Workforce Planning Manager

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Primary Purpose

Establishes and manages NSU's enterprise-wide workforce and capacity-planning capability. Helps leaders determine the appropriate number, type, level, and location of employees needed to support institutional priorities while improving productivity, controlling labor costs, and optimizing headcount.

Partners with center and academic leaders, Finance, Human Resources, Compensation, HRIS, and Institutional Research to translate enrollment, business demand, operational output, revenue, and budget assumptions into practical workforce plans.

Job Category: Exempt

Hiring Range: Commensurate with experience

Pay Basis: Annually

Subject to Grant Funding? No

Essential Job Functions

1. Designs and implements a consistent enterprise workforce- and capacity-planning framework.
2. Translates enrollment, business demand, operating volume, productivity, revenue, and budget forecasts into staffing requirements, role mix, organizational structure, and labor costs.
3. Conducts workforce supply-and-demand analyses, including headcount, FTE, vacancies, turnover, retirements, talent pipelines, and critical-role risks.
4. Assesses center and unit-level productivity, spans and layers, role clarity, workflows, workforce composition, and future capability needs.
5. Partners with Finance to improve headcount budgeting, labor-cost forecasting, scenario planning, and long-range workforce projections.
6. Establishes meaningful productivity, capacity, utilization, and labor-efficiency metrics.
7. Identifies sustainable opportunities to reduce costs, optimize headcount, clarify responsibilities, and simplify organizational structures.
8. Supports workforce planning for new programs, reorganizations, growth initiatives, career ladders, succession planning, and critical talent needs.
9. Develops executive-level dashboards, reports, and presentations that translate workforce data into clear recommendations.
10. Documents planning assumptions, methodologies, data sources, and decision criteria.
11. Presents recommendations to senior leaders and manages implementation through project plans, governance, and progress tracking.
12. Completes special projects as assigned.
13. Performs other duties as assigned or required.

Job Requirements

Required Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Knowledge:

1. Knowledge of workforce planning principles, including workforce supply and demand analysis, headcount and FTE forecasting, scenario modeling, and workforce risk identification.
2. Understanding of how workforce planning supports organizational strategy, budget planning, and long range institutional goals.
3. Working knowledge of HR data elements such as positions, headcount, FTE, vacancies, turnover, and demographics.
4. Familiarity with HRIS platforms and related reporting tools.
5. Understanding of data privacy, confidentiality, and ethical handling of employee and institutional information.
6. Basic knowledge of operating budgets, labor cost drivers, and the relationship between workforce size and institutional financial sustainability.

Skills:

1. Skill in building and maintaining workforce models and forecasts using tools such as Microsoft Excel.
2. Skill in developing clear, well structured reports, dashboards, and visualizations that communicate workforce insights effectively.
3. Skill in preparing executive level materials and summaries to support decision making.
4. Skill in supporting workforce planning discussions with Deans, Department Chairs, and administrative leaders.
5. Skill in managing multiple analyses or projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
6. Ability to document assumptions, methodologies, and data sources clearly and consistently.
7. Skill in identifying opportunities to improve workforce planning processes, tools, and reporting efficiency.

Abilities:

1. Ability to listen to business needs and tailor analyses to address specific workforce questions or concerns.
2. Ability to work collaboratively with other departments.
3. Ability to translate technical and quantitative findings into plain language insights for non technical audiences.
4. Ability to integrate HR data with financial, enrollment, or institutional data to support scenario analysis.
5. Ability to analyze large and complex data sets to identify trends, risks, and insights related to workforce composition and planning.
6. Ability to exercise sound judgment when working with confidential and sensitive employee, financial, and institutional data.
7. Ability to maintain professionalism and discretion in all communications and analyses.
8. Ability to identify workforce implications of institutional changes, such as new academic programs, reorganizations, or budget shifts.
9. Ability to assess data quality issues and determine appropriate analytical approaches despite imperfect information.
10. Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic environment with evolving priorities and assumptions.
11. Ability to adjust analyses and recommendations as enrollment, budget, or strategic inputs change.
12. Ability to support and influence workforce decision making through data, insights, and clear communication rather than formal authority.
13. Ability to build credibility and trust with stakeholders through accuracy, reliability, and responsiveness.

Physical Requirements:

1. Near Vision - Must be able to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
2. Speech Recognition - Must be able to identify and understand the speech of another person.
3. Speech Clarity - Must be able to speak clearly so others can understand you.
4. Travel - Must be able to travel on a daily and/or overnight basis.
5. May be required to work nights or weekends.
6. May be exposed to short, intermittent, and/or prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing in performance of job duties.
7. May be required to accomplish job duties using various types of equipment/supplies, to include but not limited to pens, pencils, and computer keyboards.

Required Certifications/Licensures:

Required Education: Bachelor's degree

Major: Human Resources, Analytics, Economics, Business, Public Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.

Required Experience:

1. Six (6) or more years of relevant experience in strategic workforce planning, capacity planning, people analytics, operations planning, organizational effectiveness, institutional research, or workforce transformation.
2. Demonstrated experience developing workforce models, forecasts, planning frameworks, or capacity-planning methodologies.
3. Experience translating enrollment, business activity, productivity, revenue, or budget assumptions into headcount and labor requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Experience working in higher education or another mission driven, complex organization.
2. Familiarity with HRIS systems commonly used in higher education.
3. Exposure to faculty workforce planning, academic staffing models, or shared governance environments.
4. Experience supporting budget or financial planning processes.
5. Experience with data visualization tools.

Is this a safety sensitive position? No

Background Screening Required? Yes

Pre-Employment Conditions:

Sensitivity Disclaimer: Nova Southeastern University is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and does not discriminate with regard to applicants or employees with disabilities and will make reasonable accommodation when necessary.

NSU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status or any other legally protected status.