Senior Support Project Planner And Scheduler

The Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) are looking for Project Plannersand Schedulers. The roles will be within the newly formed Schedule Management Group (SMG) which has been established to deliver standardised, coherent and cogent project baseline and P3M data outputs across the SDA. The SMG provides technical expertise and products to the SDA delivery and enabling teams, allowing us to strengthen how we deliver planning and scheduling analytics across the Agency, implement consistent ways of working, processes and technology, and enhance our Management Information to enable effective and efficient decision making. Through the SMG we are providing a functional home for all 55 of our planners and Schedulers to collaborate, feel supported and thrive.

This is a varied, exciting, and challenging role, which will see you working with a technical team, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and being responsible for the undertaking of planning and scheduling activity across a variety of projects, ranging in complexity and risk. Each Senior SupportPlanner and Scheduler will be tasked out to specific projects, across the directorates, on a business priority basis to enable growth and development of individuals, robust and credible delivery to our teams and increase resilience across the enterprise. You would be expected to develop and maintain plans and schedules and monitor activities to ensure customer and business outputs are delivered, communicating key project schedule performance data to principal schedulers / project controls managers to support decision making. This will include activities such as:

• Running / providing support to planning meetings / schedule development workshops
• Assisting Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA) on schedules in accordance with procedure, review the outputs and provide data as required to inform decision making and to support approvals
• Conducting analysis of performance data (EVM, KPIs and SRA) and deliver accurate monthly project data in a timely manner for input to the monthly drumbeat of Project and Portfolio reviews
• Primary delivery manager duties for junior members of the team

Working at Devonport, the largest naval base in Western Europe, you will be able to witness first-hand the output of your project directly on the waterfront. All whilst utilising and developing your knowledge and experience in line with business needs to support our armed forces. If you have the pride, passion and commitment, with the drive to develop your skills and experience of leadership and delivering successful outcomes, then you will find yourself in good company in the SDA.

At the SDA, we champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.

What you'll be doing

• Proactively engaging and challenging stakeholders to ensure robust schedules and accurate monthly updates and forecasts, inc. engagement with risk and cost
• Clearly communicating monthly progress and proactively reviewing forecast and highlighting areas for concern to OBI owners/CAM's/WPM's utilising P6 tools and reports
• Providing supervision and direction to support junior planners and Schedulers; setting and assuring SDA standards are complied with, including supplier integration or integration of dependencies with other OBIs or Stakeholder schedules
• Supporting the delivery of technical advice on the integration of new baselines including running workshops and coordinating and managing efforts of others
• Ensuring alignment to Planning & Scheduling Procedures and Instructions as outlined on the Business Management System (BMS)
• Gathering key planning / scheduling artefacts to build robust baselines in accordance with internal policy processes and instructions
• Reviewing supplier schedules to understand monthly status / forecast for remaining work and reflect updates within internal schedules
• Ensuring baselines are maintained under change control as well as updating progress and remaining work to drive and control project(s)/portfolio
• Running or supporting planning workshops to define schedule assumptions and estimates
• Support the build and sustainment of the SMG capability, through active participation at events and training, and guiding / coaching of less experienced people

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Experience of planning projects and working with stakeholders to gather project information and implementation
• Running or supporting planning workshops to define schedule assumptions and estimates
• Experience of developing, managing and progressing schedules, preferably using Oracle Primavera P6 scheduling software, Microsoft Project or similar
• Generating and interpreting data and, under supervision, communicating clearly to stakeholders at different levels

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Stakeholder Management
• Controlling a Project
• Working together
• Delivering at pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of GBP34,800, Ministry of Defence contributes GBP9,396 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

• 25 days' annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King's birthday
• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 27%
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
• Support for progression
• Huge range of discounts
• Volunteering days
• Enhanced parental leave schemes