Trainee Planner

Trainee Planner – Tier 1 Main Contractor

Salary: £26,000–£30,000 + Car Allowance + Bonus
Location: Northampton (Hybrid)

A leading Tier 1 main contractor is looking for a Trainee Planner to join their expanding planning team in Northampton. No previous planning experience is required. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a relevant degree who wants to build a long‑term career in construction planning.

The company delivers major industrial, logistics, commercial and infrastructure projects nationwide. As a trainee, you will rotate across several different sectors to gain broad experience before choosing the area you want to specialise in. You’ll work alongside experienced planners and gain hands‑on exposure to tender and live projects valued £10m–£60m+.

Sectors You Will Rotate Through

You will complete structured rotations across:

* Industrial and logistics developments

* Distribution centres and cold stores

* Food production and manufacturing facilities

* Engineering and automotive schemes

* Data centres and pharmaceutical/life sciences buildings

* Commercial, multi‑room, civils and infrastructure projects

After completing your rotations, you will specialise in the sector that best matches your strengths and interests.

The Role

* Support planners in producing tender and construction programmes

* Assist with sequencing, logistics planning and buildability reviews

* Help prepare tender documents, build sequences and programme visuals

* Attend site visits to gather progress information

* Update schedules and assist with progress reporting

* Learn how to assess delays, variations and design changes

* Work across multiple live projects and tenders

* Hybrid working across office, site and home

The Right Person

* No planning experience required

* A degree in construction management, project management, civil engineering or building engineering is preferred

* Strong interest in construction, project delivery and planning

* Good communication skills and willingness to learn

* Highly organised with strong attention to detail

* Confident using IT and open to learning Asta Powerproject / Primavera

* Motivated, proactive and keen to develop professionally

* Within a reasonable commute of Northampton

Benefits

* Salary up to £30,000

* Car allowance

* 4% guaranteed bonus + performance bonus

* 26 days holiday + long‑service increases

* Pension and employee benefits

* Business travel expenses

* Full training, mentoring and clear progression into Assistant Planner

Skills & Keywords

Trainee Planner, Graduate Planner, Assistant Planner, Construction Planning, Asta Powerproject, Primavera, Industrial Projects, Logistics, Distribution Centres, Manufacturing, Engineering, Civils, Infrastructure, Buildability, Tier 1 Contractor, Main Contractor, Pre‑Construction, Project Planning