Planning Team Lead

About the Role

As Planning Team Lead, you will lead and develop a team of planning and delivery professionals while providing oversight and support across a portfolio of strategic initiatives.

This role requires an individual who can balance support with challenge. You will act as a trusted advisor, coach, and escalation point for Project Managers and Delivery Leads, helping them navigate complex delivery environments while maintaining a strong focus on achieving business outcomes.

Working closely with the Planning & Product Delivery Manager and stakeholders across the organisation, you will drive improvements in delivery performance, governance, planning maturity, and team capability.

The successful candidate will have first-hand experience operating in environments where plans change, risks materialise, stakeholder expectations need active management, and difficult delivery decisions must be made.

Key Responsibilities Delivery Leadership & Governance

• Lead and oversee planning and delivery activities across a portfolio of strategic projects and initiatives.

• Act as a trusted leader, coach, and escalation point for Project Managers and Delivery Leads.

• Support teams in navigating delivery risks, project challenges, stakeholder escalations, dependencies, and conflicting priorities.

• Provide constructive challenge to delivery plans, assumptions, timelines, and delivery approaches where required.

• Ensure effective governance, planning, prioritisation, and delivery practices are consistently applied.

• Monitor delivery performance, risks, issues, dependencies, resource capacity, and delivery confidence across the portfolio.

• Facilitate governance reviews and support informed decision-making through clear delivery insight and reporting.

• Support project recovery efforts and help teams develop realistic and achievable delivery plans.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of Project Managers, Delivery Leads, and planning professionals.

• Build a culture of accountability, trust, engagement, and continuous improvement.

• Conduct regular coaching and development conversations focused on both individual growth and delivery effectiveness.

• Support career development, succession planning, and capability growth across the function.

• Create an environment where individuals and teams can thrive while maintaining high standards of performance and delivery.

Stakeholder Leadership

• Build strong and trusted relationships with business and technology stakeholders at all levels.

• Influence and guide stakeholders on planning, prioritisation, governance, delivery trade-offs, and decision-making.

• Communicate delivery risks, issues, dependencies, and recommendations clearly and confidently.

• Help stakeholders balance ambition with delivery reality through evidence-based planning and decision-making.

Continuous Improvement & Capability Development

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that improve delivery predictability, governance, and operational effectiveness.

• Promote best practices in project delivery, governance, planning, and risk management.

• Establish effective knowledge-sharing and lessons-learned practices across the team.

• Support the ongoing maturity of the Planning and Delivery function through standards, tools, metrics, and capability development.

• Use meaningful metrics and insights to drive informed decision-making and performance improvement.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with Health & Safety, Information Security, Risk Management, and Regulatory requirements.

• Promote disciplined risk, issue, dependency, and governance management practices across all delivery activities.

What We're Looking For Essential Skills & Competencies

• Proven experience leading and developing Project Managers, Delivery Leads, or similar delivery professionals.

• Strong project and programme delivery leadership experience gained within complex enterprise environments.

• Demonstrated experience supporting teams through delivery challenges, project recovery situations, stakeholder escalations, and changing priorities.

• Strong governance, planning, risk management, and stakeholder management capability.

• Ability to balance coaching and support with accountability and constructive challenge.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

• Excellent communication, influencing, and facilitation skills.

• Proven ability to build trusted relationships while maintaining focus on delivery outcomes.

• Experience creating a positive, engaged, and high-performing team culture.

• Resilience and leadership presence during periods of uncertainty, ambiguity, or delivery pressure.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business, or a related discipline.

• Professional Project Management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent).

• Agile delivery accreditation (PSM, CSM, PMI-ACP, SAFe, or equivalent).

• Minimum 7 years' experience leading complex enterprise-scale projects, programmes, portfolios, or delivery functions.

• Proven experience supporting delivery teams through risk, uncertainty, stakeholder pressure, and competing organisational priorities.

• Experience with project recovery, governance intervention, or delivery performance improvement initiatives is highly desirable.

• Strong understanding of Agile, Product Delivery, DevOps, and SDLC methodologies.

• Experience influencing and engaging stakeholders at all organisational levels.

• Strong financial management skills including budgeting, forecasting, and cost control.

• Proficiency in Jira, Confluence, Excel, PowerPoint, and delivery reporting tools. Experience with Power BI is advantageous.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 12-18 months, the successful candidate will:

• Build a highly engaged and high-performing Planning Team.

• Increase consistency in delivery governance, planning, and reporting practices.

• Strengthen the capability of Project Managers and Delivery Leads to proactively manage risks, issues, and dependencies.

• Improve stakeholder confidence in planning, delivery commitments, and portfolio transparency.

• Drive measurable improvements in delivery predictability and performance.

• Create a culture that balances accountability, collaboration, learning, and delivery excellence.

• Contribute to the ongoing maturity of laya healthcare's Planning and Delivery practice.