Military & Athlete 2026 Talent Placement - Strategy and Planning Manager in Reading

A variety of soft skills and experience may be required for the following role. Please ensure you check the overview below carefully.

Join us, be part of more. We're so much more than an energy company. We're a family of brands revolutionising how we power the planet. We're energisers. One team of 21,000 colleagues that's energising a greener, fairer future by creating an energy system that doesn't rely on fossil fuels, whilst living our powerful commitment to igniting positive change in our communities. Here, you can find more purpose, more passion, and more potential. That's why working here is #MoreThanACareer. We do energy differently - we do it all. We make it, store it, move it, sell it, and mend it.

This programme is designed to support you as you transition into a new career. Whether you're leaving the Armed Forces or finishing an elite sporting career, we welcome the experience, discipline and resilience you bring. You'll gain hands-on experience in a FTSE100 organisation, receive tailored support, and join a community that values who you are and what you can offer. We have five placement roles available, and Strategy & Planning Manager role is one of them.

What you'll do:

• Translate strategic ideas into a comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Business Unit.
• Work with Strategy, Commercial, Operations and Tech teams to understand business vision, ambition and objectives.
• Coordinate cross-functional input and alignment to ensure the plan is executable.
• Report progress against the Strategic Plan to the MD and Centrica Business Leadership Team.
• Deliver high quality stakeholder management across the spectrum of senior and peer stakeholders to ensure buy-in.
• Continuously challenge and improve ways of working seeking to optimise efficiency whilst delivering commercial success.
• Operate in a complex, ambiguous environment, solving problems that are not clearly defined.
• Apply structured, logical thinking to bring clarity to ambiguity.
• Make informed decisions on planning approach, milestones, sequencing and prioritisation.
• Work autonomously to identify risks, issues & dependencies, taking proactive action.
• Adapt plans in response to changing priorities or emerging information.
• Balance competing priorities and trade-offs (e.g. speed vs rigour, ambition vs deliverability).

What we're looking for:

We're looking for potential, not perfection. You don't need to meet every requirement to apply:

• Deep experience within strategic and campaign planning.
• Proven ability to translate high-level strategy into concrete plans, milestones and deliverables.
• Experience leading planning processes, turning strategy into a fully executed, successful plan.
• Exceptional digital literacy; ability to structure complex strategic inputs into clear, useable datasets and plans.
• An ability to design the planning system - not just operate it.
• Expert use of Excel and PowerPoint, building robust planning tools and exec-ready visualisations.
• Experience in project management toolsets: Microsoft Planner, Project, Visio/Miro, PowerBI.
• Strong ability to integrate and exploit AI to maximise efficiency and output.
• Expert communicator - able to structure written reports and presentations for full range of stakeholders, ensuring informed, risk aware, agile decision-making.
• An absolute, resolute focus on delivery.
• PM qualifications or experience operating within environments using methodologies such as Agile or Scrum is desirable.

On placement you'll also have a dedicated business mentor, opportunities to meet senior leaders, and plenty of support to settle into your role.

Who the programme is for:

This placement is open to:

• Military Service Leavers: leaving the Forces or within the 2-year CTP window at application.
• Elite Athletes: international competition experience and/or professional UK sports experience within the last three years.

We recognise excellence: We want you to feel included, supported and able to succeed. On placement you'll receive:

• Real project & transformation experience in a FTSE100 organisation.
• £50,000 salary for the 12-month placement.
• A dedicated mentor to help you build commercial skills.
• Flexible working and travel to office locations when collaboration is needed.
• Access to our Employee Networks.
• A Buddy from our Ex-Military or Athlete communities.
• For Service Leavers: the chance to begin placement during your final four resettlement weeks.

How to apply:

Please upload one document (Word or PDF) that includes:

• Personal Statement (max 750 words). Tell us: Which placement role you're applying for and how your skills, experience, capabilities and personal qualities align to the role.
• CV (max 2 pages). Highlight your transferable skills related to the role & your key achievements, qualifications, military or athletic experience.

Key dates:

• Application deadline: midnight Friday 26th June.
• Screening Interviews - online: Will take place in June - mid July.
• Business Area Interviews - face to face: July and August at one of our office locations.
• Placement Start Date: You must be able to start on Wednesday 30th September.

If you need any reasonable adjustments during the process, please let us know - we're happy to support you.

Not available in September 2026? We'll also be offering placements in March 2027, June 2027 and September 2027. The application process for March will likely open in November.

If this placement isn't the right fit, you can explore more.

Why should you apply? We're not a perfect place - but we're a people place. Our priority is supporting all of the different realities our people face. Life is about so much more than work. We get it. That's why we've designed our total rewards to give you the flexibility to choose what you need, when you need it, making sure that you and your family are supported not only financially, but physically and emotionally too.