Programme Planner

+6 months +

+DV cleared role - current active DV clearance is essential

+Inside IR35

+£500 - £550 a day

We are looking for an experienced Programme Planner to support the delivery of a complex, high-profile programme within a secure environment.

This is a pivotal role responsible for building, maintaining and controlling integrated programme schedules that provide a clear, accurate and trusted view of delivery progress. Acting as the single source of truth for programme planning, you will ensure stakeholders have visibility of milestones, dependencies, risks, critical paths and delivery confidence across multiple projects and workstreams.

Working closely with Programme Managers, PMO teams, delivery leads and senior stakeholders, you will help drive effective decision-making through evidence-based planning, robust governance and insightful reporting.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and control integrated programme and project schedules using approved planning tools.
• Create and manage detailed plans that accurately reflect programme scope, milestones, dependencies and deliverables.
• Ensure alignment between programme plans, contractual commitments and business objectives.
• Monitor progress against plans, identifying variances, risks and emerging issues.
• Produce high-quality planning reports, dashboards and schedule analysis to support governance and executive decision-making.
• Manage programme baselines, stage gates and change control processes.
• Facilitate planning workshops and schedule reviews with delivery teams and stakeholders.
• Identify and manage cross-project dependencies, risks and constraints.
• Support programme governance activities and ensure planning standards are consistently applied.
• Drive continuous improvement across planning processes, reporting capabilities and scheduling methodologies.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience as a Programme Planner or Portfolio Planner within large, complex delivery environments.
• Strong expertise in developing and maintaining Integrated Master Schedules (IMS).
• Advanced proficiency with planning and reporting tools including:
  • Microsoft Project
  • Jira
  • Power BI
  • Microsoft Excel
• Strong understanding of programme and project management methodologies including MSP, PRINCE2 and Agile.
• Experience providing planning support across multiple concurrent projects and workstreams.
• Excellent analytical, organisational and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage confidently with senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing competing priorities within fast-paced delivery programmes.

• Experience supporting large-scale BPO or outsourced service delivery programmes.

If you'd like to discuss this Programme Planner role in more detail, please send your updated CV to chloe.manerowski@cbsbutler.com and I will get in touch.