Job Description:

Project Planner

Location: Essex
Salary: £40,000 - £50,000 + Benefits
Job Type: Permanent

The Opportunity

An excellent opportunity has arisen for an experienced Project Planner to join a growing engineering business delivering complex, bespoke automation and capital equipment projects.

Working closely with the Project Management team, you'll be responsible for developing, maintaining and analysing project schedules across a portfolio of engineering projects, ensuring accurate planning, resource management and reporting throughout the project lifecycle.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with an engineering background who enjoys working in a fast-paced, project-driven environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and update project plans across multiple engineering projects.
• Produce project schedules using Microsoft Project, Project Online or Project Server.
• Support project kick-off meetings by preparing initial project plans.
• Monitor project progress and update schedules through regular project reviews.
• Work closely with Project Managers and Operations teams to ensure plans remain accurate and achievable.
• Maintain project templates, resource profiles and planning standards.
• Analyse historical project data to improve future planning accuracy.
• Produce project reports, KPIs and planning metrics.
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of project planning data.
• Support continuous improvement of project planning processes and systems.
• Assist with future migration and configuration of project planning software.
• Liaise with engineering, production and commercial teams to ensure effective project coordination.

About You

• Previous experience as a Project Planner within an engineering or manufacturing environment.
• Advanced user of Microsoft Project, Project Online or Project Server.
• Engineering qualification (HNC, HND, Degree or Apprenticeship).
• Experience creating and maintaining detailed project schedules.
• Proven background working across multiple concurrent projects.
• Understanding of project planning systems and their integration with ERP/business systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work across multidisciplinary teams.
• Organised, proactive and able to prioritise workloads in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable Skills

• Experience within bespoke machinery, automation or design-to-order manufacturing.
• Knowledge of Critical Chain Project Management.
• Experience working on complex, long-duration engineering projects.

What's on Offer

• £40,000 - £50,000 basic salary.
• Permanent role with a growing engineering business.
• Full training on specialist machinery and internal systems.
• Excellent long-term career development opportunities.
• Comprehensive benefits package.