Workforce Planning Lead in Birmingham

The West Midlands Combined Authority is working to become the best place to work and belong, creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and able to contribute their best. To deliver our ambitions for the region, we need to understand the workforce we have today, the capability we will need tomorrow, and how we make proactive, evidence-led decisions about people, skills, affordability and organisational design.

As Workforce Planning Lead, you will help WMCA build that capability. This role will lead the development and embedding of strategic workforce planning across the organisation, using workforce intelligence, analytics and scenario planning to help senior leaders anticipate future capacity, capability and affordability needs. Your work will help connect people insight with organisational strategy, transformation and financial planning, making sure workforce decisions are joined up, sustainable and focused on delivering meaningful results for the West Midlands.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead the development and embedding of strategic workforce planning across WMCA, acting as the organisation’s senior specialist and establishing workforce planning as a core leadership discipline.
• Develop organisation-wide workforce planning frameworks covering forecasting, scenario planning, skills and capability analysis, succession planning, workforce risk assessment and establishment planning.
• Translate organisational strategy, service demand and workforce intelligence into a three-to-five-year workforce strategy, providing evidence-based recommendations on future workforce requirements, sustainability, capability and risk.
• Lead strategic workforce insight, modelling and analytics, using workforce data to identify organisational risks, future capability and resource gaps, financial opportunities and workforce sustainability issues, supported by effective dashboards, reporting and benchmarking.
• Provide strategic advice, challenge and workforce planning expertise to senior leaders, governance forums, directorate planning cycles, organisational design activity and transformation programmes, influencing organisational decisions through evidence-based workforce insight.
• Build strong relationships and work collaboratively across People & Culture, Talent Acquisition, Reward, OD, Inclusion, Finance, PMO and other specialist teams, including providing workforce affordability and investment insight in partnership with Finance.
• Develop the governance, capability and culture required for proactive, data-led workforce decision-making, building external networks and promoting continuous improvement, innovation, knowledge sharing and best practice across workforce planning and People & Culture.

What’s essential:

• Significant experience in a strategic workforce planning, OD or organisational planning role within a complex organisation.
• Advanced capability in workforce modelling, forecasting and scenario planning.
• Experience leading strategic workforce analytics, workforce insight or organisational planning activity.
• Strong understanding of workforce planning strategy and approaches.
• Ability to use people data and insight to inform decisions and drive improvement.
• Experience influencing senior leaders and shaping people responses to business challenges through an evidence-based approach.
• Evidence of supporting workforce planning in organisational change.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional input from HR and wider specialist teams, such as People Partnering, Reward, OD, Inclusion and Transformation.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent.

Location: The location for this role is 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, B19 3SD with 2 days a week spent in the office.

Salary and benefits:

We advertise salary ranges, with new appointments typically starting at the lowest salary point. In exceptional cases, the salary point may be adjusted to secure the best candidate. This approach allows for potential year-on-year salary increases, offering progression and appropriate rewards to employees. Requests for salaries above the maximum advertised range will not be considered.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Local Government Pension Scheme (one of the most generous pension schemes in the UK).
• Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme where you can build an additional pot of money alongside your pension with contributions exempt from Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).
• 28 days paid annual leave (with an option to purchase more) + Statutory days.
• EV car benefit scheme.
• Healthcare plans.
• Discounted gym membership, will writing, and mortgage advice.
• An option to buy a bicycle, including e-bikes and adapted pedal cycles, at a discounted rate.
• 3 days of paid leave each year to volunteer.
• Interest-free financing through SmartTech to buy the latest technology.
• Discounted shopping with over 2,000 big-name retailers, and more.
• You can now also obtain a Costco membership through the WMCA.
• Boundless unlocks unlimited entry to top-rated UK attractions and loads of extra benefits and discounts.
• EyeCare Scheme, offering a free eye test and a financial contribution towards your glasses.

Why join WMCA?

WMCA is laser-focused on improving the West Midlands, bringing economic growth, jobs, homes, and better journeys to the region. We target local needs where it matters most, ensuring everyone has a job that pays well and has access to safe and affordable places they can call home.

We put people and place at the heart of everything we do, working hand in hand with our partners to direct funding where it's needed most. What you do, really matters. Your expertise will help make a big difference, improving people's lives, every day.

Our Values and Behaviours:

• Collaborative - We work as one organisation. Together we build trust, connection and shared purpose across teams, partners and residents to create the biggest impact for our region.
• Driven - We are focused on outcomes. We perform at our best to unlock productivity and delivery, achieving the greatest regional impact.
• Inclusive - We value difference. Creating an environment where people belong, and feel psychologically safe, so we can all thrive and shape a West Midlands built for everyone.
• Innovative - We are courageous. We embrace new ideas and challenge the status quo to continuously improve and shape the future of the West Midlands.

Creating an inclusive workplace:

WMCA holds diversity accreditations, such as the RACE Code Quality Mark, Armed Forces Covenant (Gold status) and has been recognised as one of the Inclusive Top 50 Employers and The Times Top 50 Employers for Women. We’re a Disability Confident Employer with ‘Leader’ status, committed to interviewing applicants with disabilities who meet all the essential role criteria.

We are also proud to be a Ban the Box employer, which means we do not ask about criminal convictions at the initial application stage, and will only ask after an offer is made as part of our onboarding checks, which helps us remove barriers for people with past convictions and supporting fair opportunities for all.

We recognise that certain groups, such as women and people of colour, may be less likely to apply for roles if they feel they do not meet all the requirements. However, we encourage individuals who are passionate about the role and want to make a difference to still apply. We value potential and encourage applicants to highlight their skills, including transferable ones, even if they don't fit the traditional 'perfect candidate' mould.

We gladly consider part-time, flexible, and job share arrangements, so please don't let these factors deter you from applying.

Reasonable adjustments:

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the application or recruitment process, please get in touch with our Recruitment Team at careers@wmca.org.uk.

Right to Work in the UK:

Proof of Right to Work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed. Non-UK applicants (excluding Ireland) would be required to hold a relevant Visa from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).