Senior Planning Manager

University of Manchester; Manchester; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous employer contribution pension

29 days annual leave plus bank holiday

Ride to work and EV car scheme

Job summary

University of Manchester is seeking a Senior Planning Manager to translate strategy into integrated, granular plans across the university, aligning budgets, KPI dashboards and five-year financial planning with academic and professional services.

You will lead cross-functional virtual teams, engage stakeholders at multiple levels, and drive year-on-year improvements in planning practices, championing best-practice solutions for visibility and impact.

Qualifications

• Deep sector expertise in Higher Education.
• Experience leading development of strategies and plans across multiple dimensions.
• Proven track record delivering major projects and complex operating plans.
• Strong stakeholder management up to board level.
• Visible leadership to guide teams and promote best practices.

Responsibilities

• Deliver the integrated planning process with guidance and standards across the University.
• Improve planning practices and embed leading approaches across faculties.
• Translate the budget and 5-year plan into local planning priorities and resource deployment.
• Lead engagement to connect budgets and local plans across finance, change, academics and professional services.
• Line manage planning experts and lead cross-functional virtual teams.

Skills

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Change management

Performance measurement

Excel

Tools

Excel

Job description

We are seeking a motivated and collaborative individual to join our team as a Senior Planning Manager. This role offers an exciting opportunity to ensure the strategy is translated across the university into integrated, granular plans that help colleagues deliver, reflect our ambitions, our context and the parameters within which we are operating.

You will be responsible for:

• To deliver the integrated planning process across the University, including the creation and embedding of appropriate guidance, planning practices and standards in partnership with Finance, and ensuring that the 3-year work package and associated ambitions are connected into our planning process
• To target year-on-year improvement and increasing sophistication in our planning practices, being proactive in recognising key gaps and required solutions and the identification/ application of leading practices
• To provide expert guidance in how our budget and 5-year financial plan, and university KPI dashboard, translate into local planning priorities and the deployment of resources, and provide subject matter expertise support in sharing and embedding this information widely across the university
• To lead widespread engagement with colleagues across the University at multiple levels to ensure budgets and local plans join up and are fully connected (i.e. “integrated plans”) across finance, change, academic areas, professional services et al. To promote and improve the coherency, consistency and risk profile of plans
• To line manage planning experts and provide leadership to cross-functional virtual teams

We welcome candidates who bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and approaches to their work.

About You

We encourage applications from individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. You should demonstrate:

Essential Criteria:

• Deep sector expertise and understanding - including an understanding of the major issues facing HE both now and, in the future, and the approaches taken by other providers
• A planning professional with experience of leading the development of strategies and/or plans across multiple dimensions: such as students, research, costs, services
• Experience in a senior line role, with accountability for delivering major projects and/ or complex operating plans
• Experienced in stakeholder management including up to Vice-Chancellor and Board level and prepared to act as “critical friend” at this level. Able to shape strategic discussion for a senior audience
• A recognised and confident leader and relationship builder: actively prepared to guide, intervene, challenge and promote best practice solutions that will improve the University through visibility and personal impact, rather than via correspondence

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge of key datasets related to planning in Higher Education
• Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques
• Sector specific experience and associated subject matter expertise
• Line management experience

We value transferable skills and real-world experience as much as formal qualifications.

Our benefits include:

• Generous employer contribution pension
• 29 days annual leave plus bank holidays, along with Christmas closure
• Ride to work and EV car scheme available

For more information, please see University of Manchester Benefits. You can also find information on our Flexible and Hybrid working here.

We are an open place of enquiry and challenge. We embrace and celebrate difference, diversity and debate, and we pride ourselves on being a place of education, learning and community where we are able, within the law, to question and test received wisdom, express new ideas and explore controversial or unpopular topics and opinions. Find out more from our Freedom of Speech Policy.

Enquiries about the role, shortlisting and interviews

Name: Lewis Burne

Email Address: [e-mail]

General enquiries and administrative support

[e-mail]

Technical and job portal support

https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home

Applications close at midnight on the closing date.

Further particulars (with person specification) linked below.