Planning Office

EP, RCS & TH Planning Office
Resource Coordination and Strategic Planning Support

The Planning Office plays a key role in coordinating the management of personnel and material resources across the Experimental Physics (EP) and Theoretical Physics (TH) departments, as well as the unit of the Director of Research and Computing (RCS). Reporting directly to the departments’ management and the Director of Research and Computing, the Office contributes to aligning departmental activities with CERN’s overall strategy. It provides support in strategic planning, budget management, operational processes, and ensures compliance with policies and controls.

🔹 Core Responsibilities

Strategic and Resource Planning
The Planning Office coordinates the allocation of human and material resources to departmental operations and projects, covering various funding sources. It contributes to the preparation of the Research Sector’s input to the CERN Medium-Term Plan (MTP), identifying needs, proposing savings, and adapting budget profiles as necessary. It also compiles narrative content for the CERN Annual Progress Report (APR) and the MTP, in close collaboration with the EP Department Head.

Financial Oversight and Analysis
The Office monitors departmental budgets throughout their lifecycle—planning, execution, follow-up, and reporting. It also prepares analyses and studies to support the department management, internal meetings and retreats, scrutiny groups, and audits.

Administrative and Operational Support
The Planning Office maintains the organizational structure, including roles, projects, budget codes, and authorised signatories. It validates and approves key transactions in CERN’s Electronic Document Handling (EDH) system, including personnel openings, contract extensions, reimbursements, training requests, material purchases, and special transactions requesting a credit card operation.

Data Management and Tools
The Office ensures the accuracy and timeliness of data in the APT planning tool, particularly for staff recruitment and selection processes for fellows, graduates, and students. It also collaborates with the Business Computing Group to develop and test new IT tools for resource management, ensuring they meet departmental needs.

Communication and Liaison
The Planning Office maintains regular contact with group and team leaders, technical coordinators, and budget holders to support decision-making and facilitate resource planning across activities.

🔹 Collaboration with Central Services

The Departmental Planning Officer (DPO) and Deputy DPOs (DDPOs) work closely with various CERN central services, including:

Finance Department

  • Account payable and recevable
  • External Grants – EU Project Financing
  • General Accounting
  • Personnel Accounting
  • Resources Planning & Controlling
  • Third Party Accounts
  • Treasury and Payments

Human Resources Department

  • Compensation, Benefits and Services
  • Learning & Development
  • People eXperience and Engagement
  • Talent Acquisition

Procurement and Knowledge Transfer

  • Knowledge Transfer (KT) Funding
  • Procurement Services

🔹 Planning Office Team

Catherine Decosse
Departmental Planning Officer (DPO) for EP and RCS; Deputy DPO (DDPO) for TH
Catherine is responsible for strategic planning related to staffing and the Research Sector’s Medium-Term Plan (MTP), as well as budget preparation and financial coordination. She serves as the main liaison with the Finance Department RPC and contributes through data analysis and presentations for management discussions and review processes. She also participates in the EP Management Meetings, LHC Resources Review Boards and the Financial Review Boards for non-LHC experiments.

Véronique Graux-Nazical
Departmental Planning Officer (DPO) for TH; Deputy DPO (DDPO) for EP and RCS
Véronique focuses on managing budgets and expenses related to Fellows & Associates, Graduate, and Student programmes. She is responsible for TH staff planning. She also supports EU-funded and Knowledge Transfer (KT) projects, follows EP R&D project budgets. She works in close collaboration with the Finance Department and provides analyses to support planning and decision-making. She authorizes sales of IT material and openings of budget codes for conferences.

Nathalie Knoors
Deputy DPO (DDPO) for EP, RCS, and TH; MERIT Coordinator and Departmental Training Officer
Nathalie supports the departments in the coordination of learning and development programmes, performance management, career development, and Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) reporting. She provides operational planning support, ensures the integrity of the departmental structure and acts as liaison with the Human Resources Department, particularly in support of the Department Head and Deputies on staff-related matters. She contributes through data analysis and presentations for management discussions and review processes related to Staff advancement and promotions, as well as for learning and development.