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Planner EO

Role family: Project delivery specialists
Civil Service grade(s): EO
Project complexity: Very Low

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Role summary

The Planner collaborates with stakeholders to define all aspects of a project or programme. They clarify key milestones and detail what, when, and how activities will be organised to achieve project outcomes using available resources. The planner leads in developing, updating, and monitoring plans and schedules. They identify tasks, activities, interdependencies, and outputs, working with the project team to track and monitor progress throughout the lifecycle of the work.

Typical role responsibilities

Responsibility Detail
Delivery and leadership Supports capability building and promotes the use of best practices in planning and reporting.
Project planning Uses data to develop and maintain the plan, capture assumptions, and identify dependencies. Contributes to developing breakdown structures, quality criteria, product descriptions, and monitoring strategies.
Resources Identifies resource requirements by applying planning techniques.
Stakeholder management Collaborates with stakeholders to ensure plans are comprehensive.
Project performance and controls Collects data from project teams and stakeholders to produce performance reports.
Guidance and support Provides advice on planning processes throughout the lifecycle.
Digital and data Uses digital tools to analyse and validate data to develop and maintain the plan. Uses data insights to forecast project and programme timelines and resource needs accurately. Supports the project manager by providing data driven insights to identify potential risks/delays and opportunities.

Entry route

Project delivery professional

Suitable for individuals with experience in another area within a project environment, preferably with knowledge of planning activities.

Non-project delivery professional

Suitable for individuals with relevant skills from a non-project environment, ideally with previous planning experience.

Technical competencies

Help with competency levels

None: No knowledge and no experience.

Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.

Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.

Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.

Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.

Competency area Level
Planning
The ability to define the fundamental components of the work in terms of its scope, deliverables, time scales, resource requirements and budget. It also includes the production of broader plans incorporating risk and quality to provide a consolidated overview of the work.
Awareness
Scheduling
The ability to develop, produce and maintain schedules for activities that take account of dependencies, resource requirements and constraints in order to enable the efficient realisation of benefits.
Awareness
Resource management
The ability to identify, profile, secure and manage the resources required to deliver the work.
Awareness
Budgeting and cost management
The ability to estimate costs, produce a budget and control forecasts and actual spend against budget.
Awareness
Risk and issue management
The ability to systematically identify and monitor risks and issues, planning how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.
Awareness
Governance
The ability to clearly define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and establish controls and approval routes appropriate to each stage of the work to monitor progress and compliance.
Awareness
Frameworks and methodologies
The ability to identify and amend appropriate frameworks and methodologies to enable a consistent and efficient approach to delivery at all stages of the lifecycle.
Awareness
Change control
The ability to establish protocols to manage and document all requests for changes to scope, timescales, costs, benefits or other approved baselines for the work. This includes the capture, evaluation and approval or rejection of change requests.
Awareness
Knowledge management
The ability to identify, share and promote best practices and lessons learned to create a culture of learning and good practice that supports continuous improvement to optimise project delivery.
Awareness
Digital and data
The ability to effectively leverage digital tools and data analytics for better project delivery outcomes. Combining an understanding of digital technologies with the ability to manage, interpret and utilise data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency and achieve outcomes and benefits.
Working
Sustainability
The ability to incorporate environmental and social considerations into the strategic objectives of the work and to effectively identify, assess and manage these throughout the lifecycle, seeking to maximise benefits and mitigate negative impacts.
Awareness

Behavioural competencies

Help with competency levels

None: No knowledge and no experience.

Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.

Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.

Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.

Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.

Competency area Level
Credible action
The ability to promote the wider public good in all actions and to act in a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner at all times. Challenges unacceptable behaviour. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
Awareness
Collaboration
The ability to establish and develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit the project. Aligned to the working together Civil Service behaviour.
Awareness
Influencing
The ability to influence, change and impact decisions with both internal and external stakeholders. Aligned to the communicating and influencing Civil Service behaviour.
Awareness
Resilience
The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and adverse situations whilst remaining calm, reassuring others and maintaining performance. Aligned to the delivering at pace Civil Service behaviour.
Awareness
Innovation
The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports innovations from others, is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation. Aligned to the changing and improving Civil Service behaviour.
Awareness

Job titles for recruitment

This role profile is for a project planner at EO grade. It could also be advertised as a project planning support officer.

Hiring managers should refer to the standardised job titles framework for guidance on which titles to use for recruitment.

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