Planner

Job Introduction

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a ‘nuclear sector’ experienced Project Controls orientated Planner / Scheduler to join the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) Project Controls function based in Preston. The Project Controls function forms part of the Project Management Office (PMO) which is part of a wider Project Management Authority (PMA) responsible for all aspects of project delivery governance; controls; standards, and assurance across the full delivery lifecycle. The primary responsibilities of the PMO centre around the establishment of governance and assurance procedures and processes to ensure adequate controls are in place, embedded and being adhered to, to ensure that the delivery of NNL projects is achieved successfully, and in a safe and secure manner to the levels of quality expected. Our Project Controls capability provides Planning /scheduling support to our Project Management community but is also there to ensure that appropriate governance is built into schedules to provide robust plans; accurate reporting outputs, and subject matter oversight & guidance.

In the Planning role you will be line managed by the regional Senior Planning Lead but will report into the local Project Management Lead for all matters relating to the delivery of services at our Preston facility. In summary you will be responsible for the following activities;

• Provision of accurate and robust schedules which consider all aspects of the NNL PMA governance requirements, project delivery frameworks, and local (Preston) facility operations / management requirements.
• Provision of regular (typically monthly) performance output reports (Healthcheck Reports), plans, summary statements, etc, ahead of formal project reviews and provide support to the Project Managers to clarify / articulate the output data as required.
• Providing input into project reviews as required, and leading or contributing to any ‘planning’ improvement initiatives / reviews / discussions should the need arise.

Main Responsibilities

1. Ensure compliance with all legislative, regulatory and Company procedures and standards e.g. safety, quality, risk and security etc. in the development of project plans.

1. Identify Customer & internal NNL deliverables and develop detailed project plans during all project phases on behalf of the Project Manager (detailing resources & costs).

1. Establish appropriate work breakdown structures against data provided by the Project Manager, ensuring that deliverables, activities, and quantity tracking mechanisms are in place.

1. Liaise with sub‐contractors and Technical Leads, collate progress information and maintain and update the project plan. Challenge updates where necessary to ensure robustness of information / feedback and therefore forecast plan.

1. Provide progress updates as required by the Project Manager in accordance with work instructions, advising on missed forecasted milestones and deliverables, and attend project progress meetings (as required).

1. Issue standardised performance reports highlighting any risks and opportunities, and key variances as appropriate, and advise on recovery options if project delivery performance is not hitting targets (Schedule/Deliverables/Cost). 

1. Identify and track all changes or potential changes to the project baseline and subsequent underpinning of change control mechanisms.

1. Monitor critical path activities, and provide trend data (forecasts up to 3, 6 and 12 months look ahead); support to detailed cost and schedule reviews, and prompt and accurate information to the Project Manager.

1. Monitor works progress for variations / changes in project scope; understand any impacts on BCWS & project deliverables and make any necessary updates (follow approval by the Project Manager) to project schedules as required.

1. Provide project outturns against baseline for LFE and knowledge management.

The Ideal Candidate

Essential Skills

Knowledge & Experience

• Thorough knowledge and experience of using Microsoft Project is crucial
• Demonstrable experience of successfully delivering programmes & plans for a variety of projects within complex / engineering / nuclear industry type environments.
• Good working knowledge and proficient in the use of Microsoft Project (or other professional project scheduling software packages).
• Experience of utilising project collaboration software, e.g. Sharepoint, Project Webspace, etc.

Skills & Behaviour

• Ability to understand technical projects and solutions.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Able to think critically, using good judgment to challenge discipline on resource estimates to produce robust output controls documentation.

3+ years’ or more experience in a similar role / position is desired and ideally experience of using Enterprise Project Management (EPM), or other MS enterprise systems.

About The Company

Grounded in robust science and decades of experience, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is the authoritative voice in the UK and beyond for technological development within the nuclear power sector.

Our unparalleled understanding of the science, challenges and opportunities makes us an unrivalled authority and partner in the field, providing experts, technologies, and access to cutting-edge facilities to organisations around the world.

Harnessing potential technologies and translating them into to industry-ready solutions means our pioneering approach spearheads international improvement and technological progress.

We work on projects as small as drilling a hole to analyse underground wastes with our integrated micro drilling technology, or as large as developing state-of-the-art power systems for spacecraft, based on radioactive materials.