Workforce Planning Consultant

Guardian Life; Bethlehem (Northampton County); Hybrid; USD 86,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life seeks a seasoned Workforce Planning Consultant to own and evolve workforce planning methodologies and governance. The role partners with senior leaders across Finance, HR, Operations, and Technology to translate workforce data into actionable recommendations that shape staffing decisions.

With 10+ years in workforce management and advanced analytics, you will lead complex scenario planning, influence investment decisions, and mentor the planning team while delivering

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or comparable experience in a relevant field.
• 10+ years of experience in workforce management, planning, analytics, or related discipline.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to translate data into executive recommendations.
• Experience advising senior leaders and influencing decisions.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve workforce planning methodologies, standards, assumptions, and governance.
• Lead complex scenarios and modeling for demand, staffing, capacity, and risk.
• Develop executive-ready workforce recommendations with clear options and trade-offs.
• Act as strategic advisor translating insights into practical workforce strategies.
• Mentor analysts and strengthen team consultative capabilities.
• Partner with Finance and stakeholders to connect plans with budgets and long-range plans.
• Lead initiatives from problem definition to implementation and review.

Skills

Workforce planning

Data analysis

Scenario modeling

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Mentoring

Forecasting

Financial acumen

Excel

PowerPoint

Verint/Tableau

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, finance, mathematics, statistics, data science, analytics, or related field

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Verint

Tableau

Job description

Hybrid - In office 3 days per week

Bethlehem

New York

Boston

Holmdel

Full time

Is the opportunity to join a culture where “We Do the Right Thing,” and “We Courageously Shape Our Future Together” important to you? If so, Guardian is seeking a motivated individual to join our team as a Workforce Planning Consultant.

This role will report to the Head of Workforce Management, Group Benefits and serve as a strategic workforce planning consultant, trusted advisor, and subject-matter expert. You will own and evolve workforce planning methodologies, lead complex scenario planning, and translate workforce data into executive-ready recommendations that influence staffing decisions.

You will be a partner with business leaders, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Technology, and other stakeholders to evaluate workforce risks, challenge assumptions, and develop practical workforce strategies aligned with financial, operational, customer, and colleague objectives. Working with significant autonomy, you will lead specialized initiatives, create customized solutions to complex workforce challenges, and strengthen workforce planning capability through mentorship and knowledge transfer.

You will

• Own and evolve workforce planning methodologies, standards, assumptions, and governance to support consistent, transparent, and defensible workforce decisions.
• Lead complex workforce planning and scenario modeling efforts that evaluate demand, productivity, shrinkage, staffing, capacity, service, and operational risk.
• Develop executive-ready workforce recommendations that clearly communicate alternatives, trade-offs, risks, and a recommended course of action.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior business leaders by translating workforce insights into practical strategies aligned with business priorities and operating commitments.
• Challenge workforce assumptions and established approaches when business conditions, emerging risks, or opportunities require a different solution.
• Evaluate strategic staffing alternatives, including hiring, cross-training, vendor, channel, skill, productivity, and operating-model scenarios.
• Influence workforce investment and resource decisions through objective analysis, consultative partnership, and clear articulation of business impact.
• Identify emerging workforce risks and opportunities, recommend mitigation strategies, and provide decision support during periods of material business change or uncertainty.
• Partner with Finance and business stakeholders to connect workforce plans with budgets, forecasts, productivity commitments, headcount strategies, and long-range business plans.
• Lead complex or specialized workforce initiatives from problem definition through recommendation, stakeholder alignment, implementation support, and outcome review.
• Mentor workforce planning talent by providing technical guidance, sharing best practices, and strengthening consultative and analytical capabilities across the team.
• Communicate difficult concepts and recommendations to diverse audiences, adapting the message to build understanding, alignment, and action.

You have

• Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, mathematics, statistics, data science, analytics, or a related field, or comparable professional experience.
• 10+ years of experience in workforce management, workforce planning, capacity planning, workforce analytics, or a related discipline, with demonstrated ownership of complex planning work and business recommendations.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to synthesize incomplete or conflicting information and develop customized solutions.
• Experience advising senior leaders, challenging assumptions constructively, explaining trade-offs, and influencing decisions without formal authority.
• Exceptional written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills, including the judgment and discretion required for sensitive workforce discussions.
• Proven ability to translate complex quantitative analysis into clear executive narratives, recommendations, and decisions.
• Experience leading complex or specialized projects across multiple stakeholders in a matrixed organization.
• A self-directed, collaborative, and improvement-oriented mindset, with the ability to manage competing priorities and operate effectively with guidance only in the most complex situations.
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Specialized expertise in workforce forecasting, staffing and capacity modeling, scenario planning, productivity analysis, shrinkage, service-level dynamics, and workforce risk assessment in both back office and contact center environments.
• Demonstrated ability to design, adapt, and govern workforce planning methodologies rather than only apply established models.
• Strong business and financial acumen, with the ability to connect workforce decisions to service, cost, quality, customer, colleague, and operational outcomes.
• Expert proficiency with analytical and presentation tools such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; experience with workforce management, data visualization, forecasting, or modeling platforms such as Verint, Tableau, or comparable tools.
• Experience mentoring analysts or serving as a technical advisor and thought leader within a workforce planning or analytics function.

Location

• Hybrid - 3 days in office located in Hudson Yards, NYC; Holmdel NJ; Stamford CT; Bethlehem PA or Boston, MA. 2 days WFH.

Salary Range:

$86,210.00 - $141,635.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

At Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits . Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail] . Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools") to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers (http://%20https://www.guardianlife.com/careers) ). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues. Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. Additionally, Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via [e-mail] . Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here (https://assets