Principal Project Planner

Who We Are

Fares, Ticketing & Retail team

Transforming how passengers buy and use rail

Britain's railways must deliver for passengers now and in the future. That's why the government and the rail industry are delivering a programme of reforms to make rail easier to buy and use:

• Easier to understand, better value fares - Straightforward ticket choices and fair, consistent prices, including more lower fares.
• Confidence you have the right ticket - Simple to understand the ticket you need and better protection for honest passengers through industry-wide action to tackle fare dodging and fraud
• Easier ways to buy tickets - A high quality GBR website and app selling and serving passengers' rail journeys, alongside independent retailers.
• Rail integrated with other public transport in major urban areas - Tap-in tap-out expanded to Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and more of the South East, with new mobile payment trials testing future innovation.
• Better, more accessible retail experience - More support for passengers including those who rely on paper tickets or cash, or who need extra assistance.

We're not waiting. As we become Great British Railways, a programme of reform is already making rail easier to buy and use, helping rebuild trust in rail and encouraging more people to travel by train.

About the role

As a Principal Project Planner, you will provide strategic leadership for project planning activities, ensuring the development, maintenance, and delivery of high-quality project schedules and reporting. You will work closely with project teams and key stakeholders to establish robust planning processes, promote clear communication, and ensure that roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities are understood across the project environment.

The role is responsible for overseeing the production and management of project delivery plans, ensuring they align with organisational standards, project requirements, and business objectives. You will provide expert guidance and support to planners and stakeholders, driving consistency and best practice across planning activities while enabling informed decision-making through accurate and timely schedule information.

As a senior member of the project team, you will be accountable for developing, maintaining, and progressing integrated project schedules, ensuring that project milestones, dependencies, and critical activities are effectively managed. You will also be responsible for maintaining visibility of key interdependencies across projects and programmes, ensuring that risks, impacts, and required actions are identified, communicated, and addressed in a timely manner to support successful project delivery.

Your experience and skills

Essential

• Membership of a relevant professional body and/or have a CPD established to attain membership
• Relevant successful experience in the management, planning and delivery of major construction/engineering projects.
• Relevant successful experience of proprietary software planning/scheduling tools
• Previous knowledge and expertise within the field of project resource management.
• Good communication skills at all levels and a team player.
• Good information technology user skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge of/experience in Network Rail's processes and systems.
• Knowledge of/experience in the UK rail industry.
• Educated to "A" level standard in a mathematics or information technology-related topic.