with financial modelling or data analysis tools.

If you don't meet every requirement, we'd still love to hear from you—your strengths and mindset matter.

What You Will Help Build

• A consistent, repeatable strategic planning process.
• Integrated long‑range strategic and financial models.
• Greater strategic capability across teams and levels.
• Stronger alignment between strategy, business plans and outcomes.
• Clear, insight‑driven inputs for executive decision‑making.

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]