Location
Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. With over 34,000 people across more than 30 countries, we are dedicated to improving quality of life by solving the world’s most complex challenges together.

As a Senior Planner, you will play a key role in the successful delivery of major infrastructure programmes, providing planning leadership across complex engineering and construction projects. You will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and assuring integrated project schedules, ensuring programme controls processes support effective project delivery and informed decision-making.

Working as part of an integrated project controls and delivery team, you will provide expert planning support throughout the project lifecycle—from early development and tender assessment through to delivery and close-out. You will collaborate closely with project managers, engineering teams, contractors, and clients to develop robust programmes, identify delivery risks, and drive performance improvement.

Your responsibilities will include leading the development, maintenance, and assurance of baseline and detailed project schedules across one or more major projects or programmes, ensuring compliance with client and company standards. You will undertake critical path analysis and provide insightful reporting on programme performance, key milestones, risks, constraints, dependencies, and opportunities.

Additionally, you will review, challenge, and assess contractor programmes and time-related submissions in accordance with contractual requirements, including NEC3 and NEC4 contracts. Applying earned value management and integrated project controls principles, you will support forecasting, performance management, and informed decision-making.

You will align programme reporting, management information, and schedule dashboards to support governance, assurance, and executive-level decision making. Supporting project teams throughout tender, development, and delivery phases, you will provide planning expertise, independent assurance, and programme recovery support where required.

Facilitating programme reviews, collaborative planning workshops, and stakeholder engagements, you will improve alignment, delivery confidence, and project outcomes. You will also mentor and develop Assistant Planners and Planners, promoting planning best practice and contributing to the continuous improvement of standards, processes, and tools across the business.

Experience
- Degree qualified or equivalent relevant experience.
- Significant experience delivering planning services on major infrastructure, utilities, energy, transportation, or other regulated industry programmes.
- Expert user of Primavera P6 with extensive experience in schedule development, forecasting, reporting, and programme controls.
- Strong understanding of engineering, procurement, and construction project lifecycles.
- Demonstrable experience in critical path analysis, schedule assurance, programme recovery planning, and performance management.
- Extensive NEC3 and NEC4 contract experience, including contractor programme assessment and time-related submissions.
- Experience applying earned value management, progress measurement, and integrated project controls techniques.
- Proven ability to work within integrated client, contractor, and consultancy teams and engage effectively with senior stakeholders.
- Strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
- Experience within the electrical transmission and distribution sector is desirable; experience in other regulated sectors such as rail, nuclear, water, or aviation is also considered.

About you
You are a proactive and collaborative planner with strong leadership skills and a commitment to delivering high-quality project outcomes. You thrive in complex environments and are adept at managing multiple stakeholders and priorities. You are passionate about continuous improvement and mentoring others to achieve excellence in planning practices.

Qualifications
Degree or equivalent relevant experience in a related discipline is required. Professional certifications in project controls or planning are advantageous but not essential.