New Job Opportunity - Senior Planner - Initially 6 Month Contract - Based in Epsom Surrey Office
IR35 Determination: Inside IR35
Office Location: Surrey, 3 days in the office, 2 days from home
Start Date: 21 January 2026
Duration: 6 months
Working Hours: 40 hours per week
Pay Rate: Negotiable Dependent on experience
Background:
This role requires a strong construction planning background, with proven experience on large, complex transportation infrastructure projects.
Job Description:
As a Senior Planner within our Rail Systems team, you will bring your technical expertise, planning skills, and professional judgement to a diverse portfolio of projects and tenders. Based in London and working within our Complex Projects team, you will support the successful delivery of major Rail and Highways projects.
You will act as a key facilitator, providing comprehensive Project Controls support to both project teams and clients. The role reports to the Project Controls Manager, with accountability to the Project Manager.
This is an opportunity to join a dynamic, world-class Project Controls team working on some of the UK’s largest transportation infrastructure programmes. Our client's Project Controls is internationally recognised for delivering major transportation projects across the UK and overseas.
Key Responsibilities:
* Take responsibility for all aspects of project programming and Project Controls.
* Develop, manage, and maintain robust project and tender programmes.
* Represent and drive Project Controls policies, including attendance and contribution to client progress meetings.
* Provide accurate and timely project performance data, schedules, and reports.
* Identify project deviations, delays, and risks, escalating issues to senior stakeholders as required.
* Deliver periodic programme updates, clearly communicating changes, delays, and impacts.
* Ensure programme issues are fully understood by Senior Management and provide appropriate planning advice.
* Support delivery of projects to agreed time and cost targets.
* Supervise and mentor junior team members when required.
* Build and maintain strong relationships with a defined client base.
* Demonstrate awareness of commercial and financial aspects of project management.
Skills & Experience Requirements:
* Proven construction planning experience, including programming multi-disciplinary engineering design and managing interfaces.
* Strong understanding of how projects are designed, procured, constructed, and commissioned.
* Experience producing planning and scheduling outputs, including:
* Resource histograms
* Performance analysis data
* Asset tracking
* CPI / SPI reporting
* Strong presentation skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex information to project teams, clients, and stakeholders.
Detailed knowledge of Project Controls techniques, including:
* Budget and cost management
* Change control
* Earned Value Management (EVM)
* Data and trend analysis
* Work Package Management
* Ability to work with minimal supervision, using own initiative to produce project and tender programmes.
In-depth understanding of transportation systems, including:
* Signalling
* Track (P-Way)
* Structures (tunnels, bridges, earthworks, embankments, buildings, gantries, access platforms, etc.)
* Electrification & Plant
* Telecoms
Key Experience:
* Experience with schedule risk and cost analysis, claims, and projects up to £50m in value.
* Expert user of Primavera P6.
* Experience working with various contract forms, including NEC.
* Degree-qualified Engineering professional (Mechanical or Civil preferred).
* APM membership preferred.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a proactive and collaborative approach.