Job title: Workforce Planning Officer
Salary: C3 £32,061- £33,699
Hours: 37
Contract: Permanent
Location: Hybrid – Merrion House / Home
As a WPO you will thrive on working in a busy and challenging department supporting the delivery of excellent customer service. You will manage daily workloads across all channels ensuring you provide a responsive and efficient service to customers and partners.
You will plan activities, review progress and develop ideas to improve the scheduling process and procedures which help Customer Services to meet performance targets.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our and ambitions.
About you
As a Workforce Planning Officer, you will bring to the role:
1. The ability to prioritise tasks to meet competing deadlines, highlighting any emerging issues to managers.
2. The ability to make decisions in a fast paced environment that lead to positive outcomes
3. The ability to analyse and interpret service and performance data across the organisation
4. The ability to allocate and co-ordinate workloads to meet performance targets across Customer Services.
About the role
As a WPO you will support the Contact Centre ensuring you have the right people, with the right skills in the right place, at the right time.
The contact centre is responsible for providing front line customer service to the citizens of Leeds for a variety of services, for example Housing, Council Tax, Highways, Refuse and Social Care.
As our next Workforce Planning Officer, you’ll be integral to providing work plans that ensure we are meeting the needs of all our customers, especially those with vulnerabilities.
What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
5. a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
6. membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
7. flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
8. a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
9. a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further
How to apply
Please complete the online application form. We do not accept CV’s
Read our guidancefor further advice on completing your application.
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.
Job Description
Job purpose
Manage daily workloads across all channels ensuring we provide a responsive and efficient service to customers and partners.
Plan activities, review progress and develop ideas to improve the scheduling process and procedures which help Customer Services to meet performance targets.
Contribute to developing efficient resource models and initiatives that will improve the effectiveness of the service delivered by Customer Services.
Responsibilities
10. The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.
11. Accurately schedule activities eg 1-2-1’s, team meetings and training, against forecasted volumes to develop staff and maximise operational performance.
12. Produce timely and accurate information for scheduling to optimise the use of available resources, across all areas, and highlight areas of concern to senior managers, making recommendations for improvement.
13. Check holiday and flexitime availability against schedule and produce reports for senior managers.
14. Analyse real time performance data and work closely with senior managers and team leaders to highlight emerging issues, making recommendations to improve service delivery and meet performance objectives.
15. Contribute to initiatives to improve service delivery across Customer Services which can feed into recruitment campaigns to maintain appropriate staffing levels.
16. Participate in appraisal, training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills
17. Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and development programmes.
18. To work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.
19. Commitment to own personal development and learning
20. Be totally committed to excellent customer care and putting the customer at the heart of everything you do.
21. Be flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.
SKILLS
22. Ability to analyse and interpret service and performance data across the organisation.
23. Able to prioritise tasks to meet competing deadlines, highlighting any emerging issues to managers.
24. Ability to use a wide range of IT systems efficiently to complete a tasks effectively.
25. Able to make decisions in a fast paced environment that lead to positive outcomes.
26. Ability to demonstrate workforce planning functions to visitors and staff.
27. Able to produce written and verbal reports to help Team Leaders manage their teams to achieve results and develop staff.
28. Good analytical and numeric skills.
29. Ability to allocate and co-ordinate workloads to meet performance targets across Customer Access.
KNOWLEDGE
30. Understanding for workforce planning functions and technologies.
31. Understanding of contact centre telephony platforms and call delivery.
32. Understanding of operational and performance goals, targets and plans to meet corporate strategy.
33. Understanding of health and safety legislation and working conditions.
EXPERIENCE
34. Experience of working in a customer service environment.
35. Experience of developing and maintaining strong working relationships with colleagues and managers which build trust and lead to positive outcomes.
36. Experience of Microsoft Office, especially Excel.
BEHAVIOURAL AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS
37. Understand and embrace Leeds City Council values and behaviours and codes of conduct
38. Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities, and a resilient sustainable city
39. Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures
40. Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
41. Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills
42. Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality and diversity of Leeds City Council
43. Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
44. Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
45. The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters
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