Workforce Planning Lead - Customer Contact Centres

MARKS&SPENCER; Salford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Colleague discount

Bonus schemes

Pension scheme

Induction & training

Wellbeing support

Volunteer day

Virtual GP access

Job summary

Marks & Spencer is seeking a senior Workforce Planning leader to forecast demand, plan capacity, and manage resources across in-house and outsourced contact centres in the UK. You will drive recruitment, training and long-term capacity, while monitoring schedules, adherence, shrinkage and service performance to deliver outstanding customer service.

You will lead real-time delivery, adjust resources as required and provide insights to improve productivity and service levels, collaborating with

Qualifications

• Experience leading workforce planning, forecasting, scheduling or workforce management in a contact centre.
• Ability to produce and validate forecasts, capacity plans and resource models.
• Expertise in workforce management principles including forecasting, scheduling, shrinkage and service level performance.
• Experience managing real-time operational performance and analysing productivity metrics like AHT and contacts per hour.
• Excellent analytical, organisational and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead demand forecasting, capacity planning and resource management across in-house and outsourced contact centres.
• Create and improve workforce plans including recruitment, training and long-term capacity.
• Oversee scheduling, adherence, shrinkage and operational performance monitoring.
• Lead real-time service delivery, adjust resources as needed and provide data-driven insights.
• Plan and communicate activity sequencing and business continuity to ensure excellent service.

Skills

Forecasting

WFM

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Change leadership

Job description

What You Will Do

• Lead demand forecasting, capacity planning and resource management across in-house and outsourced contact centre operations, producing accurate forecasts aligned to agreed service levels and commercial arrangements.
• Create, maintain and continuously improve workforce plans, including recruitment, training and long-term capacity plans, whilst analysing forecast performance and leading in-year reforecasting activity where required.
• Oversee workforce management and scheduling processes, ensuring resources are planned effectively, schedules are optimised and adherence, shrinkage and operational performance are continuously monitored.
• Lead real-time service delivery, monitoring intra-day performance, making resource adjustments as required, measuring productivity and service levels, and providing data-driven insight to support performance management.
• Manage operational activity planning and business continuity, ensuring all activity impacting Customer Services is effectively sequenced, communicated and executed whilst maintaining excellent service delivery for customers.

Who You Will Be

• A highly analytical leader who can challenge data, assumptions and calculations to drive accurate forecasting and effective decision making.
• A proactive and organised planner who can balance short-term operational demands with long-term workforce and capacity strategies.
• An influential stakeholder manager, capable of working collaboratively across Customer Services, wider business functions and third-party partners.
• A confident communicator who can translate complex operational data into clear insight, recommendations and service delivery communications.
• A continuous improvement champion who is passionate about enhancing workforce planning processes, operational efficiency and customer outcomes.

What You Will Bring

• Proven experience leading workforce planning, forecasting, scheduling or workforce management functions within a customer service or contact centre environment.
• Strong experience producing and validating forecasts, capacity plans and resource models, with the ability to analyse forecast versus actual performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Expertise in workforce management principles, including forecasting, scheduling, resource planning, shrinkage management and service level performance.
• Experience managing real-time operational performance, analysing productivity metrics such as AHT and contacts per hour, and making informed adjustments to optimise service delivery.
• Excellent analytical, organisational and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to govern planning processes, manage operational activity plans and maintain robust business continuity arrangements.

What's in it for you:

Being a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.

• 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

Everyone's welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

Lead with purpose. Own the outcomes. Raise the bar. This is your store. And your chance to shape the future of M&S. Are you ready for it?