Adaptive Planning Manager

We’re 1st Central, a market-leading insurance company utilising smart data and technology at pace. Rapid growth has been based on giving our 1.4 million customers exactly what they want: great value insurance with an excellent service. And that’s the same for our colleagues too; we won Insurance Employer of the Year at the British Insurance Awards 2024 and our Glassdoor score is pretty mega too!

Ready to shape the future of financial planning at 1st Central? We’re on the lookout for a strategic and hands-on Workday Adaptive Planning Functional Manager to take ownership of our Adaptive Planning platform. In this key role, you’ll be the vital link between Finance and the wider business, ensuring our planning systems not only meet today’s needs but evolve to support tomorrow’s ambitions.

If you’re passionate about financial systems, love turning complexity into clarity, and want to make a tangible impact across a vibrant business, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re big on flexible working – most of your time will be spent working from home, with just one day a week in the office at Haywards Heath, West Sussex, so you can enjoy the benefits of collaboration without losing the comfort of home. Prefer being in the office more often? That works for us too.

We also have a vibrant office in Salford Quays, Manchester, so if that’s a better fit for you, you’re more than welcome to base yourself there instead. And we’re open to remote working as well – all we ask is that you’re able to come into the Haywards Heath office at least once a month, so you can stay connected and keep those all-important face-to-face moments going.

Skills you’ll have that will make you a great fit:

• Workday Adaptive Planning Expertise – you\’ve got hands-on experience configuring, managing, and improving Workday Adaptive Planning, including building models for budgeting, forecasting, workforce planning, and scenario modelling.
• Financial & Analytical Acumen – you understand financial modelling and enterprise budgeting processes inside out, and you\’re confident translating business needs into smart, system-based solutions.
• Stakeholder Management & Communication – you know how to build strong relationships across Finance, FP&A, and the wider business, and you\’re great at bringing people with you on a journey of change.
• Change Management – you\’ve successfully led system implementations, upgrades, and continuous improvement projects—and you know how to drive adoption and maximise value from planning tools.

What’s involved:

• Responsible for creating and delivering the Workday Adaptive Planning roadmap, including new feature implementation, system enhancements, and long-term scalability initiatives.
• Collaborate with Finance, FPA, and cross-functional teams to gather business requirements and translate them into system solutions.
• Responsible for designing, configuring, and supporting Adaptive Planning models for budgeting, forecasting, workforce planning, and scenario modelling.
• Lead system upgrades, integrations, and testing cycles in alignment with roadmap milestones and business priorities.
• Evaluate evolving business needs and emerging technologies to proactively shape Adaptive Planning capabilities.
• Develop user training, documentation, and change management strategies to drive adoption and maximise ROI.
• Monitor data quality, system performance, and address support issues with urgency.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for Workday Adaptive, engaging in Workday community and customer to build a network of resources.
• Conduct colleague management duties including, Manage, mentoring and support development of colleagues to maximise their experience and learning; delivering coaching and feedback to direct reports to achieve KPI’s and SLAs, and conducting regular performance reviews, including probationary reviews and annual appraisals as necessary; Assist the recruitment process where necessary.
• Comply with the requirements, and act in accordance with, the Group Code of Conduct and Fitness and Propriety policies at all times
• Ensure compliance with Company Policies, Values and guidelines and other relevant standards/ regulations at all times,

Experience, knowledge, skills & qualifications:

• Extensive experience in Finance, Accounting, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of finance processes and terminology, with proven expertise in financial modelling, enterprise budgeting, and planning cycles.
• Significant experience with Workday Adaptive Planning, including configuration, management, implementation and post-go-live support.
• Familiar with the broader Workday ecosystem (e.g., HCM, Financials) and integration touchpoints.
• Experience defining and executing system/product roadmaps in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Proven track record of successful system implementations and facilitating business change, including process definition, re-engineering, and service/product development.
• Skilled in selecting and applying a range of business analysis and elicitation techniques, such as interviews, workshops, prototyping, task analysis, and documentation reviews.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a focus on data-driven process improvement.
• Knowledge of structured yet agile approaches to analysis and change delivery.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong workshop and meeting facilitation experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft applications, particularly Excel.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and think clearly in challenging situations.
• Background in insurance or financial services preferred, though other sectors will be considered.

Behaviours

• Empathetic, collaborative, and able to build strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Commercially focused, results-driven, and committed to driving business improvements.
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and able to take initiative when making decisions.
• Organised, proactive, and able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Flexible and adaptable, with a positive attitude.
• High attention to detail and accuracy in all work.

If you’re ready to take the lead on shaping the future of our planning platform and want to be part of a business where your ideas and expertise will truly make a difference, then we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and join us at 1st Central – bringing clarity to complexity, driving innovation across our finance systems, and helping power smarter decisions—today and for the future.

What can we do for you?

People first. Always. We’re passionate about our colleagues and know the best people deserve an extraordinary working environment. We owe it to them so that’s what we offer. Our workplaces are energetic, inspirational, supportive. To get a taste of the advantages you’ll enjoy, take a look at all our perks in full here .

Intrigued? Our Talent team can tell you everything you need to know about what we want and what we’re offering, so feel free to get in touch.

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