Workforce Strategy and Planning Manager

NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board; Kettering; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board is seeking a Workforce Strategy and Planning Manager to lead workforce strategy, planning, transformation and analytics across the LNR Cluster. You will develop workforce plans, coordinate data modelling and translate insights for commissioning decisions and service change.

The role involves working with NHS providers, local authorities and system partners, presenting findings to senior boards, and driving national policy alignment.

Job description

NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board

Workforce Strategy and Planning Manager

The closing date is 17 November 2026

The Workforce Strategy and Planning Manager will play a key leadership role in supporting workforce strategy, planning, transformation and analytics across the Leicestershire Northamptonshire and Rutland (LNR) Integrated Care Board Cluster. The post holder will lead the development of workforce plans, coordinate complex workforce data and modelling activities, and provide strategic intelligence to inform commissioning decisions and service transformation.

Working closely with NHS providers, local authorities, NHS England and other system partners, the role will support the delivery of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, operational planning requirements and workforce transformation programmes. The post holder will be responsible for translating complex workforce data into meaningful insights, identifying workforce risks and opportunities, and supporting future demand and capacity planning across health and care services.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong strategic thinking, workforce planning expertise, data analysis and modelling capability, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders across organisational boundaries. They will also lead workforce-related projects, present findings to senior boards and committees, and contribute to policy development and service improvement initiatives across the cluster.

Main duties of the job

The Workforce Strategy and Planning Manager will:

• Lead, coordinate and draw together multiple workforce data, insights and transformation work streams, manage complex programmes and projects to a high degree of autonomy.
• Support transformation workstreams across the LNR cluster with workforce planning, data, or analytical support is needed.
• Use data to drive and support ICB Teams with Strategic Commissioning, for example neighborhood teams across the cluster on the three shifts for the future NHS on workforce requirements. Sickness to prevention, hospital to community and analog to digital.
• Work with a range of colleagues across the LNR Cluster to coordinate the data that underpins the delivery of the workstreams' activity.
• Undertake complex forward planning analysis/modelling of workforce data to identify risk and gaps aligned to future service plans and problem solve considering these specifically during the commissioning cycle process.
• Convert data into insights, intelligence and information for a range of audiences and stakeholders presenting workforce information at relevant LNR Cluster (and other) committees and boards.
• Support the planning, delivery, implementation and evaluation of a range of identified projects that will impact across the LNR system in line with LNR People Plans.
• Lead workforce annual operational planning process and lead the development of cluster workforce plans in line to national guidance.

About us

Working for our Integrated Care Boards will require you contributing to a shared purpose of improving outcomes for the communities we serve as part of a wider health and social care system. The organisation's ethos is rooted in integrity, collaboration and accountability, with a strong focus on putting its patient population at the centre of everything it does and delivering services to improve patient outcomes, patient experience and added years of optimised health. As part of the newly formed cluster bringing together NHS Northamptonshire ICB and NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB, staff are expected to work flexibly and collaboratively across organisational boundaries to support a joined-up approach to strategic commissioning and service improvement. There is an expectation of 40% on patch working, with office bases at County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester and Haylock House, Kettering. Staff can choose which office is their primary base for contractual purposes and travel claims.

This role will require a minimum of 2 days 'on patch' working in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland in our 2 main offices or partner sites

Job responsibilities

• Support delivery of the NHS Strategic Commissioning Framework and LNR Operating Model.
• To be responsible and accountable for co-ordinating strategic workforce planning across organisational boundaries within the Cluster.
• To undertake highly complex forward planning analysis/modelling of workforce data to identify risk and gaps aligned to future service plans and problem solve considering these particularly around neighbourhood models and the hospital community programs.
• Explore, recommend and be influential in finding solutions to workforce demand and capacity issues.
• To co-ordinate and contribute to a LNR cluster wide completion of the yearly training commissioning numbers Education Training Activity Plan( ETAP , analysing and projecting future placement capacity to influence decision making.
• To proactively seek out and use national policy, guidelines and workforce planning agendas to inform solutions recommended through the planning process actively seeking national best practice and developing local models for new role development.
• To lead on collating and managing one central workforce data repository across the ICN and maintain timeliness and accuracy.

Person Specification

Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Educated to master's level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area
• Extensive experience of workforce planning and organisational development within an NHS system leadership environment, including experience at ICB level in delivering workforce transformation and change programmes
• Experience of NHS strategic workforce planning
• Evidence of post qualifying continuing professional development
• Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on engagement
• Should have an appreciation of the relationship between the Department of Health, NHS England and individual provider and commissioning organisations
• Strong understanding of workforce development in healthcare to include workforce transformation approaches, education development and commissioning
• Member of a relevant professional body.

Communication Skills

• Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive, or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Negotiate on difficult and controversial issues including performance and change
• Experience of engaging stakeholders in projects / workstreams across organizational boundaries

Analytical

• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
• Experience of interpreting and analysing large datasets of workforce information
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options
• Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action
• Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise

Planning Skills

• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium, and long - term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly
• Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and tools such as Prince 2 and Managing Successful Projects

Autonomy

• Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to Sponsor/ Manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance to policies
• Ability to make decisions autonomously on difficult issues, , when required, working to tight and often changing timescales
• Experience of identifying and interpreting National policy
• Experience of researching best practice (globally, private, and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform (advising on policy implementation)

Management Skills

• Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others
• Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals
• Skills for managing relationships with a range of different stakeholders

Physical Skills

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills

Equality and Diversity

• Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of dayto-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems in the area.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board