Planning Group Lead

Location: Ottawa, Canada

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow’s possible.

For decades, Ottawa has been a global technology leader. Today, Canada’s capital holds one of the brightest and most diverse technological ecosystems in North America. Voted as Canada’s best place to live 2017 by Maclean’s, Ottawa offers a low cost of living with a high quality of life. The Thales Ottawa office has been a major supplier and long-term trusted partner to DND, enabling the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard to achieve mission success.

Victoria, B.C., Halifax, N.S. Ottawa, ON., (CAN.)  

The Planning Group Lead will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the planning practices within the organization to ensure efficient and on-time project delivery in accordance with Thales Canada Defence & Security (TCDS) objectives.  The role ensures optimal planning resource assignment and utilization for both Bids and Projects in execution and focuses on driving continuous improvement initiatives to enhance planning accuracy, efficiency, and team performance.

The Planning Group Lead is responsible for effective leadership of a team of Integrated Master Schedulers, developing and implementing planning strategies, and collaborating with cross-functional departments such as Engineering, Supply Chain & Procurement, Service Delivery, Legal & Contracts, and Finance.

The main duties of the Planning Group Lead include:

• Lead, mentor, and develop the planning team, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Manage and optimize the creation and maintenance of Integrated Master schedules with a high level of schedule integrity for key programs and ensure schedule adherence.
• Ensure alignment of planning activities with customer requirements, contractual commitments, business targets and reporting rhythm.
• Analyze planning capacity and resource constraints and propose solutions to address risks and bottlenecks. Collaborate closely with Project Managers, cross-functional departments and department managers.
• Develop and execute regular training for the planning team. Monitor business and program level KPIs (such as on-time delivery, and schedule adherence), report results, and implement corrective actions where required. Drive process improvements and support digital transformation initiatives related to planning systems and tools.
• Act as the main point of escalation for planning issues and facilitate resolution. Fulfill planning duties for any directly allocated projects. Ensure efficient and accurate integration with connected business systems and detailed input schedules. Maintain a robust Contract/Task Change proposal (CCP/TCP) process. Develop and maintain planning process documentation.

Minimum Qualifications

• Undergraduate qualifications or training in Business, Finance/Accounting or Project Management.
• Minimum 4 + Years of experience in planning roles, preferably in a multi-disciplined engineering environment, with at least 2 years leading a team of planners and demonstrating people management and team-building skills.
• Strong understanding of planning best practices. Demonstrated communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills..
• Competent user of Primavera or equivalent scheduling software, with knowledge of other scheduling tools such as MS Project, and the ability to coach others in their use. Experience with Earned Value principles, systems and techniques.
• Experience with Schedule Risk Analysis is considered beneficial. Prior experience in Engineering or Defense industry is desirable.
• Advanced MS Excel skills and general data analysis competencies; familiarity with database management, Power Query or BI tools is beneficial.

If you’re excited about working with Thales, but not meeting the requirements for this position, we encourage you to join our Talent Community!

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge and understanding of the Defense Sector.
• Experience across the In-Service Support phases of a project lifecycle.
• Experience working in a complex, multidisciplinary, multi-site organization.

Type of Role: Hybrid (Home/Office) – flexibility to work from home for up to two days per week but expected to be in office at least three days per week.

Schedule: 40 hours per week.

Physical Environment: Office.

Travel: As required primarily within Canada.

What We Offer

• Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:
• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.
• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.
• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave.
• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.
• Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.

Why Join Us?

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The reference Total Target Compensation(TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between

Total Target Cash (TTC) 111,460.75 – 185,430.80 CAD Annual

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following: 

• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.

• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.

• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave. 

• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.

• Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.

Thales is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Thales is committed to providing accommodations in all parts of the interview process. Applicants selected for an interview who require accommodation are asked to advise accordingly upon the invitation for an interview. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.

This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List, the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, the Canadian Industrial Security Program, the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access including eligibility to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and able to obtain a Canadian Enhanced Reliability security clearance.

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