Senior Project Planner

Senior Project Planner

Westhill, Aberdeen

Permanent position

About Us:

JFD is the world leading underwater capability provider, serving the commercial and defence markets with innovative diving, submarine and hyperbaric rescue, technical solutions and services.

Operating worldwide, the company is the world's leading provider of submarine rescue capability and an established provider of submarine escape training. The company is at the forefront of Hyperbaric Rescue, along with being the leading supplier of commercial and defence diving equipment and saturation diving systems to the commercial industry.

The Defence Division provides underwater systems and life support capabilities, for the defence and commercial diving markets.

The Role:

The Senior Project Planner drives system improvement in the organisation, at all levels, ensuring there is a foundation to build on for improvement and aligning the organisation strategy with the deliverables. It drives standardisation, optimization and digital transformation where appropriate, helping to promote the digital as an enabler across all business functions. This role will improve business results by driving initiatives to meet the requirements of our customers and our strategy.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Project Planner with a proven track record in managing the planning element of large-scale EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) projects. This is a critical role within our planning team, requiring a proactive individual who can take full control of planning activities across both live projects and pre-contract bid phases.

You will support strategic growth by developing competitive, realistic bid schedules and then transitioning those into detailed delivery plans upon award. This role is ideal for someone who is well established in the planner role, thrives in a fast-paced environment and can deliver high-quality planning support under pressure.

Principle Accountabilities:

• Develop and maintain detailed project schedules using Primavera P6 across the full EPC lifecycle, from initiation to closeout.
• Create and manage bid-phase schedules, supporting estimating and commercial teams with planning input for competitive tenders.
• Lead baseline and re-baseline processes, ensuring schedule alignment with scope changes and project control procedures.
• Monitor and report progress through earned value analysis, S-curves, KPIs, and critical path tracking to support performance management.
• Identify schedule risks and opportunities, integrating mitigations into project plans and advising project teams on schedule impact.
• Coordinate closely with multi-discipline teams (engineering, procurement, production) to validate planning assumptions and logic.
• Mentor junior planners and support continuous improvement, driving planning standards and best practice across the business.
• Ensure compliance with client requirements and internal governance, including support for audits, reporting, and security standards.

In addition:

You will take ownership of the planning lifecycle from initial baselining through to project closeout.

Develop and manage detailed schedules in Primavera P6, incorporating engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and client interface activities.

Lead critical path analysis and ensure timely identification of schedule risks and mitigation actions.

Maintain and report progress using S-curves, earned value (EVM), and forecasting tools.

Manage the baseline and re-baseline process, ensuring all changes are controlled and auditable.

Collaborate with Project Managers and functional leads to validate assumptions and schedule logic.

Prepare and present project planning reports and dashboards to internal and client stakeholders.

Integrate planning with risk management activities and incorporate mitigation plans into the schedule.

Support planning process improvements and continuous development across the project planning function.

Provide mentorship to junior planners and contribute to team development.

Support integration with ERP systems for resource and cost tracking.

Bid & Tender Support:

Work closely with the bidding and estimating teams to develop realistic, resource-loaded bid schedules aligned with project execution strategies.

Analyse tender documents and client requirements to ensure alignment of bid plans with project scope and constraints.

Conduct scenario planning and schedule optimisation to support commercial strategy during the tender phase.

Provide schedule inputs for bid submissions, including programme narratives, integrated planning approval and planning slide pack containing the noted risks.

Support handover from bid to project execution teams, ensuring smooth transition and continuity of planning information.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Proven experience as a Senior Project Planner on complex EPC projects.
• Advanced user of Primavera P6.
• Strong command of critical path methodology (CPM) and schedule risk identification.
• Experience with S-curves, earned value, productivity tracking, and forecasting.
• Proficient in baseline creation, maintenance, and re-baselining in dynamic project environments.
• Ability to produce high-quality planning outputs under tight bid deadlines.
• Experience working with or integrating data from ERP systems (Glovia, SAP, etc.).
• Excellent communication and reporting skills — verbal, written, and graphical.
• Comfortable working independently and quickly integrating into new teams or projects.

*You will need to be able to gain UK security clearance to be eligible for this position.

This role is to be based in Westhill, Aberdeen however, some travel will be required as projects dictate therefore a flexible working approach is needed.

Due to the volume of applications that we receive for our vacancies, on occasion applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.

James Fisher is a global engineering services company. From our origins as a ship owner and operator, we've evolved to provide the expertise and innovative technology our customers need in the harshest of environments across Energy, Defence and Maritime Transport.

At James Fisher we are relied on to help our customers deliver on their promises and realise their ambitions safely, efficiently and responsibly.

We have a strong heritage built on the foundations of our people and innovation. Alongside our valuable partnerships with customers, communities and suppliers, we are embedding a more sustainable approach across our business.

Our strategy is centred around the One James Fisher ambition. We are building a stronger, more cohesive engineering service company operating in the Blue Economy.

James Fisher & Sons are committed to taking positive action on diversity and we strongly encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds and as a Disability Confident employer we are committed to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

James Fisher and Sons plc, are proud to be partnered with the Career Transition Partnership, the official provider of Armed Forces resettlement for over 20 years.