Workforce Planning Manager - Patient Support Centres

Workforce Planning Manager - Patient Support Centres | FT | Perm | Remote| Salary DOE + Comprehensive benefits

We are one of the UK’s leading independent hospital groups and the largest in terms of revenue. From our 38 hospitals and 33 clinics, medical centres and consulting rooms across England, Wales, and Scotland, we provide diagnostics, inpatient, day case and outpatient care in areas including orthopaedics, gynaecology, cardiology, neurology, oncology, and general surgery. We also operate a network of private GPs and provide occupational health services to over 700 corporate clients. We are the principal independent provider by volume of knee and hip operations in the United Kingdom.

The group was founded with the acquisition and re-branding of 25 Bupa hospitals in 2007. Since then, Spire Healthcare has made significant capital investments in its estate and continues to deliver successful and award-winning clinical outcomes and high levels of patient satisfaction.

Spire is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250. We were the first private hospital provider to publish outcomes data on our website, and we have received awards for our clinical quality and high levels of patient satisfaction.

Spire Healthcare is committed to the highest quality of patient care. Working in partnership with over 8,760 experienced consultants, we delivered tailored, personalised care to approximately 926,500 inpatients, outpatients, and day case patients in 2022.Patients, consultants, and general practitioners trust Spire Healthcare to deliver the high-quality care they expect from a leading private healthcare provider.           

Our Workforce Planning Manager – Patient Support Manager is a new role within Spire Healthcare and as a result presents an exciting opportunity to build a new capability within the business.

The role reports to Director of Patient Support Centres and is responsible for leading the end-to-end workforce planning strategy within Spire’s three high-volume Patient Support Centres, supporting Spire Healthcare’s patient booking and access to services.

This role is responsible first and foremost for delivering end-to-end capacity plans that support the PSC strategic and operational objectives. Operating across a planning horizon of +3 years down to detailed interval-level projections this role ensures the right resources are in place at the right time to deliver exceptional patient experience, meet service level agreements, and optimise operational efficiency across inbound and outbound contact channels. The Workforce Planning Manager is responsible for monitoring forecast variances in demand and performance, identifying potential issues and implementing corrective actions to ensure plans remain on track. The role combines strategic oversight with operational leadership, managing forecasting, scheduling, real-time performance, and capacity planning.

Key Responsibilities:

Workforce Planning Strategy

• Oversee the application, governance and continuous improvement of planning tools, systems and methodologies, ensuring that forecasts support key decision-making processes. 
• Develop and influence capacity and resource strategies across multiple channels and customer journeys, ensuring staffing levels, skills and capabilities align with demand fluctuations while optimising cost efficiency aligned to business objectives, patient demand, and growth plans.
• Build long-term capacity plans incorporating seasonal trends, marketing activity, and healthcare demand fluctuations.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to align workforce plans with service delivery, financial targets, and patient experience goals.
• Translate complex data sets into clear, concise reports and presentations for senior leaders, outlining options, risks and mitigation approaches to inform strategic decisions.
• Own contingency and risk management planning, ensuring operational resilience.

Forecasting & Capacity Planning

• Deliver accurate short, medium and long-term contact demand forecasts across all channels (voice, digital, outbound).
• Translate forecasts into robust staffing requirements, managing shrinkage assumptions and skill-based routing complexities.
• Continuously refine forecasting models using data insights, trends, and operational feedback.
• Support major business transformations by assessing operational impacts, recommending process improvements, ensuring that capacity plans align with evolving business goals.

Scheduling & Optimisation

• Oversee the creation and delivery of efficient schedules that balance service levels, employee engagement, and cost control.
• Ensure effective use of WFM tools and systems to maximise productivity and flexibility.
• Lead initiatives to improve schedule adherence and intraday performance.

Real-Time Management

• Establish best-in-class real-time performance management practices.
• Monitor live service performance, making data-driven adjustments to staffing and priorities.
• Implement escalation frameworks to mitigate service risks and maintain patient access standards.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and develop a team of WFM professionals (forecasting, scheduling, and real-time analysts).
• Set clear objectives, drive performance, and build a high-performing, data-driven planning function.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and collaboration.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a senior advisor to Operations, Finance, HR, and Commercial teams on workforce-related decisions.
• Present insights, risks, and recommendations to executive stakeholders.
• Influence decision-making through data-led storytelling and clear communication.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Define and track key WFM KPIs (service levels, utilisation, occupancy, forecast accuracy, schedule adherence).
• Identify opportunities for process optimisation, automation, and efficiency gains.
• Lead transformation initiatives, including system enhancements and new ways of working.

Key Requirements: 

Essential

• Mastery of available tools to support a WFP function, including WFM systems, forecasting software, scheduling platforms and automation tools.  Including experience in leading change management workforce planning initiatives.
• Significant experience in a contact centre or customer operations planning leadership role, across multi-channel, multi-site environments. 
• Proven leadership experience managing WFM teams at a senior level.
• Strong expertise across forecasting, scheduling, and real-time management disciplines.
• Advanced analytical capability with experience interpreting complex datasets and driving insights.
• Demonstrated experience using WFM platforms (e.g., NICE, Verint, Genesys, or similar).
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence at senior/executive level.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen with the ability to align planning outputs with financial goals, including budgeting, cost control and return on investment analysis, to support sustainable business growth and service outcomes.  

Desirable

• Experience within healthcare or patient services environments.
• Understanding of patient pathways, booking processes, or NHS/private healthcare dynamics.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong operational execution.
• Highly analytical, detail-oriented, and data-driven.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to inspire and influence.
• Resilient and adaptable in a fast-paced, patient-critical environment.

Benefits:

We offer employed colleagues a competitive salary as well as a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

• 35 days annual leave inclusive of bank holidays
• Employer and employee contributory pension with flexible retirement options
• ‘Spire for you’ reward platform - discount and cashback for over 1000 retailers
• Free wellness screening
• Private medical insurance
• Life assurance