Director, Workforce Planning

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US); Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work flexibility

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is seeking a Workforce Planning Director to lead the enterprise planning cycle, partnering with Finance, People Analytics, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, Strategic Sourcing, and Digital & Technology.

The role covers long-range planning, budget, headcount forecasts, and workforce reporting across employees, contingents, vendor labor, and digital labor, with AI to enhance speed and scalability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred in I/O psychology or related field.
• 10+ years in workforce planning, people analytics, strategic finance, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise workforce planning cycle including long-range plan, budget, and forecasts.
• Develop planning assumptions, scenario models, and affordability guardrails with Finance.
• Collaborate with HRBPs and Functional Finance to reflect business context in workforce plans.
• Plan across all labor categories with consistent definitions, costs, and governance.
• Align extended workforce planning with vendor strategy and external capacity.
• Translate AI-enabled redesigns and digital labor models into plans and scenarios.
• Drive automation and reporting improvements of workforce planning processes.
• Connect workforce demand to hiring plans and recruitment capacity.
• Create dashboards and insights with People Analytics for leadership decision support.

Skills

Finance metrics

Data analytics

Stakeholder partnership

AI tooling

Workforce planning

Labor economics

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree in I/O psychology or related field

Tools

Power BI

Python/R (statistics)

AI/ML tools

Job description

General Summary

The Workforce Planning Director will lead Vertex’s enterprise workforce planning cycle, partnering with Strategic Finance, People Analytics, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, Strategic Sourcing, and Digital & Technology on the long‑range plan (LRP), annual budget, headcount forecasts, and workforce reporting. The role plans across internal, external, and digital labor, giving Vertex a consistent view of workforce demand, supply, capacity, cost, and mix. The Director will build the planning routines, models, and decision support needed to understand capacity, affordability, risk, and workforce mix across employees, contingent workers, vendor labor, and digital labor, and is expected to incorporate AI to improve speed, quality, and scalability of workforce planning.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead Vertex’s enterprise workforce planning cycle, including the long‑range plan (LRP), annual budget, position management, and monthly and quarterly forecasts.
• Partner with Finance to develop planning assumptions, scenario models, affordability guardrails, and enterprise standards for executive decision‑making.
• Partner with HRBPs and Functional Finance to deeply understand business context, pressure‑test planning assumptions, and ensure workforce plans and processes reflect what is happening in the business.
• Plan across all labor categories—including employees, contingent workers, vendor labor, and digital labor—with consistent definitions, cost treatment, and governance.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing to align extended workforce planning with vendor strategy, contingent labor management, external capacity, and total cost of labor.
• Translate AI‑enabled work redesign, productivity assumptions, and digital labor models into workforce plans, capacity models, and planning scenarios.
• Drive automation, standardization, and continuous improvement of workforce planning processes and reporting incorporating AI where applicable.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition and HRBPs to connect workforce demand to hiring plans, recruiting capacity, pipeline priorities, internal mobility, build/buy/borrow decisions, and workforce risk management.
• Partner with People Analytics to build dashboards, reporting, and insights that give leaders a consistent view of workforce trends and planning choices.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong fluency in the financial mechanics of workforce planning, including total cost of labor, position management, and budget and long‑range planning cycles.
• Strong data and analytics skills, including statistical methods, scenario modeling, and the ability to connect workforce data to business dynamics, operating realities, and decisions.
• Proven ability to partner across functions and business leadership to translate workforce insights into enterprise decisions.
• Practical fluency using AI tools to improve analytical work, automate repeatable tasks, synthesize complex information, quality‑check outputs, and strengthen decision support.
• Ability to translate workforce plans into staffing, organization, capacity, and labor‑mix decisions with senior business leaders.
• Planning exposure across labor categories, including employees, contingent workforce programs, vendor capacity, and early models for digital labor.
• Experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or science‑driven industry.

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree plus an advanced degree in industrial‑organizational (I/O) psychology or a related field (organizational behavior, labor economics, applied statistics) is strongly preferred. Typically requires 10 years of experience in workforce planning, people analytics, strategic finance, workforce strategy, or a related field, including responsibility for an enterprise planning process at scale or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Pay Range & Compensation

Pay Range: $0 - $0 (range provided is a reasonable estimate for the base salary at the time of posting). The role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards, and may also be eligible for overtime pay per federal and state requirements. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, paid time off, educational assistance, commuting subsidy, 401(k), and additional resources to support growth and aspirations.

Flex Eligibility

The role is Hybrid‑Eligible or On‑Site Eligible, allowing flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week or five days on‑site with ad‑hoc flexibility. The Flex status is subject to Vertex’s policy and may change at any time.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non‑discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person’s race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E‑Verify Employer in the United States.

Accessibility

Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law. Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position should contact Talent Acquisition at [e-mail].