Manager, Resource Forecasting and Planning

The Manager, Resource Forecasting and Planning is a team player who must work seamlessly across different functional groups within the organization. This position will be working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment that requires the individual be the liaison amongst the Professional Services organization as it relates to resourcing client engagements. This individual is a detail oriented, self-starter who thrives in the areas of resource planning and skills assessment. The ideal candidate is a hardworking and highly organized professional, who has solid skills and experience in Resource Planning and Project Management. The position requires strong communication skills, and the ideal candidate must feel comfortable working with all levels and functions of the organization.

 

This position closely works with the Professional Services management team, Recruitment and HR to facilitate appropriate staffing across the Services organization based on an aggregate understanding of client / project requirements. The position must also ensure that project resourcing is managed to assure timely delivery to clients and must communicate to appropriate Project Managers resourcing issues that may impact scheduled deadlines. It is also required that this position enforce company processes by utilizing and requesting all team members use proper procedures when requesting, interviewing, and evaluating resources.

 

Responsibilities

• Own the definition and execution of the Resource Allocation process
• Act as the single point of contact for resource requests within the Services organization
• Manage all incoming staffing and Resource Planning requirements
• Assign people to projects based on their skills, previous experience, availability, and/or project budget to ensure success
• Ensure project teams are appropriately staffed to deliver superior service to our customers, develop our people, and grow our business
• Maintain knowledge of current and upcoming projects and business development activities as they relate to resourcing
• Collaborate with appropriate teams to develop/utilize the correct data needed to measure right person, right role, right time
• Work closely with recruitment to review overall current and future resource needs and manage priorities
• Organize, prepare, lead, and follow up on resource allocation meetings
• Analyze data for trends and report on utilization of resources to the Services leadership / organization; make recommendations as needed
• Utilize data to understand headcount plans and develop a resource forecast for Services that provides:
• An understanding of project resource needs by position
• Direction for Recruiting
• An understanding of gaps in competencies
• Ensure headcount forecasts are properly accounted for, on a regular cadence, by understanding project needs and working across Services teams
• Assess whether external or internal events/factors have long-lasting implications which require a strategic solution (e.g., increase cross-training), or if the impact is short-term, requiring tactical solution (e.g., additional headcount).
• Must understand Ultra services and approach when strategically filling the roles with an eye to practice development and resource optimization
• Work with HR team and other stakeholders to coordinate on-boarding new consultants to ensure a successful ramp up period
• Work closely with Project Managers, Recruiting, Onboarding and Collaborative Learning to facilitate timing on hiring/start dates to ensure team members are hired/onboarded with appropriate time for training and project deployment
• Collaborates across different functional groups within the organization
• Escalate appropriate awareness to leadership on sensitive, high-risk, or significant changes in staffing situations
• Develop and report effective Key Performance Indicators to illustrate the resourcing and staffing status and leverage data to make resourcing decisions
• Solve complex problems using conceptual thinking or applied learning skills to ensure forecasting and staffing related responsibilities include the appropriate level of analysis, and evaluation
• Identify process issues and present to Services leadership team with resolutions to such issues where applicable
• Identify risk areas such as supply/demand, over/understaffed, shortage of a specific skill etc. and review these with internal stakeholders. When issues are identified, steps in and helps by recommending the reallocation of resources, adjusting goals or requirements, or assigning new people to the team.
• Adjust the Resourcing process as needed to adapt to business (project and team member) demands
• Develops and implements changes to departmental policies and procedures to meet changing business needs such as changes to PTO or staff scheduling policies (flextime, part-time)
• Participates in the development of short and long-range goals for the department

 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, or equivalent
• Minimum of 5+ years of relevant work experience specifically in Resource Planning / Management OR Project Planning & Scheduling
• Ability to interpret and understand data, subsequently communicate findings and recommendations in an effective manner to gain needed buy in from key stakeholders
• Proven success in consulting, resource management and program management
• Knowledge of recruiting processes and best practices and experience interviewing candidates and assessing skills / talent
• Highly detail oriented and able to work autonomously
• Ability to be diplomatic or firm when necessary to drive business forward or obtain results
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and tight deadlines with confidence and ease
• Ability to prioritize and organize workload across multiple groups
• Excellent, clear, and concise communication in both written and verbal form
• Demonstrated ability to think conceptually, using strong analytical skills
• Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills
• Must demonstrate sound negotiating skills and assertive communication skills that foster consensus building
• Strong qualitative and quantitative analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to influence others
• Proficient in professional services automation software (Projector PSA preferred)
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 and MS Office applications especially MS Excel
• Demonstrated client relationship skills

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of ERP systems
• Functional experience with data analysis and visualization tools
• Motivation to self-start every day
• Business Process Improvement experience
• Working knowledge of Salesforce.com a plus
• Working knowledge of Projector PSA a plus
• Working knowledge of Power BI a plus

 

 

Work Environment

• This position is ideally located in the central region of United States but this is not a requirement.
• Ultra personnel work from their respective home office and travel as necessary.
• Use of telephone and multi-media conferencing are standard practice.
• Internal team meetings and interactions are mostly web-based along with travel requirements to various locations in both a selling and service delivery capacity.

 

Company Overview

Ultra is a leading independent technology-driven transformation firm located in North America. Founded in 1994, Ultra Consultants has been providing high value services to our clients in the mid-market manufacturing, and distribution industries: Business Performance Improvement (BPI), ERP/Technology Selection, Implementation Management, Project Management, and Organizational Change Management. Ultra Consultants is an independent vendor agnostic company.

 

With several hundred successful client engagements, Ultra serves as a “trusted advisor” to our clients, guiding them through a transformation of legacy information systems and processes to modern enterprise information systems and best practice business processes with the goal to improve our client’s business performance and success. We provide our clients:

• Highest quality service
• Expertise in ERP and industry best practices
• A proven project methodology with a focus on time to benefit
• A culture of 100% customer satisfaction

 

Since 2016 Ultra Consultants has been recognized and certified each year for its top workplace performance and environment by Great Place to Work®, a global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Our people provided their response to questions about Ultra’s credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie. The results speak for themselves – Ultra is a great place to work.

 

All job candidates must be eligible to work in the United States. Ultra Consultants does not sponsor individual Work Visas.

Company: Ultra Consultants
Address: Chicago, Illinois, United States , US
Email:
Job Type: FULL_TIME
Experience: 4 Year

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