Location: South West / Hybrid
Team: Ancora Groupwide Operations
Reports to: Operations Director
About
For over three decades, Ancora Group has been a trusted leader in the civils marine industry, delivering essential services and infrastructure that protect and empower coastal and flood-prone communities across the UK. From marine construction and commercial diving to flood defences, emergency repairs, and piling, we have honed exceptional expertise across the sector. Our team’s dedication and innovation enable us to tackle challenges of every scale with confidence and precision.
In the past ten years, Ancora Group has experienced remarkable, sustainable growth, positioning us to successfully deliver multi-million-pound projects while exceeding client expectations. At the heart of everything we do is a steadfast commitment to our customers. Our ethos is simple: place our customers first and complete every project with excellence, integrity, and a relentless focus on satisfaction.
Join us at an exciting time as we continue to build a stronger, safer future for our communities and the marine industry.
Role Purpose
The Project Planner will provide professional planning and programming support across the business, supporting both tender-stage activities and live project delivery across marine civil engineering operations nationally. The role is responsible for developing, maintaining, and analysing robust project programmes that support safe, efficient and commercially successful delivery.
Working closely with operational, commercial, and project teams, the Planner will ensure programmes are realistic, NEC4-compliant and aligned to the practical constraints of marine construction, including tidal working, weather impacts and specialist resource requirements.
This is a key role within the business, supporting proactive project control, improved operational planning, and effective resource utilisation across multiple concurrent projects throughout the UK.
The role supports:
- Effective delivery of marine and civil engineering projects across the Group
- NEC4-compliant programme management and reporting
- Improved resource planning and operational coordination
- Reduction of delivery and commercial risk
- Enhanced tender quality and programme credibility
The Project Planner will develop and maintain detailed project programmes across Ancora, that accurately reflect project scope, methodology, and operational constraints.
Key responsibilities include:
- Developing and maintaining NEC4-compliant programmes in line with Clause 31 and Clause 32 requirements
- Producing baseline, accepted, and regularly updated programmes
- Ensuring programmes clearly identify:
Logical sequencing and dependencies
Critical path activities
Risks, constraints, and assumptions
- Preparing programme narratives and supporting information for submission and acceptance
- Supporting project teams in maintaining programme accuracy throughout project delivery
- The role requires strong understanding of the operational realities of marine civil engineering and the ability to integrate these constraints into practical delivery programmes.
Responsibilities include:
- Incorporating tidal windows, marine access constraints, and weather downtime into programmes
- Reflecting marine plant utilisation and operational sequencing within programme logic
- Developing realistic assumptions relating to:
Working time restrictions
Environmental and consent constraints
Interfaces between marine and land-based activities
- Supporting operational teams in planning efficient and achievable delivery sequences
The Planner will support the commercial and operational management of projects through robust programme analysis and reporting.
Key activities include:
- Assessing and demonstrating the programme impact of compensation events
- Supporting the NEC4 Early Warning process with programme analysis and input
- Producing impacted, recovery, and acceleration programmes where required
- Developing “what-if” scenarios to support decision-making and mitigation planning
- Providing programme evidence to support commercial submissions and change management processes
The role will support visibility and coordination across multiple live and tender-stage projects, helping the business manage workload and resource demand effectively.
Responsibilities include:
- Maintaining oversight of multiple concurrent project programmes
- Collating workload and programme data across live and tender-stage projects
- Developing and managing resource-loaded programmes
- Analysing labour demand, marine plant utilisation, and specialist resource requirements
- Identifying resource conflicts, capacity issues, and programme risks
- Providing planning data to support strategic operational and resource decisions
The Planner will support the preparation of high-quality tender programmes that are both commercially credible and operationally achievable.
Key responsibilities:
- Producing tender-stage programmes aligned to NEC contract requirements
- Ensuring programmes meet client submission requirements and timelines
- Developing programme logic aligned to proposed construction methodologies
- Incorporating key assumptions, constraints, and marine working allowances
- Supporting smooth transition from tender-stage programme into delivery programme
The Project Planner will provide clear and accurate programme reporting to support project control and decision-making across the business.
This includes:
- Producing programme updates, dashboards, and performance reports
- Communicating programme status, risks, and changes to project and commercial teams
- Providing constructive challenge and support to operational delivery teams
Supporting senior management with programme analysis and performance visibility
- Assisting in preparation of resource accruals for work in progress and work outstanding
- Supporting the project and commercial team in preparation of cost value reconciliation
Essential:
- Microsoft Project
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for analysis and reporting
Preferred / Desirable:
- Asta Powerproject
- Primavera P6
- Strong planning and programme management capability within civil engineering environments
- Good understanding of marine construction methodologies and constraints
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to communicate programme information clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders
- High attention to detail and structured approach to planning
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines effectively
- Ability to visit sites throughout the UK as necessary to support live projects
- Experience as a Planner within a civil engineering contractor environment
- Background in marine, coastal, piling, or heavy civil engineering works
- Strong understanding of NEC4 programme requirements and administration
- Experience managing multiple project programmes concurrently
- Ability to interpret and communicate construction methodology through programmes
- Experience planning tidal or marine-based works
- Experience supporting tender-stage programme development
- Exposure to delay analysis or forensic planning techniques
- Degree, HNC, or HND in Civil Engineering or related discipline
- Membership of Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) or Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
This role provides the opportunity to work across a diverse portfolio of marine civil engineering projects, supporting both project delivery and strategic operational planning. The Planner will play a critical role in improving programme control, reducing commercial risk, and supporting efficient delivery across the business.
The role offers:
- Exposure to complex marine and infrastructure projects
- Opportunity to influence operational and commercial outcomes
- Involvement across both tender and live project environments
- Collaborative working within a specialist marine civil engineering business
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Hybrid working with regular weekly time at HQ in Dawlish and travel to sites across the UK
The Project Planner is a strategic Group role within the business and directly supports:
- Improved delivery performance and project control
- Reduced commercial risk under NEC4 contracts
- Better utilisation of labour, plant, and specialist resources
- Enhanced tender quality and programme credibility
As project scale, concurrency, and marine operational complexity continue to increase, the role is critical in supporting a proactive and controlled approach to project delivery across the organisation.
TMS Maritime is a leading marine and civil engineering company delivering specialist services across coastal and inland environments. We work at the point where engineering meets the water — supporting complex projects with skilled crews, modern vessels, and practical expertise. From marine construction to maintenance and response work, our teams operate in challenging, real-world conditions where safety, reliability, and teamwork matter. Our people are at the heart of what we do. We combine industry experience with a flexible, down-to-earth approach, creating a working environment where individuals are trusted, supported, and given the opportunity to develop. At TMS Maritime, no two days are the same — and neither are the careers we build.
