Operational Planning & Forecast Manager

An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead the creation and development of a Resource Planning and Forecasting capability within one of the UK's leading utility companies.

The jobholder will have prime accountability for creating and implementing a sustainable Resource model that delivers across a number of platforms including cost, capacity and performance. They will have be responsible for developing and leading a team of Analysts that deliver accurate demand forecasts and resource requirements to a 1000+ fte multi site multi channel contact centre. They must have a proven track record in managing a Resource Planning Front and Back office operation ideally of similar size. This is a rare opportunity that provides the role holder with the opportunity to help build a World Class Planning function in a high profile business role.

To take lead on creation and regularly review and challenge of Resource Plans, ensuring alignment with the whole of Customer Services. Ensure appropriate input to the relevant business service areas. To be responsible to support development, maintenance, forecasting, scheduling, real-time management of operational resource and business plans, identify and analyse variance to plans. Develop options and scenarios including recommendations. The role holder will therefore be expected to work very closely with their peers i.e. the Management Information and Developers and Business Stakeholders to ensure departmental responsibilities are fully owned and delivered in an efficient and effective manner.

The principle accountabilities for this role will be split across forecast modelling/capacity planning/team management/workload management and cost. Please see below more detail around the areas you will be accountable for:

FORECAST MODELLING

Development and maintenance of accurate short, medium and long term forecast models for all areas of Residential Customer Accounts, telesales & correspondence.

• Business Planning and interface with key stakeholders and Finance and commercial teams.

• Continuous development and maintenance of the long, medium and short term forecast models for the Customer Accounts business areas.

• Update of forecast models on a monthly basis using the business monthly reforecast and quarterly planning processes.

• Ensure gap closure plans are developed and monitored, and changes escalated through feeder and IBM process.

• Delivery of timely and accurate recruitment requirements to the Recruitment and Training function to support medium term service level forecasts.

• Delivery of timely and accurate seating capacity requirements to inform business expansion, or change initiatives and to ensure consistency in staff to seat ratios across the estate both onshore and offshore.

• Service level impact analysis used to lead change and improvement in performance across the operational and planning functions.

• Analysis of trends/variances of key model drivers and shrinkages, informing the SMT with timely and accurate recommendations for change and updating models accordingly.

• Develop, monitor, maintain headcount/ FTE tracking against Operating model to establish scenarios for planning.

CAPACITY PLANNING

• Provide analysis on demand plan against service plan to identify variance and changes to plan.

• Define, develop implement and maintain resource model to establish scenarios and options for planning.

• Develop gap closure plans and reporting to monitor.

• Identify changes to plan including scenarios and recommendations via the IBM framework.

• Provide alignment between Demand and Service plans.

• Develop, monitor, maintain headcount/FTE tracking to identify variance and escalate for resolution.

• Establish daily, weekly monthly and quarterly reporting

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Manage staff to ensure company HR policies and procedures are consistently applied.

• Support and champion change through leadership to teams.

• Help develop and provide short, medium, long term strategic solutions engaging stakeholders.

• Propose and implement ways in which performance and development can be enhanced by coaching and mentoring.

• Day to day management of the intra-day management function optimising the use of available resources across the customer service organisation to deliver maximum service level performance, consistently across all functions.

• The manager is responsible for analysing training needs within the team and developing training plans to assure all staff achieve a competent level of performance.

WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT

Produce and analyse regular management information to support or inform business decision making and ensure KPI’s are met.

• Ensure the team understand all SLA's associated with work delivery and understand importance of meeting these to allow the business to function effectively

• Establish contingency measures to allow team and team members to absorb additional workload without impacting on SLA's and the operations ability to manage performance.

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Identify and respond to specific operational issues to ensure prompt resolution and prevent further and future escalation.

• Working closely with functional heads to continually assess and influence resource requirements against business plan.

• Establish, develop, amaintain and improve internal and external relationships to achieve the requirements of the role to deliver a consistent service.

• Responsible to build and maintain positive relationships with internal customers and to ensure that all issues/escalations are dealt with in an accurate and timely manner to agreed Service Level Agreement.

• Responsible for managing any queries from the Operations Support team regarding forecast modelling, scheduling and real-time execution and ensuring they are dealt with in a timely and competent manner.

COST

Manage and ensure cost to serve measures are managed and maintained across business area.

• To define and implement consistent tools to monitor, forecast and verify costs and services.

• Collating, maintaining and validating the Cost to model in line with financial requirements and demands

• Reconcile with Finance “Cost to” submissions against business plan numbers.

• Developing and working with operational managers to provide planning when required.

• To ensure provide reporting and analysis of data to develop scenario’s including recommendations.