apetito
Project Planner – Kitchen West
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Overview
The Project Planner is responsible for developing, maintaining, and governing the integrated project plan for Kitchen West, ensuring that all workstream activities are aligned to deliver project objectives successfully. The role acts as the central point of coordination for planning activities across the programme, providing planning expertise, coaching workstream leads, and ensuring transparent reporting of progress, dependencies, and risks.
The Project Planner will also own the production of simplified planning outputs, including a "Plan on a Page", enabling stakeholders to understand project delivery milestones and timelines at a glance. In addition, the role provides project support through strong Microsoft Project and AutoCAD capabilities where required.
This role is a full-time role, based on site in Trowbridge and will be employed on a fixed term basis for 18 Months.
Kitchen West
Kitchen West is a significant investment project focused on strengthening operational capability and supporting future growth through improved capacity, efficiency, ways of working, and collaboration across key workstreams. The Project Planner will play a critical role in bringing structure, visibility, and control to the project, ensuring that plans are realistic, joined up, and clearly communicated to enable successful delivery.
Who we are
apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs and then frozen to lock in the goodness.
Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.
Responsibilities
Integrated Planning
- Develop, maintain, and manage the integrated project plan throughout the project lifecycle.
- Ensure all workstream plans are aligned, integrated, and maintained to a consistent standard.
- Coordinate planning inputs from workstream leads and subject matter experts to create a single, consolidated delivery plan.
- Identify and manage interdependencies between workstreams, highlighting potential impacts on project delivery.
- Monitor progress against the integrated plan and recommend corrective actions where required.
- Support project governance through the provision of accurate schedule reporting and analysis.
Workstream Coordination and Coaching
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- Act as the planning lead for the project, supporting workstream leads in developing and maintaining their detailed plans.
- Coach and mentor workstream leads in effective planning techniques and scheduling best practices.
- Provide training and ongoing support in the use of Microsoft Project.
- Promote consistent planning standards, methodologies, and controls across the project team.
Reporting and Communications
- Produce and maintain a "Plan on a Page" that clearly communicates the integrated project schedule, key milestones, deliverables, and dependencies.
- Prepare planning reports, milestone updates, and schedule dashboards for project boards and senior stakeholders.
- Present planning information in a concise and accessible format tailored to different stakeholder groups.
- Support project reviews, assurance activities, and governance meetings with planning insights and analysis.
Project Support
- Provide AutoCAD support to the project team, including updating and maintaining project drawings and documentation where required.
- Support project administration activities associated with scheduling, planning, and project controls.
- Assist in the identification and management of project risks, assumptions, dependencies, and issues that may affect delivery timelines.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of planning processes, tools, and templates.
About you
Essential
- Demonstrable experience in a Project Planner or Project Controls role.
- Advanced Microsoft Project skills, including schedule development, resource planning, dependency management, and progress tracking.
- Experience developing and managing integrated project plans involving multiple workstreams.
- Strong understanding of project planning principles, scheduling methodologies, and critical path analysis.
- Experience coordinating planning activities across diverse stakeholder groups.
- Ability to coach and support colleagues in planning techniques and software tools.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
- AutoCAD experience sufficient to support project documentation and drawing requirements.
Desirable
- Formal project management qualification (e.g., APM, PRINCE2, PMP).
- Project Controls or Planning qualification.
- Experience working within infrastructure, engineering, construction, property, or capital project environments.
- Familiarity with programme and portfolio planning approaches.
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Key Competencies
- Planning and organisation
- Attention to detail
- Collaboration and teamwork
- Stakeholder engagement
- Influencing and coaching
- Analytical thinking
- Communication and presentation skills
- Problem solving
- Accountability and ownership
Success Measures
- Integrated project plan is maintained accurately and reflects current project status.
- Workstream plans are consistently aligned and integrated.
- High-quality planning information is available for decision-making.
- "Plan on a Page" is current, accessible, and widely used by stakeholders.
- Workstream leads demonstrate improved planning capability and effective use of Microsoft Project.
- Project milestones and dependencies are proactively managed and communicated.
- AutoCAD and planning support is delivered effectively to the project team.
Company Benefits
- Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
- 25 days holiday per year, + bank holidays
- Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
- Discretionary annual bonus scheme
- Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
- Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
- Subsidised canteen/ Free meals, snacks and beverages on site
- Free parking
- Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
- apetito perks scheme, including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts
Our Values
As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future. We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.
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