Director, Capacity Planning & Operational Forecasting

Protective Life; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 101,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Protective Life seeks a Director, Capacity Planning & Operational Forecasting to lead enterprise planning, forecasting, and scenario modeling. You will partner with Operational Leadership to drive governance, alignment of capacity with budgets, and workforce optimization.

You’ll coach analysts, build Power BI dashboards, integrate data sources, and provide confidence in capacity decisions across multi-cycle planning. Strong communication and strategic influence are essential.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years in capacity planning, forecasting, or related fields.
• Forecasting methodologies, regression/driver based approaches, scenario planning.
• Ability to link trends to cost, capacity, and service performance.
• Willingness to experiment with AI-enabled analytics and automation.
• Experience partnering with Financial Analysts to align plans with budgets.
• Proficiency in Power BI for planning dashboards; SQL is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of short, medium, and long-range capacity plans with data-driven insights.
• Coordinate with Financial Analysts to align capacity plans with budgets and forecasts.
• Conduct variance analysis and recommend optimization strategies.
• Integrate planning data sources and reduce manual reconciliation.
• Build dashboards and visuals in Power BI for scenario analysis.
• Mentor forecasting analysts and establish team standards and governance.
• Partner with executives to influence capacity decisions and workforce strategy.

Skills

Capacity planning

Forecasting

Workforce planning

Operational analytics

Strategic planning

Forecasting methodologies

Communication

Leadership

Independent work

Ambiguity handling

Stakeholder influence

SQL knowledge

Tools

Power BI

SQL

Databricks

Azure

Job description

The work we do has an impact on millions of lives, and you can be a part of it. We help protect our customers against life’s uncertainties. Regardless of where you work within the company, you’ll be helping provide protection and peace of mind when our customers need it most. The Director, Capacity Planning & Operational Forecasting will lead the development, governance, and continuous improvement of enterprise level capacity planning models that ensure operational scalability, financial alignment, and workforce efficiency across the organization. This role provides strategic oversight of forecasting, long range planning, and scenario modeling, while acting as a key business partner to Operational Leadership. The Manager will directly lead and coach associates responsible for forecasting and capacity planning, ensuring rigor, consistency, and professional development within the function. This role will play a critical part in shaping planning strategy, integrating data sources, and delivering insights that guide investment decisions, vendor strategy, and workforce optimization.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and maintenance of short, medium, and long range capacity plans incorporating demand drivers, productivity assumptions, intake patterns, backlog levels, and operational constraints.
• Liaise with Financial Analysts to synchronize operational capacity plans with budgets, run rate expectations, and financial forecasts.
• Conduct variance analysis to identify drivers of over/under utilization and recommend mitigation and optimization strategies.

Data, Modeling & Insights

• Integrate and streamline planning data sources across systems, improving data quality and reducing manual reconciliation.
• Build and enhance planning dashboards and forecasting visuals using Power BI; leverage SQL as an asset for scenario analysis and validation.
• Support operational leaders with scenario modelling (e.g., volume shifts, staffing changes, productivity improvements, vendor allocation decisions).
• Monitor operational trends and capacity risks, providing clear narratives and recommended actions to leadership.
• Document planning methodologies, inputs, and governance processes to ensure consistency and repeatability.
• Contribute to automation and workflow tool integration that improves planning efficiency and forecasting accuracy.

People Leadership & Functional Ownership

• Lead, mentor, and develop forecasting & capacity planning analysts, providing coaching, prioritization guidance, and technical skill development.
• Establish team standards, quality controls, and repeatable processes to ensure forecasting accuracy and planning discipline.
• Represent the Capacity Planning function in cross functional forums, influencing executive stakeholders and advocating for planning needs.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning methodologies, including adoption of advanced modeling techniques, automation, and tool enhancements.

Strategic Influence & Stakeholder Partnership

• Advise leaders on the operational and financial impacts of strategic initiatives, sales growth targets, and vendor strategy.
• Partner with senior leaders to support time-sensitive business decisions, providing rapid capacity insights during short planning windows or emerging operational needs.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to Operational Leadership on workforce optimization, service level implications, and long term labor strategy.

Required Qualifications

• 7-10 years of experience in capacity planning, forecasting, workforce planning, operational analytics, or strategic planning.
• Strong understanding of forecasting methodologies (workload to FTE modeling, regression/driver based forecasting, scenario planning).
• Demonstrated ability to interpret operational trends and link impacts to cost, capacity, and service performance.
• Demonstrate a willingness to experiment with emerging technologies (e.g., AI-enabled analytics, automation, and planning tools) to enhance forecasting accuracy, speed to insight, and decision support.
• Experience partnering with Financial Analysts to align operational plans with budgets and forecasts.
• Proficiency in Power BI for planning dashboards and analytics; SQL knowledge is an asset.
• Strong analytical problem solving skills and ability to work across complex datasets.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder influence skills, including development of executive ready narratives.
• Ability to operate independently, manage ambiguity, and lead multi cycle planning processes.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience (formal or informal), including coaching, mentorship, or leading through influence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with NICE, Verint, or other workforce management/workflow tools.
• Familiarity with planning in multi day back office environments or vendor supported operations.
• Exposure to Databricks, Azure, or cloud analytics platforms.
• Knowledge of financial modeling concepts (volume to cost translation, budget alignment, run rate analysis).
• Background supporting digital enablement, automation initiatives, or planning system integrations.

Employee Benefits

We aim to protect the wellbeing of our employees and their families with a broad benefits offering. In addition to offering comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance, we support emotional wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. Work/life balance is important and Protective offers a variety of paid time away benefits (e.g., paid time off, paid parental leave, short-term disability, and a cultural observance day). The financial health of our employees is just as important as physical and emotional health. Some of the financial wellbeing benefits include contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective’s platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.

Eligibility for certain benefits may vary by position in accordance with the terms of the Company’s benefit plans.

Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability

If you require an accommodation to complete the application and recruitment process due to a disability, please email [e-mail]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application and recruitment process. Please note that the above email is solely for individuals with disabilities requesting an accommodation. General employment questions should not be sent through this process.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to being inclusive and attracting, retaining, and growing an inclusive workforce.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Protective’s targeted salary range for this position is $101,000 to $125,000. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors, including but not limited to, job location, skills, and experience. The range listed is just one component of Protective’s total compensation package for employees.

This position also offers additional incentive opportunities through an annual incentive based on individual and Company performance.