Project Planner – Defence & Secure Government Projects

Salary: £60,000 – £65,000 per annum
Location: London/Hampshire – fully onsite, 5 days per week
Security Clearance: Active DV Clearance essential
Start Date: ASAP
Contract Type: Permanent

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Project Planner to join a specialist team supporting complex projects within secure government and defence environments.

This is an excellent opportunity for a detail-oriented planning professional with active Developed Vetting (DV) clearance to take ownership of project schedules, monitor delivery progress and provide accurate planning information to support successful project outcomes.

The successful candidate will work closely with project managers, delivery teams and key stakeholders to develop and maintain robust project plans, identify risks and dependencies, and ensure milestones remain aligned with wider programme objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and manage detailed project plans and schedules.

• Track project progress against agreed milestones, deliverables and timelines.

• Identify and manage schedule risks, issues, dependencies and potential delays.

• Work closely with project managers and technical teams to understand delivery requirements and resource constraints.

• Produce regular planning reports, progress updates and schedule forecasts for stakeholders.

• Undertake critical path analysis and assess the impact of changes to project timelines.

• Support resource planning, workload forecasting and delivery coordination.

• Maintain accurate planning documentation and ensure schedules reflect current project status.

• Provide recommendations to improve planning processes, schedule performance and delivery confidence.

• Support project governance and reporting within a highly secure working environment.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience working as a Project Planner within complex project or programme environments.

• Active DV security clearance is essential.

• Strong experience developing and maintaining detailed project schedules.

• Excellent understanding of project planning, milestone tracking, dependencies and critical path analysis.

• Experience producing planning reports, forecasts and project progress updates.

• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams and manage competing priorities.

• Willingness and ability to work onsite in Farnborough five days per week.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be a proactive and analytical Project Planner who can provide clear visibility of project progress, identify scheduling challenges early and support effective decision-making. Experience working on defence, government or other highly secure projects would be particularly advantageous.

If you hold active DV clearance and are looking for a permanent planning opportunity offering a salary of £65,000, we would welcome your application.

Please note: This is a fully onsite position in Farnborough, and candidates must be available to start as soon as possible.

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.