The OpportunityOur client, a long-established MEP engineering contractor, is opening a new operation in Trafford Park and is looking for a Planner to take ownership of programme across their projects.
A new North-West operation, opening on a £350 million healthcare project. The programmes, the sequencing standards and the way planning is done here are not fixed yet.
An office that opens on a project of that size is not a speculative expansion, and the work behind it is already being lined up. It is also large, complex MEP: the kind of project where mechanical, electrical and public health sequencing has to be resolved against the main contractor's programme rather than bolted onto it. Planning that well is a specialism, which is why the role is being filled early rather than absorbed into someone else's job.
This is a permanent role in Trafford Park, £70,000 to £85,000 depending on experience, plus a full benefits package.
About the BusinessA new operation inside an established business is a particular kind of opportunity. The Trafford Park office is being built now, so the processes, the standards and the working relationships are still being set. What sits behind it is already there: the balance sheet, the supply chain and decades of delivered MEP projects. That combination is rare. Most people get the ground-floor role or the established backing, not both.
Our client is a long-established, family-owned MEP engineering contractor covering mechanical, electrical and public health, with over 150 directly employed staff and a subcontractor base of around 300. They have offices across Ireland and deliver projects throughout Ireland and Great Britain, through major projects, facilities management and specialist projects divisions, across commercial, education, healthcare, heritage, hospitality and leisure, life sciences and residential sectors. The new Trafford Park operation is being established now rather than already running, and opens on a £350 million healthcare scheme in Manchester with further projects already pencilled into the pipeline.
Family ownership shows up in how decisions get made. There is no quarterly reporting cycle dictating what gets committed to, which tends to mean longer views on people and on markets. An expansion into Great Britain is exactly the sort of commitment that needs a long view to survive its first two years.
What You'll Be Doing- Owning the programme on the initial £350 million healthcare project, and on the schemes that follow it
- Developing, maintaining and reviewing project programmes at both pre-contract and post-contract stage
- Producing progress reports and revising schedules and forecasts in Asta Powerproject or Microsoft Project
- Breaking large, complex MEP projects down into manageable phases of development
- Working alongside the estimating team to calculate the resource a project actually requires
- Developing contingency plans to absorb changes to project timelines
- Meeting contractors and suppliers to work through programme issues directly
- Coordinating between office and site teams so programmes and sequencing stay consistent across both
- Producing procurement and design programmes aligned to the agreed construction schedule
- Carrying out critical programme reviews for Extension of Time claims, identifying delays, hold-ups and additional works
- Maintaining a working understanding of EOT and Compensation Event requirements so programme adjustments stand up
What We're Looking For- Around five years' planning experience on construction or building services projects
- A solid understanding of building services and how they sequence against the wider build
- Proficient in Asta Powerproject and Microsoft Project
- Analytical, with a problem-solving approach to programme risk rather than a reporting one
- A clear communicator, credible with office staff, site teams, contractors and suppliers alike
- Full UK driving licence
Experience of Extension of Time and Compensation Event work is a strong advantage, though a firm grasp of building services sequencing matters more here than the contract forms you have worked under.
What's on Offer- £70,000 - £85,000 depending on experience
- New operation (Trafford Park, from the start)
- Flexi-time (Flexible working patterns)
- Ownership of the planning function in a new office, rather than a share of an existing one
- Structured training, both in house and externally delivered
- Private healthcare after six months, alongside a health cash plan and pension
- A business at the start of its GB expansion, where early contributions carry further than they would in an established office
