Strategic Workforce Planning Lead

Department for Transport; Leeds; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A government department in the UK is looking for a Strategic Workforce Planning expert. You will lead the forecasting and planning of workforce needs and engage with various stakeholders to deliver insights that inform decisions. The role requires strong data interpretation and Excel skills, as well as experience in strategic planning. Additional benefits include generous leave, pension contributions, and career development opportunities.

Benefits

28.97% pension contribution

25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays

Access to staff discount portal

Career development opportunities

24-hour Employee Assistance Programme

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Strong workforce planning experience with forecasting and strategic planning.
• Ability to construct and communicate evidence-based insights from data.
• Proficient in digital tools, particularly advanced Excel capabilities.
• Experience in consulting and collaborating with diverse stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of HR data and people analytics.

Responsibilities

• Lead workforce demand planning to forecast future workforce needs.
• Report on in-year workforce trends and conduct quarterly reviews.
• Translate workforce demand into a strategic workforce plan.
• Drive workforce planning for the Places for Growth programme.
• Utilize data to identify workforce trends and issues.

Skills

Data interpretation

Digital proficiency in Excel

Planning and organization

Relationship building

Strategic workforce planning

Education

CIPD qualification (or willingness to work towards it)

Job description

It’s an exciting time to join the Department for Transport’s Strategic Workforce Planning team. This is a high-profile role that sits at the centre of bringing together a wide range of insights that shape both our current and future workforce plans. You’ll help craft the narrative that enables senior leaders to understand the changes needed to ensure we have the right workforce capacity and capability, and the part they play in achieving it. We’re looking for someone with strong workforce planning experience, ranging from in-year forecasting and reporting to longer-term strategic planning. Strong numeracy and technical modelling skills are essential, but equally important is your ability to turn data into clear, compelling insight that informs decisions and drives action. You’ll also enjoy working collaboratively and building strong relationships, as this role involves frequent engagement with stakeholders at all levels across the organisation.

Top Responsibilities

• Leading on the development and evolution of workforce demand planning practices to forecast the size and shape of the Department's future workforce demand (grade, profession, directorate, etc).
• Leading on the reporting of in-year workforce trends and the delivery of quarterly workforce reviews and annual workforce business planning with senior stakeholders.
• Engaging with the Strategic Resourcing team and other HR colleagues to translate the workforce demand plan into a strategic workforce plan, including guidance on appropriate balances of build/buy or other options.
• Leading on workforce planning activity relating to the Department's Places for Growth programme of work, re-balancing more of our workforce from London to outside of London.
• Using internal and external data to understand trends and build insights in relation to the workforce to tell our workforce 'story' and to identify and bring to life workforce risks and issues.

Required Experience and Skills

• Using data and evidence to make decisions and influence – interpreting data to create and present evidence‑based insight and using data to highlight trends and inform planning, including undertaking workforce data modelling and scenario planning.
• Digital proficiency – effectively using advanced digital capabilities of Excel.
• Planning and problem solving – making decisions using own initiative, with good planning and organisation skills, and strong problem‑solving ability when working with multiple stakeholders.
• Building and managing relationships and partnerships – consulting and collaborating with key stakeholders, including experience of building effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of strategic workforce planning principles, people analytics, HR data and MI.

Qualification

If you do not already hold the following qualification, then you must be willing to work towards it once in role: Full or part‑qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or willingness to work towards this.

Benefits

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.