Area Planning Lead – HS2

Area Planning Lead – HS2 Working directly for High Speed Two (HS2 Ltd) Salary: £100,000 – £120,000 + Excellent Benefits Location: London, Euston – Hybrid (3 days a Week) Reporting to: Head of Planning & Integration – c.£130,000–£140,000 + package Team: Leading a team of 7 Planning/ Project Controls professionals Programme: High Speed Two – London The Opportunity High Speed Two (HS2 Ltd) is recruiting an Area Planning Lead to provide senior planning leadership within one of Europe's largest and most complex infrastructure programmes. Working directly for HS2 Ltd, you'll lead planning integration across a major Area programme, managing a team of seven planners and bringing together programme, interfaces, cost, risk and change to support informed delivery decisions. The HS2 Area Model is designed to create a single guiding mind with clear accountability for delivering an integrated transport hub across each Area. As Area Planning Lead, you'll play a key role in creating a focused, aligned and empowered Area team, bringing stakeholders together around a common vision and ensuring the programme has the planning control and integration required to deliver efficiently. You'll work closely with senior HS2 leadership, delivery teams and major external stakeholders including Network Rail, TfL and DfT. The role reports to the Head of Planning & Integration, providing a clear progression opportunity for an experienced planning leader.

The Role

You'll take responsibility for evaluating project time across the relevant Area programme and ensuring projects, functions and stakeholders are working towards a coordinated and achievable delivery plan. A key focus will be proactive interface management, identifying potential conflicts early, bringing the right stakeholders together and ensuring interfaces are resolved before they affect delivery. You'll also help correlate schedule, cost and risk information, providing senior leadership with a clear view of programme performance, emerging issues and potential mitigation. The role has a strong continuous improvement focus, identifying opportunities to improve planning processes, increase efficiency and drive measurable performance benefits across the Area.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide planning leadership to the Area team and lead a team of seven planning professionals.
• Lead integration of the Area Primavera P6 programme and provide a single, coordinated view of delivery.
• Evaluate project time and provide insight into programme performance, trends and emerging issues.
• Lead proactive interface management across projects, functions, contractors and stakeholders.
• Bring internal and external stakeholders together to resolve programme conflicts and maintain alignment.
• Work closely with Network Rail, TfL, DfT and other strategic stakeholders.
• Integrate schedule, cost and risk information to support informed decision-making.
• Lead What-If scenario planning and develop solutions to complex programme conflicts.
• Support baseline development, management, change control and re-baselining.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and drive planning efficiency across the Area.
• Apply HS2 planning systems, policies, standards and procedures to ensure compliance.
• Provide performance reporting and planning insight to senior leadership.
• Support delivery teams in integrating time, cost and quality information.
• Develop planning capability, share best practice and support the wider Planning & Integration function.

About You

We're looking for an experienced Planning Manager, Senior Planning Manager, Planning Lead or Programme Controls professional who has operated on large, complex infrastructure or major capital programmes. You must have previous management experience and be comfortable providing leadership beyond the production of schedules, bringing together people, programmes and stakeholders to create an integrated delivery approach. We're open to candidates from main contractor, consultancy or client-side backgrounds. You'll ideally have:

• Significant experience in a senior planning or programme controls role on complex major projects.
• Proven experience managing and developing planning teams.
• Expert knowledge of planning systems, processes and procedures across large programmes.
• Strong Primavera P6 experience.
• Extensive schedule and baseline management experience.
• Strong understanding of the relationship between schedule, cost, risk and change.
• Experience integrating complex contractor and client programmes.
• Strong understanding of NEC contracts, including Early Warnings, Compensation Events and client/contractor workflows.
• Experience of re-baselining, funding approval or major contract implementation.
• Strong performance reporting and programme analysis skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn complex programme information into clear recommendations.
• A proactive approach to continuous improvement and driving performance benefits. Why Join HS2? This is an opportunity to work directly for HS2 Ltd in a senior planning leadership position at the heart of the London programme. You'll play a key role in creating the integrated planning approach that enables HS2 to coordinate complex projects, contractors and stakeholders around a common delivery vision. You'll gain exposure to: Major rail and infrastructure delivery. Senior government and infrastructure stakeholders. Network Rail, TfL and DfT interfaces. Complex NEC contracts and Tier 1 delivery organisations. Integrated planning, cost, risk and change management. Strategic programme decision-making. Leadership of an established team of planning professionals. With a clear progression route towards Head of Planning & Integration (£130,000–£140,000 + package), this is an excellent opportunity for an experienced planning leader looking to take a broader strategic role within one of the UK's most significant infrastructure programmes. If you're a senior planning professional who can combine technical P6 expertise with leadership, strategic thinking, interface management and the ability to bring complex stakeholders together, we'd like to hear from you