Project Planner

Location: Loanhead, Edinburgh

Flexible Working Options – 4- or 5-day week

About Us:

At MacTaggart Scott, we've been engineering innovative solutions for the Naval Defence industry since 1898. We deliver end-to-end support from design and manufacture to commissioning and life-cycle management for some of the UK's most complex defence programmes. We're proud of our heritage but focused on the future. Continuous improvement, innovation, and developing our people are at the heart of everything we do.

The Opportunity:

We're looking for a Project Planner to join our growing Project Management team. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of high-level engineering programmes, working closely with senior stakeholders across engineering, procurement, and operations.

You'll play a key role in shaping the timelines, resources, and delivery strategies that keep our major projects on track. It's an ideal role for someone who wants to develop into a Senior Planner or Project Manager, gaining exposure to complex projects and learning from experienced professionals.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning: Develop and maintain integrated project schedules for large-scale programmes, ensuring alignment with scope, strategy, and contractual milestones.

Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with project managers and senior stakeholders to ensure schedules reflect all deliverables, dependencies, and obligations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with engineering, procurement, and operations teams to build achievable plans and accurate timelines.

Risk & Critical Path Management: Identify schedule risks and develop mitigation strategies to keep projects on track.

Process Improvement: Drive enhancements to planning tools, reporting, and scheduling processes.

ERP Integration: Maintain accurate schedules within ERP systems (e.g., IFS), ensuring visibility of key milestones and responsibilities.

Why This Role Stands Out:

High-Impact Projects: Contribute to multimillion defence programmes that shape the future of engineering.

Senior Exposure: Work directly with senior leaders and gain insight into complex, strategic decision-making.

Collaboration & Influence: Engage across departments to directly influence how major projects are delivered.

Continuous Learning: Access professional development opportunities to build your skills and advance your career.

Requirements

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Experience in project planning or scheduling within engineering, manufacturing, or defence.
• Skilled in Microsoft Project or Primavera P6, with strong understanding of critical path and milestone management.
• Confident communicator with excellent organisational and analytical skills.
• Proactive, detail-oriented, and capable of working independently and collaboratively.

Desirable:

• Experience in defence or regulated environments.
• Knowledge of ERP systems (ideally IFS), MRP, RCCP, or EVM principles.
• Relevant qualifications (e.g. APM, PRINCE, or equivalent).

Benefits

Your future And What We Offer:

• Flexible Working: Choose a 4- or 5-day week with flexible hours (07:00–19:00, core hours 09:30–15:30).
• Career Development: Ongoing training and clear pathways to senior roles.
• Wellbeing Support: Access to our wellbeing programme, Employee Assistance Programme, and onsite nurse.
• Onsite Facilities: Free parking, canteen, and a supportive L&D team environment.