Programme Planning Lead

Programme Planning Lead  

• Accountable for programme planning across the Control Period 7 (CP7) Wales & Western Building’s and Stations Capital Delivery Framework.
• Lead and manage a team of programme planners, to ensure accurate preparation and maintenance of all integrated and coordinated project programmes, ensuring resource requirements, costs and volumes are all forward planned to meet project deliverables, using P6 Project Planning software.     

• While reporting to the Framework Director, the Programme Planning Lead, will sit within the Framework Leadership Team (FLT) and integrate across all six functions (below), during the delivery of: efficient, high quality, and professional framework planning, by coordinating and aligning activities across the function’s leadership to achieve success.  

• Responsible for working closely with operational and commercial teams to plan critical activities, monitor any delays and manage risk of the respective projects as work progresses. Other aspects of accountability include, Earned Value Analysis, resourcing forecasts and all other planning metrics required across the Framework.   

Accountabilities / Responsibilities:  

Leadership - 

• Visible, and felt leadership: overseeing a team and in support of the FLT, to promote our Values:  

• Quality: Be professional, set exacting standards, and work with pride.  

• Integrity: Be honest, straightforward and treat others as you would expect to be treated.  

• Openness: Be transparent and authentic, always prepared to listen.  

• Caring: Be kind, encouraging, supporting, respectful and inclusive.  

• Progressive: Innovative and continually learn, to be the best we can be.  

• Team: Oversee and lead the programme controls team function within the FLT, monitoring for accuracy and consistency of plans, cost, safety, environment and performance reporting, and deploying available team resources to best effect.  

• Service reliability: Provide an efficient day-to-day service to the FLT and our client in line with all reporting requirements.   

• Drive our principles to delight our customers, by: Being an inspirational leader and role model, driving our values and maintaining an inclusive and collaborative culture where everyone enjoys coming to work and feels free to perform at their best.  

• Aligning people: bringing together our customers, our suppliers and those within our own business; people that share our core values, our collaborative behaviours and have a proactive approach.  

• Implementing effective process: so that teams are steered, guided, and governed by our effective processes and management systems.  
  
   

People  -

• Plan, develop and lead high performing teams: to ensure programme planning objectives and targets to be achieved.   

• Relationships: Build and nurture strong long-term relationships with our customers, communicating progress, resolving any customer concerns and encouraging proactive collaboration for mutual benefit.  
  
  
  Process -

• Manage all programme planning within the Framework: Govern planning standards across the project teams, generating weekly, monthly and quarterly programme forecasts dovetailing all portfolios and projects within the Framework to forecast business requirements.   

• Overall Framework Programme: A high level executive summary of all portfolio’s and programmes.  

• Portfolio Programmes: A summary of projects within each portfolio.  

• Project Programmes: Project specific programmes.   

• Periodic Framework Reporting: Accountable for maintaining the Framework Reporting Calendar with NR, and checking that all required reports are compiled and submitted both internally and externally, on time, and to the required quality:  

• Internal Reporting: Support the FLT in producing an executive summary of periodic framework performance for our executive board members and the senior management team.  

• Client Reporting: Support the client and FLT in producing an executive summary of periodic framework performance for our client Network Rail.   

• Contract administration: Take ownership in the preparation and maintenance of programmes in accordance with each contract requirement (i.e. NEC4), and ensure live as-built project programmes are maintained, ensuring they are programmed to a level of detail necessary for project teams to deliver projects without delays, while driving best value   

• Risk: Lead a ‘what-if’ planning ethos and conduct Quantitative Risk Analysis in order to identify solutions to programme/project conflicts and minimise risks, presenting outcomes from analysis to the project teams   

• Integration with other functions: Develop and manage links between programmes and the cost estimates, supporting financial forecasting, monitoring and the control of project costs, driving cost reporting and commercial awareness, while always challenging the status quo.  Gather and collate progress information and reasons for any deviations/delays.   

• Execution Plans: Accountable for the Framework Planning & Programming Management Plan (F-P&P) for the framework, ensuring that client non-technical requirements are accurately interpreted. Regular updates periodically with our client is required to ensure requirements are regularly reviewed. After each review, plans should be issued via DocuSign for the Framework Director’s endorsement.  

• Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) Reporting: In conjunction with client led requirements, collate, and produce a report for periodic framework level KPI’s.
  
    

Experience And Knowledge -  

• Strong, demonstrable, and relevant rail industry (contracting) experience in a similar role that incorporates the major components of the accountabilities, responsibilities and personal qualities noted.   

• Extensive skills in the use of modern technology and systems, such as advanced experience in Primavera P6, Microsoft Project and alike and an ability to adapt to new technology and systems.   

• Good all round rail infrastructure knowledge and experience of NEC 3 or 4.   

• Experience of Primavera Risk / Quantitive Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA).  

• A minimum of 15 years in the industry, and 10 years in planning, 5 years in a senior role.  

• Excellent planning, organization and time management skills, with an ability to manage actions simultaneously without compromising on standards and quality.  

• Confident communicating with internal and external stakeholders at all levels, both verbally and in writing, using excellent written and verbal communication skills.  

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build and develop strong trusting relationships internally and externally.   

• Proactive and driven with a strong desire to deliver and improve processes.  

• Ability to develop friendly and professional customer focused relations with others; self-driven, results-oriented with a positive outlook.  

• Strong people management skills with the ability to influence and mentor to motivate employees to achieve exacting standards of compliance.  

• Demonstrate resilience, resourcefulness and good judgement while remaining calm and professional in the face of conflicting and changing priorities.  

• Work well independently, using own initiative when required, as well as demonstrating good teamwork and support for colleagues.  

• Extensive skills in the use of modern technology and systems, such as advanced experience in Primavera P6, Microsoft Project and alike and an ability to adapt to new technology and systems.   

Essential - 

• Driver’s license   

• Minimum of 5 GCSE’s, with C or above in English and Math’s.    

• A relevant higher education qualification, such as a certificate, diploma, or a degree (i.e., Civil Engineering, Construction Project Management – not exhaustive)  
  
   

Desirable -
Microsoft Office 365 Levels 1-3