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Primary Purpose of the Role:

The Project Planner assists in the management, integration & control of the project integrated schedule within the Thales Programme Management Tool Set (Primavera). Monitoring, analysing and reporting on all project schedules is critical to ensure that information is used in programme decision-making and based upon the status of the most up to date schedule. All information used, both internally and externally, to review and report the status of the programme must be based on auditable, controlled and managed data

Principal Relationships:

? Delivery Managers, Bid Managers, Project Managers
? Project Team
? The bid / project client
? Regular liaison with Bids & Project Management (BPM) function
? Occasional liaison with other business functions, including Sales & Marketing, Engineering, Technical, Finance, Commercial, Legal, Quality, Health & Safety, Operations.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

* Assist in the maintenance, development & communication of the integrated Programme plan in Primavera including all contract deliverable milestones, internal milestones, invoicing and sales milestones in accordance with the Thales Procedures.

* Monitor the integrated set of project schedules, costs, and resources in accordance with the company timetable, procedures and working practices and cost structure & WBS.

* Undertake and coordinate the formal update of all Primavera project schedules, interdependencies, resource allocations budgets and financial status.

* Assist in the generation of the overall critical path across the integrated set of projects and reconcile issues, making recommendations to assist in the recovery of overall programme slip, where applicable.

* Analyse resource profiles resulting from the monthly schedule update process and make recommendations to reconcile resource loading anomalies ahead of the Forward Load extraction.

* Support all baseline and change control activities associated with the Primavera schedules including regular local archiving of the overall Primavera database.

Key performance Indicators against Responsibilities and Tasks (professional only):

? Schedule - Primavera plan established
? Schedule - Primavera plan maintained
? Schedule - Recommendations made to optimise delivery

Skills

Essential
* Strong service delivery ethos and orientation
* Excellent technical project planning skills with proficiency in common project planning tool sets (such as Primavera, SAP).
* Effective at operating across functional and departmental boundaries (working in a matrix style organisation)
* A strong understanding of the need for governance in bid / project management and the ability to uphold governance requirements.
* Ability to establish and meet deadlines, multi-task and prioritise without the requirement for regular direct supervision.
* Excellent communication skills to convey planning information to a variety of stakeholders.

Desirable
* Aware of Earned Value Management techniques
* Knowledge of a range of transportation solutions, including train control, communication and safety systems

Experience:

Essential

* Practical experience of structured planning within a medium to large organisation. Understanding of planning techniques. Application of critical path analysis, work breakdown structures etc
* Highly computer literate.
* Must have some commercial awareness and an understanding of how conditions of contract are applied.
* Experience of Progress Reporting and KPI Production

Desirable

? Experience in a technical environment within the rail industry (signalling a distinct advantage with LU experience preferred)


Values & Behaviours:

As a minimum standard these should be consistent with the descriptions of Thales values and behaviours:
* Customer Trust
* One Team - One Thales
* Developing our people
* Accountable and committed to excellence
* Agile and Innovative

Financial / Budgetary Responsibility:

* None

Qualifications:

Desirable
? Educated to Diploma (HND) level in a subject with clear relevance to project management.
? As a minimum Level D Professional accreditation with the Association for Project Management (or equivalent level of professional accreditation).