Location

Brussels, hybrid

Duration

12 months

Mission

The Planning Lead is responsible for the independent planning governance of a large-scale global ERP transformation programme on behalf of the client.

Working alongside the System Integrator (SI), the role ensures the integrity, realism and transparency of the integrated programme plan while maintaining an independent view of schedule health, critical path, milestones and planning risks.

Operating in a hybrid Agile and Waterfall environment, the Planning Lead validates planning assumptions, challenges schedule changes and ensures alignment across all workstreams.

This is not a project scheduler role. It is a senior planning governance position responsible for independently validating and challenging the integrated programme schedule produced by the System Integrator.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain and govern the integrated master programme plan.
• Monitor the critical path, milestones and cross-workstream dependencies.
• Validate planning assumptions, resource capacity and schedule realism.
• Challenge schedule changes, re-baselining and planning risks proposed by the System Integrator.
• Ensure alignment between Agile delivery, testing, data migration, cutover and deployment activities.
• Consolidate planning information from multiple Microsoft Project schedules into a single programme view.
• Provide accurate planning status, risk reporting and executive planning updates.
• Prepare planning inputs for programme governance and Steering Committee meetings.
• Act as the primary planning counterpart to the System Integrator PMO.

Profile

• 8–10+ years of experience in programme planning, PMO or integrated scheduling on large ERP transformation programmes.
• Proven experience supporting global ERP deployments with multiple workstreams and external System Integrators.
• Advanced Microsoft Project expertise, including critical path analysis, dependency management, baseline control and integrated planning.
• Good understanding of Agile delivery and Jira, with the ability to integrate sprint progress into enterprise planning.
• Experience with SAP S/4HANA or other enterprise ERP programmes is highly desirable.
• Comfortable working in hybrid Agile and Waterfall environments.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills.
• Able to constructively challenge senior stakeholders and System Integrators.
• Excellent English communication skills.

Key skills

• Integrated Programme Planning
• Microsoft Project
• Critical Path Management
• Dependency Management
• Baseline Management
• Programme Governance
• Executive Reporting
• Jira
• Hybrid Agile / Waterfall Delivery
• ERP Transformation