Planning Manager

Planning Manager

Permanent

Based in West London

Purpose of Role:

To ensure that the deployment of resources (people, processes, knowledge, and technology) is optimised across all offices to deliver outstanding results in line with the business goals and the measurable expectations of the Heads of Programme

Scope of Role:

The role has 3 key areas of focus requiring the role holder to have a:

12 months-out view - Ensuring that overall capacity supports the business plan, considering attrition and recruitment lead-times

3 months-out view - Ensuring recommendations for actions to deal with deviation from the business plans are made in time for implementation

1-2 weeks-out view - Ensuring that the available capacity is optimised to service the expected business volumes in the immediate future

Responsibilities:

Capacity - Overall Planning

Ensure that overall capacity is capable of delivering and supporting the expected volumes of enquiries, quotes, and bookings within the business plan. This will require the role holder to:

• Ensure the calendarised shrinkages are accurate and achievable
• Establish and review booking activity transaction times, highlighting difference between programmes to assist with target setting
• Ensure that attrition and replacement lead times are accurately forecast
• Define weekend capacity requirements for approval by the Head of Sales and Service (HoSS)
• Ensure that capacity planning is accurately balanced across the defined needs of country, region and office

Capacity - Ongoing Management

Provide the framework, guidance, and support to ensure that the existing capacity is being used to best effect, through:

• Setting decision guidelines for RSMs on holiday / Fams
• Co-ordination of the timing of product updates / supplier briefings/training across programmes to ensure the impact on capacity is carefully managed
• Impact assessment and guidance to aid decision-making by HoP / PM on the capacity impact of proposed marketing activity
• Responsible for compilation of shrinkages (sickness, training, etc) across all programmes; providing timely and immediate reporting to HoSS and management (including improvement recommendations)
• Development and delivery of capacity utilisation reports to HoSS and management. This should be used to pose and answer the questions: Are we making best use of the capacity that we have right now? What specific changes do we need to make to improve the use in the immediate future?
• Maintain a rolling 3-month view of the future to provide HoSS with early warning of trends or changes which require capacity impact decisions

Capacity - impact on process improvement

Ensure that best practice for utilising capacity is identified and the impact of changes assessed before implementation

• Through continuous measurement of changes in booking activity times provide recommendations for optimisation across all programmes (This will require process review and improvement activity)
• Key point of contact with Operations and IT for new change initiatives - Ensuring that full capacity impact assessment and testing completed before system changes are introduced
• Through analysis of actual capacity usage, provide actionable recommendations to HoSS for future improvement in terms of: Shrinkage Management / Process Improvement / Capacity Planning

Skill-set:

• Demonstrable experience of working in a matrix global arena
• Adept with interpretation and preparation of complex and varied data - particularly spreadsheet-based
• A clear understanding of the processes within a Travel Sales and Service operation
• Active listener, to interpret business requirements and understand concerns (technical and business)

Key competencies:

• Preparation and Planning
• Influencing
• Information Sharing
• Team Working - multi-site
• Results Orientation - the initiative to take ownership when others don't / can't

If you are interested in the role, please send your CV to Rachel.Hart@projectpeople.com. Suitable candidates will be contacted before shortlisting.

Project People is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.