Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.  The facility is used by over 3,000 academic and industrial researchers across a wide range of disciplines including structural biology, energy, engineering and environmental sciences.

We require a Project Planner for our Project Management Group to provide key professional project planning expertise to support a wide range of complex projects that underpin world class, cutting edge science. We are looking for an individual with plenty of initiative and a low tolerance of the status quo who can take existing project planning processes and turn them into a best practice solution.

Bring us your enthusiasm for science and project management, your first class communication skills, proven experience planning and controlling projects and we’ll give you the chance to be part of the next wave of demanding projects at Diamond and to make an important contribution to the future success of our science and technology based organisation.

Equally comfortable working as part of a team or on your own initiative, you’ll call on keen problem-solving skills to identify and resolve areas where plans are failing. Confident communicating with people at all levels, both in person and in writing, you’ll impress us with your flair for organisation. Add to that your excellent MS Office skills, and we’d like to hear from you.

Diamond is a member of the Athena SWAN Charter and the WISE Campaign and is committed to Athena SWAN Charter. Recognising advancement of gender equality: representation, progression and success for all.

The aim of the role is to contribute to Project Management at Diamond to underpin the Vision, Strategy and Delivery Plans. The Project Planning Officer, working closely with the Project Managers, will support the timely delivery of projects according to current best practice and will maintain the project schedule, milestones and risk registers, and the EPM project management wiki.

Working closely with the Programme Manager, this role will continuously improve the project management capabilities of Diamond ensuring that the tools, analysis and reporting are developed to facilitate informed and optimal decisions at all levels. The Project Planneing Officer will contribute to the building of a solid and professional project management community across the company.

• To work closely with the Project Managers and Support departments to create and maintain a project plans and ensuring compliance to project control standards and procedures within the Project Management Group;
• Be proactive in the appropriate monitoring of progress against the plan, highlight where the plan is not being achieved and work with the teams involved to identify and resolve issues;
• Provide timely, accurate and appropriate management information to Project Manager and Programme Manager to support the overview of projects;
• Assisting in the preparation of progress reports and meeting notes;
• Provide assurance that the change control, risk management and cost control procedures are followed by the project manager;
• Responsible for leading the work the development of Diamond Project Management and associated processes including quality assurance and configuration management;
• Promote Project Planning best practice within Diamond by maintaining professional knowledge base;
• Participate in and facilitate the planning and preparation of project management events and workshops;
• Represent Diamond at public engagement and other external events.

• Educated to HND level or First Degree, or relevant  experience;
• A demonstrated commitment to personal career development;
• Significant experience of working as a project planner on a wide variety of complex projects;
• Sound understanding of project planning and project management best practice and ability to tailor it to project environment;
• A demonstrated ability to maintain, analyse and report on project controls;
• Good oral and written communication skills and the ability to influence people in widely differing parts of a complex organisation;
• Ability to tailor personal approach to planning to suit the dynamics of each project team to keep projects on schedule and facilitate remedial action where projects are in difficulty;
• Excellent IT skills;
• Demonstrated experience and proficiency using Microsoft Project and Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management (EPM);
• Ability to work on own initiative;
• Good attention to detail;
• Logical approach to problem solving, and see issues through to completion;
• Ability to establish priorities and meet deadlines;
• Excellent planning and organising skills.
• Flexibility: an ability and willingness to work in a fluid environment, and to re-prioritise objectives as needed while still making progress towards common goals.

• Affiliation with project management professional body or working towards membership;
• Qualifications in Project Management or substantial experience;
• Willingness to represent Diamond Project Management Group in international and other forums;
• Experience of configuration management and document storage;
• Experience in project control and performance monitoring in a non-contractual environment will be considered an advantage;
• Experience of work effectively with colleagues from diverse backgrounds;
• Experience of working in a team environment.