CEC Workforce Planner

Northern Trains Limited; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free Travel

Generous Pension

Enhanced Family Benefits

Cycle to Work Scheme

Exclusive Discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Training and Career Development

Recognition

Job summary

Northern Trains Limited is seeking a Workforce Planner for our Sheffield Contact Centre. You will forecast demand across channels and translate it into effective staffing, creating multi-skilled schedules to meet service targets.

You’ll monitor performance in real time, adjust plans as needed and manage holidays, training and other activities to minimise impact. Strong analytics and stakeholder relations are essential to succeed.

Qualifications

• Experience in forecasting, scheduling, capacity planning and real-time workforce management.
• Contact centre experience with service levels, demand patterns and occupancy.
• Experience with PeopleWare or similar workforce platforms.
• Strong Excel skills; Power BI or data visualization is an advantage.
• Analytical, problem-solving and organisational abilities; capable of turning data into insight.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Forecast customer contact volumes across channels and translate demand into workforce requirements.
• Create efficient, multi-skilled schedules balancing service and availability.
• Align workforce plans with targets, budgets and priorities.
• Monitor real-time performance and adjust plans to maintain service levels.
• Manage holidays, training, coaching to minimise operational impact.
• Analyse trends and data to identify risks and opportunities.
• Provide data-driven insight for decisions at operation and strategy levels.
• Improve planning processes through technology and smarter operating methods.
• Collaborate with operational leaders to adapt to changing demand.

Skills

Forecasting

Scheduling

Capacity planning

Real-time workforce management

Excel

Power BI

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Tools

PeopleWare

Job description

BUSINESS FUNCTION: Customer and Commercial

CONTRACT: Full Time

LOCATION: Sheffield Contact Centre

At Northern Trains Limited, we keep people connected by ensuring customers receive the right support at the right time.

As a Workforce Planner, you’ll play a key role in planning and performance for our Customer Experience Centre (CEC), supporting around 100 colleagues. Using data, insight and contact centre planning expertise, you’ll ensure we have the right people, skills and capacity at the right time.

Using PeopleWare, you’ll:

• Forecast customer contact volumes across multiple channels and translate demand into workforce requirements.
• Create efficient, multi-skilled schedules that balance customer service and colleague availability.
• Align workforce plans with service targets, budgets and operational priorities.
• Monitor real-time performance and adjust plans to maintain service levels.
• Manage holidays, training, coaching and other activities to minimise operational impact.
• Analyse trends and performance data to identify risks, opportunities and planning challenges.
• Provide clear, data-driven insight for operational and strategic decisions.
• Improve workforce planning processes through technology, automation and smarter ways of working.
• Work closely with operational leaders to respond to changing customer demand and business priorities.

Essentials of the Role

You’ll have a strong experience of contact centre workforce planning and be confident turning data into practical action.

• Experience in forecasting, scheduling, capacity planning and real-time workforce management.
• Contact centre experience, including service levels, demand patterns, shrinkage, occupancy and resource requirements.
• Experience with PeopleWare or a similar workforce management platform.
• Strong Excel skills; Power BI or other data visualisation experience is an advantage.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills, with an ability to spot trends and risks.
• The ability to turn complex data into clear, actionable insight.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the confidence to challenge and influence.
• A continuous-improvement mindset and an interest in technology, automation and data.

Most importantly, you’ll understand that workforce planning is more than creating schedules—it’s about ensuring the contact centre has the capacity and capability to deliver an excellent customer experience every day.

What’s in it for you?

At Northern, we don’t just value our people - we go the extra mile to support them. Here’s a taste of what you can look forward to:

Free Travel: Unlimited free travel for you, your partner, and your dependents on Northern services. Plus up to 75% discount on other networks in the UK and Europe.

Generous Pension Scheme: We top up your contributions by 1.5 times.

Enhanced Family Benefits: We offer 9 months of full pay for maternity leave and 2 weeks for paternity leave.

Cycle to Work Scheme: Save up to 42% on a bike and spread the cost.

Exclusive Discounts: From shopping to wellbeing, Northern Perks has you covered.

Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 support for family, lifestyle, and more.

Training and Career Development: We offer tailored training to our colleagues and opportunities to gain recognised qualifications. Plus enhanced career pathways no matter what part of the business you’re in.

Recognition: We know how important it is to show how much we appreciate our people. That’s why we have our Northern Lights and Northern Sparks Awards, recognising and celebrating brilliance every day.

Why Northern?

We’re more than just a train operator. We’re the heartbeat of the North – connecting communities, creating opportunities, and driving sustainable growth. With 2,500 trains running daily, we’re on a mission to improve rail travel and enhance the customer experience while protecting the environment.

Back in 1825, the first passenger train set off in the North of England, after which rail quickly spread across the globe – and this year, we’re celebrating 200 years of the modern railway. As we look back on the historic events that led us here, we also look towards the future as we move into the era of Great British Rail. Join us at this pivotal moment in rail history and play your part in our journey.

A place for everyone

The best journeys happen when everyone feels welcome on board.

At Northern, we don’t just move people from A to B – we’re building a team where everyone feels they belong. Our talent team can make reasonable adjustments to the process if that’s something you need. We’re also a Level 2 Disability Confident employer, so if you meet the minimum criteria for the role, we’ll always offer an interview.

We automate parts of our screening process to remove any unconscious bias and to make sure every application is treated fairly. All successful offers will be subject to a DBS check and a medical assessment.

No matter your background, experience, or whether you call it a bap, barm, or cob… there’s a place for you here in the railway.