Senior Manager: Planning & Reporting (Vertical Links)

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The Senior Manager: Planning & Reporting is a senior, client‑facing role embedded within an integrated client–PMC office on a major transportation program. Sitting in the Vertical Links function, the role provides cross‑program visibility and coordination, ensuring that planning, scheduling, and reporting are consistent and aligned across multiple workstreams, packages, and corporate functions.

This is a non‑operational position focused on strategic and tactical program control rather than day‑to‑day transport operations. The role is responsible for establishing and governing planning standards, integrating schedules, leading portfolio‑level reporting, and providing senior leadership with clear insight on progress, performance, and risk.

Key Responsibilities

1. Planning Governance & Framework

• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve the program‑wide planning and scheduling framework, standards, and procedures.
• Define requirements for Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)\text{(WBS)}(WBS), coding structures, calendars, milestones, and reporting cycles across all projects.
• Ensure consistent application of planning standards across PMC, client teams, and contractors.
• Provide planning leadership to ensure schedule data supports executive decision‑making and governance processes.

2. Integrated Master Schedule Management

• Lead development, integration, and maintenance of the program Integrated Master Schedule, consolidating inputs from multiple projects, contracts, and functions.
• Ensure that design, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, approvals, and handover activities are fully represented and logically linked.
• Oversee identification and management of program‑critical paths, interfaces, and key interdependencies between workstreams.
• Coordinate with project planning teams to validate logic, durations, and constraints within their schedules prior to integration.

3. Portfolio‑Level Planning Support

• Provide planning oversight and support to multiple project teams within the Vertical Links portfolio (e.g., stations, systems, civil works, enabling works, third‑party interfaces).
• Review and challenge project‑level baselines and updates to ensure realism, robustness, and alignment with program objectives.
• Support scenario planning and what‑if analysis at portfolio level for major changes, re‑sequencing, or acceleration strategies.
• Advise senior leadership on planning implications of strategic decisions (e.g., scope changes, phasing, access strategies).

4. Reporting Leadership & Performance Insight

• Own and manage the program‑level reporting framework for schedule and progress, aligned with client governance requirements.
• Define key reporting metrics, dashboards, and formats for periodic and ad hoc reporting (milestone status, critical path movement, slippage trends, productivity indicators).
• Lead production of high‑quality, succinct planning and progress reports for steering committees, boards, and external stakeholders.
• Ensure integration of schedule information with other reporting domains (risk, cost, change, health and safety) for a coherent view of program performance.

5. Risk, Change & Trend Analysis

• Work closely with risk, change, and cost teams to ensure planning information is fully integrated into program risk and change processes.
• Support or lead schedule risk analyses at program level, including qualitative and, where required, quantitative assessments.
• Provide time‑impact assessments for major change proposals and portf