Innovative Planning Manager (Data Centres/Buildings/High-tech/Infrastructure) - UK (Hybrid) in Birmingham

Are you a seasoned construction planner that is a bit tired of the standard old-fashioned way of doing things in the construction industry? Do you get deep satisfaction from making things run more efficiently using a good dose of common sense and maybe a bit of technology? Have you always cared about the importance of proper planning and the connection between the schedule and the real day-to-day delivery of the job? Have you ever wanted to work a bit more flexibly but still be hands-on in construction and improving the industry?

We are Laminar Projects! We’re a high-end project management consultancy and tech developer with a focus on upgrading the way construction projects are delivered. Improving construction strengthens the very foundation of human civilisation. We bring transparency and control to projects through a pragmatic mix of the latest tech, our own processes, and a big dose of common sense. We then take our deep understanding of these projects and we invest heavily into developing the digital solutions that anyone can use to deliver their projects better.

The core of all this is our true secret sauce: our people. We only recruit the very best, both in capability and personality. We’re deeply focused on designing a new type of organisation that’s optimised for the flourishing of the people in the team first and foremost. People who join us develop fast as a whole person in ways they never imagined. This approach has allowed us to grow from just two people in 2017 to over 220 today. We have a stable, repeat client base across infrastructure and complex building projects in the UK and internationally, and we’re still growing fast. Joining us isn’t just some “job”. It’s a transformative educational experience. We challenge you to be your best self in all aspects of life. There are many diverse and interesting challenges available. It’s up to you to guide yourself into whichever areas you’re most interested – we’ll enable it.

Core values for a good life

• Grow yourself – your relationship with yourself
• Care about people – your relationship with others around you
• Execute to greatness – your relationship with your team
• Build civilisation – your relationship with humanity and the world

We enshrined our values in our vision: We exist so that everyone in our team can flourish in a high-impact community that:

• Connects us with meaningful relationships
• Inspires us to develop ourselves to become better humans
• Empowers us to pursue our own learning adventures

By first doing this, we can achieve the highest levels of value for the world.

The Role

Purpose of the role

You will be enhancing the delivery of the most complex and interesting projects in the world through the power of project planning. You will be a senior leader in our team pushing the discipline to new heights not only within Laminar but within the industry in general.

Your team

This role is part of our Project Management Consultancy which focuses on:

• Understanding what the real problems of projects are
• Implementing the best solutions to those problems
• Developing scalable best practices, tools and technology

More specifically you will be part of our Project Planning Discipline Team who are industry leaders in the planning of complex construction projects. Your initial leader will be one of our planning discipline directors.

Your top three objectives

• To make construction projects deliver to near perfection
• To create scalable and repeatable solutions to common problems
• To develop yourself and everyone around you

Your Top Five Responsibilities

• Own the plan: Own the project plan for one or more projects and ensure that the project is working to it effectively. Ensure delays are mitigated and managed commercially.
• Own the outcome: You may not be the project manager ultimately responsible for the results but you are sure as heck responsible for putting in your best effort to ensure the project’s understanding and focus on the plan no matter how stubborn they are!
• Report and inform: Provide simple actionable reports to stakeholders at all levels that help them deliver their part of the project more efficiently and effectively.
• Make scalable solutions: Develop scalable and repeatable best practices and tools in collaboration with the team so that long-term impact is achieved.
• Develop everyone: Maximise the development of your team personally and professionally and educate our clients to improve as well.

You must have:

• A construction engineering background: Solid construction project planning capability in all aspects that take into account strategic objectives and the broad context you are operating in
• Communication skills: You’re proficient in written and verbal English and have the charisma and influence to get construction people to do new things and take the best approach
• Leadership capabilities: You proactively lead yourself and others by asking the right questions and challenging them. You are a proven leader, coach, and developer of teams.
• Impact: You have a track record of making projects and organisations better beyond just doing the basics – implementing scalable, repeatable solutions that had a significant positive impact

Laminar isn’t the place for you if any of the following is true:

• You want an easy, chilled-out role without much challenge
• You like to be the smartest person in the room
• You don’t like continuously receiving honest candid feedback
• You prefer to do your own thing rather than work with a team

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of projects would I be working on?

It’s common for people to be exposed to several projects in their first year with us. You’ll work on some of the most complex and interesting environments in the world. We’ve delivered over 100 data centres internationally, many of them fast-tracked and multi-package. Our teams have supported flagship infrastructure programmes like HS2 through integrated planning and digital delivery, contributed to over $30bn in power generation and transmission projects, and played a key role in the development of high-containment labs and R&D campuses for some of the world’s most advanced industrial and life sciences clients. You might find yourself working in sectors such as data centres, infrastructure (including defense, rail, and highways), high tech (such as advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors), or complex building projects. These aren’t hands-off assignments. They’re dynamic, hands-on environments designed for people who want to be challenged.

Who are our clients?

Major owners/operators and main contractors with project values between £1m and £1bn+ globally.

Where would I be working?

One week you might be working from home. The next, you might travel to the site to meet the construction teams and help organise them. Maybe you’ll pop into our London office for a workshop or a beer. Maybe you’ll fly out to exotic (and sometimes not!) locations in Europe or the Middle East to visit clients. It really depends on what you want to get involved in and what fits with your life.

How does what I do connect with the long-term impact on the construction industry?

You’re tasked with understanding and solving common problems. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel every time, so you’ll be responsible for documenting new solutions and evolving ones we’ve developed. This goes into our knowledge repository, which we’re going to open source to the industry. The knowledge you capture will be used by us to build new products. You’ll constantly test those products in the field, so we can rapidly iterate and improve them for anyone in the industry to use.

Benefits

The standard stuff:

• Health Insurance Scheme. Comprehensive private health coverage – for you and your family.
• Pension Scheme. A competitive plan to help you plan for the long term – plus salary sacrifice options available to maximise your savings.
• Bonus Scheme. As a permanent member of the team, you’ll share in our success.
• Professional body membership. One fee covered per year – so you can stay connected to your field and develop your craft.
• Cycle to Work Scheme. A tax-efficient way to get wheels – and do your bit for the environment.

The life-changing stuff:

• In-house coaching. Regular 1:1 coaching sessions, fully confidential, to help you navigate challenges, build self-awareness, and grow intentionally – professionally and as a human being.
• Equity upside. As we grow, you grow. Our generous equity scheme is especially powerful for those who stay with us on our journey.
• Flexible working. Work where it makes sense – most of our team works from home, visiting sites or clients regularly.
• Relentless development. Our goal is for every year here to be worth five years of development anywhere else.

Important! Applying properly

We get thousands of applications so please write us a letter as part of your application explaining: Why you want to join us What you’ll bring to the team. We aren’t a giant, faceless corporation; we really care about the people who want to join our team, so your letter will be read carefully. After that, we’ll reach out to you to schedule a casual conversation to help you get to know us a bit better and tell us a bit about yourself. A couple of technical and personal assessments follow to understand your capability based on our own development matrix. This is to ensure that when you join, you’re starting at the right level of responsibility.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.