Senior Planner at UK Research & Innovation, Swindon/Remote, to March 2027, £Contract Rate

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the national funding agency investing in science and research in the UK.

UKRI invests £8 billion of taxpayers' money each year into research and innovation and the people who make it happen. They work across a huge range of fields - from biodiversity conservation to quantum computing, and from space telescopes to innovative health care. They give everyone the opportunity to contribute and to benefit, bringing together people and organisations nationally and globally to create, develop and deploy new ideas and technologies.

Job Purpose:

UKRI is delivering Shaping Our Future, a major organisational transformation portfolio designed to modernise ways of working, improve organisational effectiveness and enable UKRI to deliver greater value for the UK research and innovation system.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Planner to provide strategic planning leadership across the portfolio. The postholder will be responsible for developing, maintaining and assuring integrated portfolio and programme schedules that support effective decision-making, governance and delivery. Working closely with Portfolio Directors, Programme Managers, PMO teams and senior stakeholders, the Senior Planner will ensure that plans remain robust, realistic and aligned with strategic objectives.

The role aligns with the Government Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) Planner G7 profile, requiring leadership in planning, project controls, stakeholder engagement, schedule management, forecasting and continuous improvement of planning practices. The Planner is expected to lead planning activities across a complex and high-profile transformation environment, providing expert advice and insight to support successful delivery.

As a Senior Planner, your main responsibilities will be:

• Develop, maintain and continuously improve the integrated Shaping Our Future Portfolio Plan, ensuring alignment across all programmes, projects and business change activities.
• Establish and maintain a portfolio-level integrated master schedule that captures key milestones, dependencies, assumptions and critical delivery paths.
• Ensure programme plans are integrated into the portfolio plan and support prioritisation, sequencing and delivery decisions.
• Develop detailed programme-level schedules where required, supporting Programme Managers and delivery teams throughout the project lifecycle.
• Define planning standards, governance arrangements and scheduling controls to ensure consistency across the portfolio.
• Conduct schedule analysis to identify critical paths, delivery risks, opportunities and areas requiring management intervention.
• Monitor progress against approved baselines and provide timely analysis of schedule performance.
• Produce forecasting, trend analysis and scenario modelling to support strategic decision-making.
• Support the identification and management of risks, issues, assumptions and dependencies that may impact delivery timelines.
• Provide accurate planning data and reporting to governance boards, leadership teams and stakeholders.
• Contribute to portfolio assurance activities, including internal reviews, audits and gateway processes.

Essential:

• Significant experience of planning and scheduling within large, complex portfolios, programmes or transformation initiatives.
• Proven experience developing and maintaining integrated portfolio-level plans and master schedules.
• Experience creating and managing programme and project schedules throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Demonstrable experience of dependency management, critical path analysis and schedule risk assessment.
• Experience supporting governance, assurance and portfolio reporting processes.
• Experience influencing and advising senior stakeholders within complex organisational environments.
• Strong expertise in project and programme planning methodologies and project controls.
• Advanced knowledge of scheduling techniques, resource planning, forecasting and schedule analysis.
• Experience using enterprise planning tools such as Microsoft Project, Project Online, Primavera P6 or equivalent.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex delivery information and present actionable insights.
• Ability to develop reporting products that support senior decision-making.

Desirable:

• APM Planning and Controls Specialist qualification, APM PMQ, MSP, PRINCE2 or equivalent professional qualification.
• Experience working in government, arm 's-length bodies or the wider public sector.
• Experience supporting complex organisational transformation programmes.
• Understanding of Government Functional Standards, Project Delivery Functional Profession and Project Controls practices.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, UKRI guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.