Strategic Resourcing Strategic Workforce Planning Lead

Government Recruitment Service; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

Government Recruitment Service is seeking a Strategic Resourcing Strategic Workforce Planning Lead to guide the Department for Work and Pensions' long-term workforce strategy, including contingent labour policy, and ensure delivery of high-quality, compliant resourcing across the department.

You will lead a cross-government stakeholder network, maintain a rolling five-year plan, and align strategic and in-year planning while driving governance, assurance and best practice in workforce planning.

Qualifications

• Lead the development and maintenance of a rolling five-year Strategic Workforce Plan.
• Align strategic and in-year workforce planning with departmental priorities.
• Develop and maintain Contingent Labour policy and procedures.
• Work with stakeholders to translate strategy into workforce actions.
• Ensure policy compliance with legislation and Civil Service requirements.
• Coordinate governance and assurance activity with the People Board and Cabinet Office.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, methodology and approach to Strategic Workforce Plan development for DWP. Maintaining a rolling five-year Strategic Workforce Plan, you will proactively interpret emerging departmental strategy, workforce transformation and operating model changes, articulating the workforce implications and developing the strategic narrative relating to the current and future workforce.
• Work closely with the Workforce Planning Lead to ensure alignment between strategic and in-year workforce planning activity, creating a joined-up approach to workforce planning across DWP and ensuring workforce decisions support both immediate business priorities and longer-term workforce requirements.
• Lead the development and maintenance of DWP's Contingent Labour strategy, acting as the departmental centre of expertise for Contingent Labour policy and procedures, ensuring arrangements remain compliant, effective and aligned to business needs.
• Work collaboratively across DWP to take a lead workforce role in key fiscal events, including Spending Reviews and wider government planning exercises, working with colleagues to develop workforce narratives, assess workforce implications and support strategic decision-making.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across DWP in developing options and addressing people issues that support the delivery of wider departmental strategies affecting strategic resourcing, including estates strategy, ensuring workforce plans align with wider Civil Service initiatives such as Places for Growth and Plan for London.
• Ensure DWP's strategic workforce planning and contingent labour policies and procedures are aligned with current legislation, fit for purpose and meet business requirements, providing strategic oversight for the development, maintenance, interpretation and application of policy across the Department.
• Coordinate key strategic workforce planning governance and assurance activity, including regular reporting to the Department's People Board and the Cabinet Office, helping promote effective governance, assurance and compliance across workforce planning activity.
• Build networks and draw on expertise and insights from across People and Place, the wider Civil Service and external organisations to identify best practice, champion innovation, test and evaluate new approaches, and make evidence-based decisions that continuously improve DWP's workforce planning and strategic resourcing practices.
• Take a lead role in building a high-performing and highly capable workforce planning community across the Department, ensuring business-embedded colleagues and wider People and Place roles (including HRBPs and Resource Account Managers) have the understanding, tools and capability required to undertake effective workforce planning and strategic workforce planning activity.
• Lead a high-performing team and empower them to deliver a challenging and varied portfolio of work, providing support, coaching and development opportunities that build capability and establish the team as recognised experts in workforce planning and strategic resourcing.

Job description

Strategic Resourcing Strategic Workforce Planning Lead

From the design and development of policies to the delivery of services supporting work, welfare, pensions and child maintenance, The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is Government’s largest department.

People are at the very heart of what we do. We provide services and support to more than 20 million people every year, ensuring disabled people can live more independent lives; help tackle poverty and homelessness; provide a financial foundation for a secure old age; and support families ensuring children can fulfil their potential.

In DWPwe areproud of the services we provide and arealready transforming ouroperations to implement the largest welfare reform programme in a generation and toprovide better services for the public. Andwe’relearning and adapting all the time.

The Department’s position in driving economic outcomes is unique and will only be delivered through our people; enabledby a strong, employee-centric HR function.

The People and Place Group lead across DWP on all aspects of HR. We do this in support of an organisation that has c85k colleagues working across 980 sites. Our strong focus on team working, strategic influencing and developing professional capability ensures that people working in this function have plenty of opportunities to develop their own networks and career whilst making a real difference in delivering business strategy.

People and Place have 5 strategic priorities supporting the wider business strategy. One of those priorities is resourcing and rightsizing the organisation; ensuring we are delivering the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.

The Strategic Workforce Planning Team is one of the teams in Resourcing, Workforce Strategy and Reform and is central to the delivery of both our People and Resourcing Strategy. This high profile role leads on Strategic Workforce planning and Contingent Labour Policy for DWP. The role works closely with the short term Workforce Planning Lead to ensure alignment between strategic and tactical workforce planning activity.. We use our strategic resourcing expertise and insights drawn from across People and Place, wider Civil Service and external organisations to innovate, share best practice and make evidence-based continuous improvement in strategic resourcing.

The Strategic Workforce Planning Lead is responsible for working across DWP and with a wide range of stakeholders to enable DWP to have cutting edge frameworks and approaches to its strategic resourcing policies and procedures which are innovative, align with best practice and meet our legal and Civil Service Commission requirements.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the strategy, methodology and approach to Strategic Workforce Plan development for DWP. Maintaining a rolling five-year Strategic Workforce Plan, you will proactively interpret emerging departmental strategy, workforce transformation and operating model changes, articulating the workforce implications and developing the strategic narrative relating to the current and future workforce.
• Work closely with the Workforce Planning Lead to ensure alignment between strategic and in-year workforce planning activity, creating a joined-up approach to workforce planning across DWP and ensuring workforce decisions support both immediate business priorities and longer-term workforce requirements.
• Lead the development and maintenance of DWP's Contingent Labour strategy, acting as the departmental centre of expertise for Contingent Labour policy and procedures, ensuring arrangements remain compliant, effective and aligned to business needs.
• Work collaboratively across DWP to take a lead workforce role in key fiscal events, including Spending Reviews and wider government planning exercises, working with colleagues to develop workforce narratives, assess workforce implications and support strategic decision-making.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across DWP in developing options and addressing people issues that support the delivery of wider departmental strategies affecting strategic resourcing, including estates strategy, ensuring workforce plans align with wider Civil Service initiatives such as Places for Growth and Plan for London.
• Ensure DWP's strategic workforce planning and contingent labour policies and procedures are aligned with current legislation, fit for purpose and meet business requirements, providing strategic oversight for the development, maintenance, interpretation and application of policy across the Department.
• Coordinate key strategic workforce planning governance and assurance activity, including regular reporting to the Department's People Board and the Cabinet Office, helping promote effective governance, assurance and compliance across workforce planning activity.
• Build networks and draw on expertise and insights from across People and Place, the wider Civil Service and external organisations to identify best practice, champion innovation, test and evaluate new approaches, and make evidence-based decisions that continuously improve DWP's workforce planning and strategic resourcing practices.
• Take a lead role in building a high-performing and highly capable workforce planning community across the Department, ensuring business-embedded colleagues and wider People and Place roles (including HRBPs and Resource Account Managers) have the understanding, tools and capability required to undertake effective workforce planning and strategic workforce planning activity.
• Lead a high-performing team and empower them to deliver a challenging and varied portfolio of work, providing support, coaching and development opportunities that build capability and establish the team as recognised experts in workforce planning and strategic resourcing.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Company: Government Recruitment Service

Salary: £58,961 to £69,399 a year

Hours: Full-time

Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Job type: Permanent

Posting date: 5 Nov 2026

Closing date: 18 Nov 2026