Principal Planner

Location: Buckinghamshire (Site-based)

Build your career with Laing O'Rourke.
We're looking for a Principal Planner to play a pivotal role in delivering a major £300m new-build custodial facility at HMP Grendon.

This project forms part of the UK Government's prison expansion programme and will deliver a new 1,500-place facility adjacent to the existing estate, including multiple houseblocks and supporting infrastructure. Originally awarded to another contractor, the scheme is now being delivered by Laing O'Rourke, reflecting its scale, complexity and strategic importance.

This is a senior opportunity to lead planning on a complex, large-scale project in a live, secure environment—where programme certainty, stakeholder coordination and operational constraints are critical to success.

What you'll do

As a Principal Planner, you'll combine technical expertise, leadership and strategic thinking to develop and manage robust delivery programmes. You will:

Lead planning and programme management across all project stages, from mobilisation through to delivery
Develop and maintain integrated, fully resourced contract programmes and programme-to-build
Ensure programmes are compliant with contract requirements and aligned with project strategy
Shape construction methodologies and sequencing for a large-scale, multi-building custodial scheme
Analyse performance, identify risks and opportunities, and implement mitigation strategies
Implement robust project controls, reporting and forecasting processes
Coordinate programme inputs across stakeholders, partners and supply chain within a secure environment
Support commercial teams on time-related contractual matters, including change, delay and forensic analysis
Integrate digital engineering and 4D planning into programme development
Identify key milestones, production outputs and resource requirements across phased delivery
Lead, mentor and develop planning team members
Drive continuous improvement and innovation in planning and project controls
Represent the project in client and stakeholder engagements

What we're looking for

We're looking for a planner who thrives on complex, high-value projects and can balance strategic oversight with hands-on delivery. You'll need:

Proven experience leading planning on major construction or infrastructure projects (£100m+)
Experience delivering large, complex building projects (custodial, defence, healthcare or similar highly regulated environments desirable)
Strong understanding of pre-contract and delivery phase planning
Ability to develop, manage and maintain contract and build programmes
Expertise in project controls, planning techniques and programme management systems
Proficiency in Asta and/or Primavera P6, with experience of 4D planning integration
Strong commercial awareness, including contract conditions and programme risk analysis
Ability to analyse performance data and provide clear, strategic insight
Experience managing interfaces across multiple stakeholders in constrained or operational environments
Degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering or similar (preferred)
Chartered or working towards membership of Chartered Institute of Building

About Us
Laing O'Rourke are an international engineering and construction company delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and buildings projects for clients in the UK, Middle East and Australia.

Certainty, reliability, quality – this is what our clients want. And at Laing O'Rourke, we have more than 150 years of experience delivering it. Laing O'Rourke's story is one of energy, passion, ambition, people and teamwork. We harness the power of our experience, stretching back over a century and a half to deliver certainty for our clients.

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we would like to enable access to candidates with long term conditions and disabilities through the ‘Offer an interview scheme'. This supports applicants that meet the essential criteria by offering an interview for the advertised position. Please let us know if you would like to opt in to this scheme and let us know if you require any adjustments for the interview process.

We want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you need the application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please email resourcingteam@laingorourke.com