Assistant Project Planner

JobsCloseBy Editorial Insights

UKAEA is seeking an Assistant Project Planner to join the Culham team onsite 2-3 days a week, collaborating with Project Managers, Technical Leads and stakeholders to develop, maintain and monitor delivery plans for fusion programmes. You will translate scope into PBS/WBS and robust schedules, perform critical path analysis and scenario planning, forecast resources and produce dashboards and KPIs for governance. The ideal candidate holds a degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience, with solid knowledge of project planning and controls including earned value, and proficiency in Excel plus Primavera or MS Project. To apply, tailor your CV with tangible delivery outcomes, demonstrate cross disciplinary collaboration and potential to mentor junior planners, show enthusiasm for fusion and UKAEA values, and address ED&I commitments. For questions, contact [email protected].

Company Description

About us

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them. 

About the job

As an Assistant Project Planner, you will work alongside Project Managers, Technical Leads and key stakeholders to develop, maintain and monitor project plans that enable the successful delivery of UKAEA programmes and projects. You will provide clarity on project scope, milestones, dependencies and resource requirements, ensuring delivery plans remain realistic, achievable and aligned with business objectives. Working across a variety of projects, you will play a key role in project planning, performance monitoring and reporting, helping teams identify risks, optimise schedules and support effective decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.

If you have a degree (or equivalent experience) in a relevant discipline such as physical sciences, engineering, economics, business studies, or project management, along with a solid understanding of project planning and project controls processes, including earned value analysis, this could be a good opportunity for you.

What you'll be doing

• Develop and maintain project schedules, ensuring activities, milestones and dependencies are clearly defined and regularly updated.
• Work closely with Project Managers and technical teams to translate project scope into robust, deliverable plans.
• Develop Product Breakdown Structures (PBS), Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and project schedules.
• Monitor project progress, identify schedule risks and report slippage, recommending corrective actions where appropriate, with the opportunity to mentor more junior planners.
• Carry out critical path analysis, scenario planning and schedule reviews to support effective project delivery.
• Forecast resource requirements and support resource levelling and scheduling activities.
• Produce project performance reports, dashboards and KPIs to support governance, project boards and senior decision-making.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across projects to manage dependencies and support integrated programme planning.
• Provide advice on project planning processes, controls and best practice throughout the project lifecycle.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of project planning standards and participate in wider Project Management Office initiatives.
• In this role, you could be given the opportunity to mentor more junior planners.

What you'll bring

• Experience working within a project environment as a Project Planner, Project Manager, Workstream Lead or similar project delivery role.
• Good understanding of project planning and project controls principles.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint.
• Strong organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and produce high-quality planning information.
• Experience using project planning software such as Primavera or Microsoft Project, or the ability to quickly develop proficiency.

 Onsite working is expected for 2-3 days a week.

This role is based at Culham, Oxfordshire 

Benefits

A full list of our benefits can be found here and highlights include: 

• £43,702 base salary inclusive of specialist allowance
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus  
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution  
• 25 days annual leave, 2.5 privilege days and 8 Bank Holidays   
• 3 days of site closure over Christmas break  
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions  

Our commitment to ED&I  

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. 

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates. 

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit. Further information can be found here.   

Job Description

Qualifications