Lead Project Planner

We believe anyone can improve their home to make life better. From our Southampton Store Support office (SSO) we equip our stores, our people, and our whole business with everything it takes to help our millions of customers create a home they’ll love. Join us as a Lead Project Planner and you’ll be a big part of this.

Role Purpose

Accountable for leading a team of Change Planners to deliver the successful range review planning of either large complex and/or medium and small range change across the B&Q Estate. Ensure any range change activity planned is set up to be delivered right first time, and has all the tools and communication requirements in place for a successful implementation.

Key Accountabilities / Responsibilities:

• Facilitate the successful project planning of range change by interpreting the brief from the key stakeholder(s).
• Lead and manage a team of Project Planners, through effective support and coaching.
• Dedicate quality time to ensuring a robust development plan and support network is available to allow team members to learn and grow.
• Take a methodical approach to detail planning and can model and track costs in line with the project lifecycle.
• Support the Project Planners in cost creation, tracking and reporting of costs associated with a project, ensuring any risks or changes are highlighted to the Category Manager or Project Manager in a timely manner.
• Support the Category, Visual Merchandising and Planogram teams with robust and detailed knowledge of the existing store estate.
• Prepare and quality control store surveys, if required, to ensure the ‘as is’ status of the store estate is understood and captured.
• Identify the gaps between ‘as is’ estate equipment, service infrastructure and the needs of the planogram.
• Provide expert advice and issue resolution through the ‘issues log’, acting as a key point of contact to handle implementation teams’ queries during their change project.
• Provide best practice learnings to support implementation teams (B&Q and agencies).

What we need:

• Communicating; balances talking and listening in meetings, communicates simply and clearly, confidently challenges, negotiates and influences other decision makers.
• Problem solving and decision making; actively seeks and is open minded to ideas, makes decision based on factual information and evidence.
• Planning and delivering; understands and can describe how they or their team contributes to the functional strategy.
• Ability to lead a team and deliver/oversee project completion to enable delivery right first time.

What’s in it for me?

As part of a great team, you’ll be valued for who you are. We’re committed to making B&Q more diverse and representative of the communities we serve, where everyone can feel they belong and have equal opportunities. You will have access to a range of networks that represent our colleagues and allies and help us to continue to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business.

We also recognise that wellness means different things to different people, and we want to help colleagues be at their best and feel well by offering a range of benefits to help you. As well as a competitive salary, our benefits package includes an award-winning pension scheme, bonus, ShareSave options, 6.6 weeks holiday, payroll giving, an Employee Assistance Programme, shopping discounts, colleague wellbeing benefits and lots more!