Job Description
People and Culture: Senior Strategic Workforce Planning & Analytics Lead
Band 10 £50,269 - £54,495
Location: County Hall, Morpeth (Hybrid Working Available)
Northumberland County Council is seeking an exceptional Senior Strategic Workforce Planning & Analytics Lead to shape the future of our workforce and ensure we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.
This is a rare opportunity to play a pivotal role in designing and delivering the council’s long term‑ workforce planning strategy. You will partner with senior leaders across the organisation, and deliver meaningful insights that drive strategic decisions, workforce design, and organisational resilience.
About the Role
As our strategic lead for workforce planning, you will:
* Develop and implement long term‑ workforce planning strategies aligned to council priorities.
* Use data-driven insight to forecast future workforce needs, identify talent gaps and propose innovative solutions.
* Lead the design, governance and delivery of job architecture, establishment control, and workforce planning frameworks.
* Partner with senior leaders, Finance, Strategic People & Culture Partners and Organisational Development colleagues to create integrated and future focused‑ workforce and succession plans.
* Ensure workforce planning, recruitment and data governance comply with employment legislation, organisational design principles, and ethical standards.
* Lead and mentor a team of workforce planning professionals, building capability and a high-performance‑ culture.
About You
You will bring:
* Extensive experience in strategic workforce planning and people analytics, ideally within a large or complex organisation.
* Proven ability to design and implement long-term workforce plans, talent pipelines‑ and succession planning approaches.
* Strong analytical capability, using data to inform decision-making and strategic workforce design.
* Experience managing job architecture, establishment control frameworks, or similar organisational design governance.
* The ability to influence, challenge and partner with senior leaders.
* A strategic mindset, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Why Join Us?
At NCC, you’ll be part of a forward- thinking‑ People & Culture function that plays a vital role in shaping services and strengthening our communities. We offer:
* A supportive environment for innovation and transformation.
* Attractive benefits including generous annual leave (starting at 26 days and rising to 31 after 5 years’ service)
* Local government pension scheme
* flexi scheme & agile working, leadership development, wellbeing support, and local government discount schemes.
* Ongoing professional development, including coaching
* Employee Wellbeing support for Mental and Physical Health
* Discounted gym membership.
If you want to play a leading role in shaping a resilient, agile and future ready workforce, we’d love to hear from you.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact michelle.pringle@northumberland.gov.uk who will set up an appointment with Claire Farnell, Head of People.
Deadline
Applications to be sent by midnight on 26th March 2026.
To apply please email an expression of interest and current CV to michelle.pringle@northumberland.gov.uk
Further Information
Applications for secondment or part-time working will be taken into consideration. For information about our Equality and Diversity principles, please see the attached guidance notes here.
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below. This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.