Network Rail
Project Planner
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Who We Are
Where People and Connections Matter
At Network Rail, we connect people, communities and businesses across Britain, helping millions of passengers and tonnes of freight move safely, reliably and efficiently every day.
When you join Network Rail, you become part of something bigger than a job. You'll be part of a team that keeps the country moving, supports economic growth and helps build a more sustainable future. Whatever your role, your contribution matters, and the work you do will make a real difference.
We're proud to create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected and empowered to be themselves. We know that diverse perspectives make us stronger, and we're committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve.
We also understand that life doesn't stop when work starts. That's why we support flexible working where possible and encourage a healthy work-life balance, helping our colleagues thrive both professionally and personally.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we're dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive. If you need any adjustments or support at any stage, we'll work with you to provide the assistance you need.
Ready to help shape the future of Britain's railway? We'd love to hear from you.
About The Role
As part of Network Rail's 5 year plan, we are responsible for a budget of £43billion, to manage, maintain and build Britain's railways. As a Project Planner, you will be responsible for producing project plans for our teams that manage a huge number of essential maintenance projects across our network (minor works). You will be working in an innovative alliance called the Southern Integrated Delivery, which offers fantastic career progression opportunities and the chance to work with top tier engineering consultancies.
You Will Have Experience In
- Creating, maintaining and working with construction project schedules to drive projects forward
- Being part of a team, summarising different disciplines schedules into a coherent plan
- Critically analysing schedules and providing project teams with useful insights
The Ideal Candidate
Are you an ambitious assistant planner or an experienced planning apprentice nearing the end of your program ready to take the next step? We're looking for someone like you to join our team as a Project Planner.
You'll be part of a dynamic team, working on exciting projects that make a real impact. Whether you've handled a few significant projects or several smaller ones, your experience is valuable to us. You've cut your teeth on rail projects with top-tier or emerging contractors, and now you're eager for a chance to shine on the client side.
Here, you won't just be a passive observer. You'll roll up your sleeves and dive into project delivery, using your expertise to keep things on track and overcome any hurdles. Your proactive approach will be key as you leverage project schedules to showcase progress and pinpoint areas for improvement.
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This is more than just a job it's an opportunity to grow and thrive in a collaborative environment where your skills are valued and your contributions make a difference. If you're ready to take your career to new heights and be part of something truly exciting.
Main Responsibilities
Some of the key accountabilities of this role are:
- To interact and become a key member of the project delivery team providing a quality service to support the effective delivery of the project.
- To interact and support the effective information sharing / collection with all the project stakeholders in an appropriate manner.
- Prepare a project work breakdown structure and plan / schedule which is capable of delivering the project objectives and providing effective project performance measurement and reporting.
- To develop the appropriate quality plan / schedule in line with the project scheduling principles and processes.
- Monitor and progress the plan / schedule and make changes as required. Develop recovery schedules and contingency plans in order to meet changed objectives as necessary.
- Input the planning issues into the project's monthly reporting documents. Review planning risks and monitor whether the risk register is updated accordingly.
- Report actual performance and variance against plan and forecast outcomes. Highlight key milestone and critical path issues to members of the team, provide an assessment of the impact of such issues and recommend solutions to correct the position.
- Monitor and audit contractor plans. Monitor contractor's planning processes so that they comply with Network Rail procedure requirements.
- Identify key resource requirements and monitor that these are properly booked and availability is maintained.
- Interrogate contractor's statement of progress for schedule adherence and payment purposes.
Band 3C £43,588 - £53,167 Plus an Inner London allowance of £3,270. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Generous annual leave, plus statutory days, with the option to buy or sell additional leave
- Defined benefit pension scheme, providing long term financial security
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
- Travel benefits, including:
- Up to 75% subsidised rail and underground season tickets
- Up to 75% discount on leisure rail travel
- Interest free loans for season tickets and station car parking
- Health and wellbeing support
- Enhanced family policies
- Carer's leave, recognising caring responsibilities outside of work
Network Rail Benefits - To find out about what benefits we offer, click here
Closing date: 06 August 2026 - Late applications will not be accepted. We retain the right to close the advert before the listed closing date based on application volumes.
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Drugs And Alcohol Standard
Depending on the role, candidates that are made a conditional offer, may be a required to undergo and pass a drugs and alcohol test. Your offer will be rescinded if you record a positive test. All positive drugs and alcohol test results will be securely held on Sentinel database and a five-year suspension from applying for a safety critical role, a role which requires PTS certification or a Key Safety role on Network Rail Managed Infrastructure will be enforced.
Network Rail adheres to pre-employment Baseline Personal Security Standard (BPSS), this is government standard for pre-employment vetting. BPSS government standard pre-employment vetting requires Network Rail to screen a potential employee's unspent criminal convictions and undertake 3-year career checks. Employment at Network Rail is subject to employees meeting the BPSS government standard pre-employment vetting.
Network Rail welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, marital status (including civil partnerships), pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender status, sex (or gender), employment status, trade union affiliation, or another irrelevant factor. We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.
Keeping people safe on the railway is at the heart of everything we do, safe behaviour is therefore a requirement of working for Network Rail. Applicants should demonstrate their personal commitment to safety in their application.
Network Rail positively embraces flexible working recognising that employees may wish to balance work and family/home life.
Your Experience And Skills
Job Skills, Experience and Qualifications
Essential
- Relevant experience in the successful scheduling of engineering projects.
- Knowledge of railway investment planning systems.
- Experience of using a number of project management scheduling tools & techniques
- Experience of using Planning Software (Primavera, MS Projects) and many others
- Knowledge of Network Rail's assets and how they are managed.
- Successful experience of working in a railway environment.
- Experience in report writing, numerical data manipulation and system interrogation / analysis
- Ability to undertake structured analysis to problems, engage stakeholders and lead the implementation of business-wide solutions.
- Ability to communicate and influence key stakeholders at all levels of the organisation
- Demonstrable ability to understand and interpret (budgets, forecasts and actual status)
Desirable
- Membership of a relevant professional body
- Understanding of the engineering requirements of work on the railway
- Six Sigma Yellow Belt.
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