Resource Manager (Immediate Start - 13 month contract)

Korn Ferry; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Korn Ferry is seeking a skilled Resource Manager to lead staffing and workforce planning for the UK/EMEA portfolio. You will partner with regional teams, balance utilization and cost, and drive data-driven resourcing decisions in a fast-paced, client-driven environment.

You will collaborate with Partners, Directors, and Engagement Managers to shape requirements, forecast demand, and optimize talent deployment using tools like Power BI, Salesforce, and TalentFinder.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent is required.
• Minimum of 6 years' experience in resource management or similar.
• At least 3 years in a professional services or corporate environment preferred.
• Foundational understanding of revenue, margin, utilization, and cost management.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, matrixed environment with competing priorities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project-management capability; AI fluency is a plus.
• Fluent English; additional local or regional language requirements may apply.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end staffing and resource planning for the assigned portfolio.
• Maintain knowledge of the local talent pool, including skills and availability.
• Identify and advocate for new or underutilized talent to meet client needs.
• Proactively manage bench and redeployment to minimize non-billable time.
• Resolve staffing conflicts and escalate delivery or commercial risks when needed.
• Apply cultural intelligence when staffing across geographies within RM processes.
• Manage contingent workforce planning for country portfolio with cost considerations.

Skills

Fluent English

Strong communication

Stakeholder management

Influencing

Negotiation

Conflict resolution

Education

Undergraduate degree or equivalent

Tools

Power BI

Salesforce

TalentFinder

ERP systems

Job description

About Us

Korn Ferry is a global consulting firm that powers performance. We unlock the potential in your people and unleash transformation across your business - synchronizing strategy, operations, and talent to accelerate performance, fuel growth, and inspire a legacy of change. That’s why the world’s most forward-thinking companies across every major industry turn to us - for a shared commitment to lasting impact and the bold ambition to Be More Than. Headquartered In Los Angeles, Our Over 17,000 Colleagues Globally Serve Clients From More Than 130 Offices Across The Globe. We Offer Five Core Capabilities That Span The Full Talent Lifecycle

• Organizational Strategy
• Assessment and Succession
• Talent Acquisition
• Leadership and Professional Development
• Total Rewards

Job Description

At Korn Ferry, we’re not just in the business of advising our clients, we also help our employees reach their true potential. We have a collaborative culture where you can work with other talented people who share your passion for doing great work. So, if you want to work for a company that makes a real difference for clients, and you want to be part of a global team that plays a vital role in moving the business forward, then Resource Management (RM) is the team for you. As resource managers and workforce planning specialists, we play a key role in supporting the development of Korn Ferry consultants while also embarking on our own professional development journeys.

We are looking for a talented, innovative Resource Management professional, who speaks English fluently, and who has a background in workforce planning. There will be ambiguity and change, requiring agility, sound judgement, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, complex environment.

The Resource Manager will join a centrally managed professional resourcing team and will work closely with the Firm’s consulting population. In this role, you’ll partner with a defined population of EMEA-based delivery and sales consultants while supporting broader regional staffing priorities across Korn Ferry's People business, including Leadership Development, Coaching, and Assessment & Succession.

The role will require you to drive proactive resourcing practices with the Resource Management team both within country and regionally, as well as partner with other groups within the Firm. The role requires a blend of influencing and networking, with behind-the-scenes emotional intelligence, data savvy, and problem solving in a fast-paced client driven environment. Optimizing consultant utilization and allocation of work, along with embedding yourself into talent discussions will be integral elements of this role.

This role reports directly to a Senior Resource Manager. While on-site presence with our consultants is critical, flexibility to balance this with working remotely when needed is possible. Travel is minimal, with most meetings happening virtually.

If you have a passion for workforce planning, influencing senior internal stakeholders, optimizing talent deployment, and partnering with a global team to deliver outstanding resourcing outcomes, then this role is for you.

Position Key Responsibilities

The Resource Manager is responsible for the effective allocation and utilization of talent across client engagements within assigned markets, capabilities, and portfolios, including the UK&I and broader EMEA People business. The role executes end-to-end staffing decisions, maintains accurate resource data, and aligns client demand with available skills, capacity, cost considerations, consultant development needs, and business priorities.

Working as part of the global Resource Management function, the Resource Manager delivers efficient staffing outcomes, supports utilization and commercial objectives, and enables high-quality client delivery. The role partners with local and regional business leaders, consulting leaders, Operations, opportunity leaders, and delivery teams,

Success requires strong relationship management, influencing, data-driven decision-making, commercial awareness, cultural intelligence, and the ability to resolve competing priorities in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.

Demand Planning & Workforce Forecasting

• Own capacity planning for assigned portfolios, maintaining forward-looking demand plans, maintaining forward-looking demand plans based on business trends, current and anticipated pipeline, and expected account growth.
• Hold regular forecast reviews with portfolio leaders to identify resource gaps, capacity risks, and clear staffing actions.
• Apply capacity reporting and demand forecasts to recommend redeployment, enablement, hiring, or contingent workforce actions.
• Partner with Opportunity Leaders during the sales process to shape workforce requirements for priority opportunities and resolve capacity constraints through talent redeployment or contingent workforce sourcing.
• Collaborate with regional Korn Ferry Hire and Operations colleagues to align local hiring plans with forecast demand and capability gaps.

Resourcing & Talent Deployment

• Own end-to-end staffing and resource planning for the assigned portfolio, balancing capability, availability, utilization, cost, pipeline demand, client priorities, and consultant development.
• Maintain deep knowledge of the local talent pool, including skills, interests, availability, development goals, capability gaps, and surplus capacity.
• Identify and advocate for new, unknown, emerging, or underutilized talent, matching people to opportunities that support client outcomes and career growth.
• Proactively manage bench and redeployment, minimizing non-billable time while balancing internal and external talent.
• Independently resolve staffing conflicts and trade-offs across engagements, escalating significant delivery or commercial risks where appropriate.
• Apply cultural intelligence when staffing across geographies, adapting approaches to local norms while following global RM processes and policies.
• Manage contingent workforce planning and resourcing for the country portfolio, including demand visibility, rate compliance, onboarding coordination, utilization, and cost considerations.

Commercial Awareness & Business Partnership

• Apply knowledge of revenue, margin, utilization, and cost drivers to resource allocation decisions, balancing client needs with commercial outcomes.
• Partner with local leaders to embed proactive resourcing into sales and delivery processes and identify workforce optimization opportunities.
• Provide clear visibility into talent capacity, deployment readiness, cost impact, utilization, and resourcing risks.
• Deliver regular portfolio workforce analytics, combining talent, financial, and business data with practical insights and recommendations.
• Stay current on the Korn Ferry organizational matrix across solutions, markets, geographies, lines of business, and internal functions, applying changes to staffing and workforce planning decisions.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a trusted advisor to the local market and engagement leaders on staffing strategy, workforce optimization, and proactive resource planning.
• Partner with local Partners, Directors, and Engagement Managers to clarify engagement requirements and define right-fit talent profiles.
• Manage stakeholder expectations through timely, structured communication, education, and transparent escalation of constraints and trade-offs.
• Collaborate across local, regional, and global RM teams to share capacity, identify cross-border talent options, and support high-priority client work.

Systems, Data & Digital / AI-Enabled Resource Management

• Use TalentFinder as the central repository for resourcing requests and consultant bookings, in alignment with global resourcing and delivery tracking standards.
• Maintain data integrity and visibility across the assigned portfolio, including TalentFinder, Skills & Qualifications, TF Bookings Board, and relevant delivery and time-entry systems.
• Leverage multiple technologies and data sources, including Salesforce and Power BI, where available, to monitor pipeline, capacity, utilization, and forecast changes.
• Support adoption of approved AI tools, automation, and advanced analytics to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and scalability of forecasting, planning, and deployment decisions.
• Leverage technology, automation, and AI-enabled tools to increase the scale and efficiency of resource management activities, enabling support across multiple markets, portfolios, and consulting populations.
• Proactively address barriers to consistent system adoption and elevate unresolved data or process issues.

Governance, Change & Continuous Improvement

• Promote consistent application of global RM processes, tools, policies, governance, and service standards within the local portfolio.
• Identify process, data-quality, and technology improvements that strengthen workforce planning effectiveness, operational efficiency.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, solutions-oriented culture focused on quality, accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.

Education, Experience & Other Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent required.
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in resource management, workforce planning, consulting operations, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in a professional services or corporate environment strongly preferred.
• Foundational understanding of commercial drivers, including revenue, margin, utilization, and cost management, and the ability to apply these to staffing decisions.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, influencing, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed environment with competing priorities and short timelines.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project-management capability; experience with strategic workforce planning and capacity modelling is preferred.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across geographies and cultures.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; Power BI and experience with ERP and resource management systems are preferred.
• Demonstrated AI fluency, including the ability to leverage AI-enabled tools and analytics to improve forecasting, capacity planning, utilization management, reporting, and resource deployment decisions. Comfortable adopting emerging technologies and integrating AI-assisted ways of working into daily resource management practices.
• Fluent English; additional local or regional language requirements may apply.

Other

Local employment, equal opportunity, language, travel, hybrid-working, and regulatory statements should be inserted or validated by the relevant local HR and Legal teams before publication.

Korn Ferry may use AI as part of its recruitment process, but all hiring decisions are made by humans.

Internal Mobility at Korn Ferry

If you currently work for Korn Ferry or one of our affiliates, you must be eligible to apply for a different position within Korn Ferry to use the Careers Site. If you accept such a position, your benefits programs and Human Resources policies may change. Please consult with your HR contact for the new position concerning application eligibility, including any immigration/visa needs, benefit programs, and HR policies applicable to that position.

Korn Ferry is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.