Lead Planner (Access)

The decisions made by the Lead Planner have a real impact on how safely and effectively engineering work can be delivered. You'll have the opportunity to influence plans across the Route, improve how teams work together and help identify smarter, more efficient ways of delivering access.

It's an opportunity to lead people, influence decisions and make continuous improvements, while playing an important role in supporting safe and reliable railway performance.

As Lead Planner, you'll:

• Lead the development of the Route Engineering Access Plan, safely bringing together access, isolations, protected paths and Temporary Speed Restriction (TSR) requirements in line with relevant standards.
• Bring teams together to solve complex planning challenges, coordinating Work Deliverers and balancing different priorities to create a safe, optimised and robust engineering access plan.
• Lead the late change process, making informed prioritisation decisions within your authority and escalating where appropriate to make sure changes remain safe and compliant.
• Identify opportunities to use access more effectively, considering financial efficiencies and the Schedule 4 & 8 impacts of different options and making recommendations where required.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, encouraging open communication and constructive challenge.
• Lead, coach and mentor the planning team, providing clear direction while helping colleagues build their confidence, capability and performance.
• Maintain a competent planning team, supporting compliance through appropriate competency assessment systems.
• Champion continuous improvement, encouraging people to share ideas, knowledge and best practice across the wider industry.
• Support Route and National communications relating to engineering work, helping provide accurate and effective information.
• Lead and validate planning information for the Route, helping ensure stakeholders have reliable information to support effective decision-making.

We're looking for a Lead Planner who can bring people, priorities and complex planning requirements together to create a safe, efficient and robust Route Engineering Access Plan.

This is a key leadership role where you'll shape and integrate engineering access across the Route, helping to support delivery of the Route Strategic Business Plan. You'll work collaboratively with teams across the industry to resolve access conflicts, identify efficient solutions and ensure engineering work can be delivered safely while protecting overall Route performance.

Just as importantly, you'll lead and develop a planning team, creating an environment where people feel supported to contribute, develop their skills and continuously improve.

We want our workforce to reflect the communities we serve and welcome applications from people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If your experience doesn't match every point perfectly, but you believe you can bring the skills and approach needed to succeed in the role, we'd still encourage you to apply.

You'll be someone who combines strong planning and decision-making skills with an inclusive, collaborative approach to leadership. You'll be comfortable working with competing priorities, bringing different stakeholders together and making considered decisions in a complex environment. You'll also recognise that great leadership is about getting the best from people, encouraging different perspectives and creating an environment where everyone can contribute. You don't need to have followed one particular career path to make an impact in this role. If your experience has given you strong planning, leadership, stakeholder management and problem-solving skills, we'd encourage you to apply.

Essential

• Able to lead a team and motivate team members
• Experienced and skilled in leadership and development of people 
• Proven ability in building organisational capability through the development and implementation of processes and business disciplines
• Proven ability to engage with customers and build collaborative relationships with stakeholders at a senior level
• Good negotiating skills and ability to make objective decisions
• Able to work under pressure within a continuous planning process
• Able to evaluate complex factors and make decisions to maximise benefit to Network Rail
• Good communication skills and a customer focussed approach
• Knowledge of relevant railway geography and network capability
• Knowledge of relevant train services and network capacity

Desirable

• Understanding corporate governance e.g. procurement rules
• Understanding of company's obligations in relations to ORR
• Understanding railway industry structure and responsibility
• Experience of investigatory skills (Root Cause Analysis)
• Knowledge of isolation Planning Process

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate experience in leading and developing a team. They will also need to have a strong understanding of managing late notice changes to the  Engineering Access plan, as well as a good technical understanding of planning Isolations on DC infrastructure.

Please note: This vacancy uses an application-based approach rather than a traditional CV. You'll answer a small number of role-specific questions, which will be reviewed anonymously to support a fair and consistent shortlisting process.

Applicant guidance:
Please answer each question using a specific example from your experience. Focus on your personal contribution rather than the wider team's activity. Keep your answers concise and, wherever possible, quantify the result or impact using figures, percentages, timescales, cost savings, performance improvements or other measurable outcomes.

If you require reasonable adjustments, feel free to reach out to Southern Careers if you need any assistance..

Discover all our benefits and what life is like at Network Rail.-  click here

For further information please contact Brian Langridge - 07771612262.

Band & Salary: £46,701 per annum - £56,963 per annum

Vacancy type:  Permanent

Location: London Puddle Dock

Closing date: 25/11/2026

We're an organisation where people matter. We matter to millions.

• We offer excellent benefits, including:
• Generous annual leave with the option to buy/sell days.
• Defined benefit pension scheme.
• 75% subsidy on rail and underground season tickets.
• Up to 75% off leisure travel.
• Carer's leave to support those who matter.
•  Healthcare Scheme, GymPass discounts, Cycle to work plus more.

We offer generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support our employees during significant life moments

 Small actions lead to big impact. The way we collect and use data helps keep our teams safe and our network resilient. Find out more in this short video: Why we need diversity data

We're proud to champion a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To explore our ED&I commitments, https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/diversity-and-inclusion/.

You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you're unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information