Workforce Planning Manager

Are you looking for an exciting challenge to take workforce planning at West Midlands Police to the next level?

West Midlands Police serves a population of almost 2.8million people. Our mission is simple – “Working in partnership, making communities safer”. We want to be recognised as a police service that is big enough to cope with everything that is asked of us, whilst showing we are small enough to care about the things that really matter to our communities.

As the Workforce Planning Manager you will be the workforce planning subject matter expert, leading the design of the strategy and workforce planning agenda, making sure that we are making the best use of our resources and skills. We are seeking a talented and innovative leader with a proven track record in workforce planning in a large, complex organisation. You will know how to embed best practice in workforce planning whilst being innovative in finding solutions to workforce challenges.

Our workforce planning team play a crucial role in optimising the use of our resources, ensuring that we have the right number of officers and staff, in the right places to make the communities of the West Midlands safer. The team is responsible for providing expert advice, guidance and support across all areas of the force in relation to HR data analysis, workforce optimisation, police officer postings and workforce governance.

The role will involve:

Being the force SME for workforce planning, leading the design of the strategy and workforce planning agenda to ensure delivery of force optimisation.
Managing the workforce planning team and processes.
Managing effective resourcing delivery and strategy, engaging with senior leaders to encourage and develop a proactive approach and outlook to workforce planning
Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of workforce planning initiatives and workforce governance to inform the commissioning of new interventions via workforce metrics and data

The post holder will be expected to work on their own initiative with strategic oversight from the Workforce Planning and Recruitment Strategic Lead.

Essential Requirements

Minimum 3 years experience of managing workforce planning within a large complex organisation
In depth knowledge of resourcing practices, workforce planning theory and application and their contribution to business success
Excellent communication skills both verbal and written with the ability to manage and partner with key stakeholders at all levels of an organisation.
Excellent report writing, presentation and business case skills
High level of awareness of diversity issues appropriate to this role
Working knowledge and experience of using reporting tools e.g. Business Objects, Discoverer, OTBI, Crystal reports, Qlik
Working knowledge of statistical approaches to analysing, forecasting and modelling data

Desirable Requirements

Previous experience of working within Policing or a Blue Light/ public sector organisation.
Experience in the design of resourcing initiatives at a strategic and operational level
Managing a team in the successful delivery of a People Strategy
Senior management in a values led organisation

Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Management Vetting and Counter Terrorism Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process.

Medical: Appointment to this role will be dependent upon successfully medical checks, which may include a drugs test and if required a fitness test.

Hours: 36.5

Contact: For further information contact Emilia Moxey on careers@westmidlands.police.uk

By choosing to join West Midlands Police you will receive an enhanced benefits package including:

- Fair remuneration with progression opportunities, and access to a very competitive pension scheme

- Enhanced annual leave in additional to public holiday entitlements

- Discounts across travel, parking, daily costs of living and leisure activities

- A comprehensive wellbeing package including 24/7 support, free eye tests and flu jabs

West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions.  As part of our commitment we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview. 

It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.

"Diversity and Inclusion Vision:  Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities"