Sarah Dickinson

Senior Planning Manager and Chartered Civil Engineer with a strong record of leading planning teams across the design and construction of major multi-disciplinary engineering projects. Deep expertise in detailed programming and project controls, underpinned by broad sector experience including giga battery manufacturing under COMAH, hyperscale data centers, rail (TRU W3), flood alleviation, marine works, oil & gas, and critical national infrastructure (CNI). Known for building high-performing teams, embedding collaborative planning, and driving clarity of scope, risk, and change to secure delivery on time and within budget.

Adept at stakeholder engagement, influencing across disciplines, and mentoring apprentices and early-career planners.

Planning Manager - Wates

(2024-07)

• Lead a team of 6 planners delivering a COMAH giga car battery plant across design development, permitting, construction, fit-out and commissioning.
• Integrate contractor design deliverables into the master programme; manage a rapid change cycle with clear impact assessments and reporting.
• Maintain a professional planning service with weekly/monthly performance reporting and compliance to contractual obligations and quality health checks.
• Embed a repeatable progress update cycle to ensure robust, auditable programmes.
• Partner closely with the client, interpreting operational needs, advising on effects of change, and sequencing works to protect production.
• Support whiteboard collaborative planning and lookahead meetings; capture actuals to refine productivity and outputs.
• Identify and promote innovation in construction and planning techniques to compress durations and reduce risk.
• Assess training needs, mentor planners, and deliver planning training to non-planners.
• Build as-built datasets and benchmark output rates for deployment in future tenders.
• Contribute to bid strategies, programme narratives, and presentations; coordinate lessons learned for continuous team improvement.

Regional Planning Manager - Winthrop Engineering Technologies - Finland, Sweden, Dublin

(2022 - 2024)

• Managed a team of 7 planners across Finland, Sweden, and Dublin to deliver hyperscale, mission-critical data centres from tender to commissioning.
• Ensured contract and regional compliance within programmes; strengthened collaborative planning and last-planner lookaheads with site teams.
• Delivered targeted training and coaching to elevate team capability and consistency of outputs.
• Standardised monthly reports and weekly performance presentations; provided direct, actionable insights to directors.
• Implemented change control and risk impact modelling during execution, driving informed decision-making.
• Built as-built performance libraries to establish realistic output rates for subsequent bids.
• Supported bid submissions, developing programme strategies, narratives, and sequencing.
• Captured and embedded lessons learned to improve programme certainty across regions.

Planning Manager / Principal Planning Engineer (TRU W3) - BAM Nuttall

(2021 - 2022)

• Led 8 multi-discipline planners (track, OLE, signals, utilities, civils), unifying programmes and reports to demonstrate Alliance performance; scaled the team as the project grew and supported development needs.
• Produced period reports for the Project Director and Alliance Leadership Team, covering programme performance, trends, and risks.
• Used cost codes and Cobra to generate SPI/CPI and trend analysis; collaborated with project controls to produce earned value reporting.
• Supported estimating with cost input alignment; facilitated QSRA/QCRA, incorporating outcomes into programme strategies.

Area Planning Manager / Principal Planning Engineer - BAM Nuttall

(2013 - 2021)

• Managed planning team (work allocation, recruitment, training); advanced 4D resource-loaded programmes.
• Established robust tender programmes and coordinated methods, outputs, and buildability with estimating, design, and site teams.
• Treated HSE and environmental considerations as primary drivers; identified constraints impacting methodology and contributed to tender queries and risk registers.
• Developed costed and resource-loaded programmes for spend profiles and resourcing; contributed to written submissions and monitored design/construction change.
• Interpreted contract requirements (sequence, duration, constraints) and ensured compliance during delivery.

Portfolio Planner (P6) - Amec

(2011 - 2013)

• Established and monitored a 57-project portfolio (design and construction) under a BP framework for safety modifications across 7 fuel terminals in the UK.
• Resource-loaded planned design hours (limit 60,000/year); produced monthly reports comparing planned vs earned vs actual, including S-curves by discipline and terminal.
• Analysed schedule data to flag delays; prepared corrective actions; presented portfolio to the client during monthly reviews.
• Developed portfolio KPIs; led the construction planning team and an apprentice planner; mentored planners to raise competence in planning techniques.

Senior Project Planner (P6) - Galliford Try

(2010 - 2011)

Director - Kneeton Ltd

(2004 - 2010)

Freelance planner

Project Planner (P3e) - May Gurney Rail

(2002 - 2004)

Director - Kneeton Ltd

(2000 - 2002)

Sub Agent (Rail Dept.) - Kvaerner

(1997 - 2000)

Site / Section Engineer - Amey

(1992 - 1996)

Major Projects

Site Engineer - Monk Construction

(1990 - 1992)