Strategic Workforce Planning Manager - 12 Month Fixed Term

Joining Arup

Arup’s purpose, shared values and collaborative approach has set us apart for over 75 years, guiding how we shape a better world.

Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists offering a broad range of professional services. Through our work, we make a positive difference in the world.

Watch this short clip to discover how Arup are shaping a better world and how you could be a part of it!

The Opportunity

The Arup People Function is undergoing an exciting period of transformation. As we move towards a new operating model, we are streamlining our processes and aligning our global delivery to ensure an excellent member experience that reflects our values and promotes the Arup strategy.

Our Future Skills Team is an integral part of the Talent Acquisition & Mobility (TA&M) Centre of Expertise (CoE). Our globally integrated team operates within a matrix organisation spanning five regions, our other global functions, and over 30 countries to deliver integrated talent acquisition and mobility initiatives that empower and inspire our members.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) team in our Future Skills team. The overall purpose is to deliver material impact for the organisation through SWP by partnering across the four regions, to ensure we have the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time to deliver our strategy. This is a developing area which is key to boosting the new Arup strategy, by creating an agile, engaged future-proof workforce to enable growth, focus and change.

You'll be accountable for promoting and developing aspects of the Strategic Workforce Planning capability and contribute to setting a directional view of the 5-year rolling workforce plan, underpinned by data driven insight into specific areas of the business, critical roles and skills.

You'll work with your aligned region to implement a cadence and methodology for SWP, enabling specific, tangible interventions and drive decision-making to allow us to build and retain future skills. A key part of this role is to promote the People Partners in working with business principals to design and operationalise workforce planning roadmaps to build a sustainable, effective workforce for the short, medium and long term. Operating within the aligned region, this role focuses on building data-focused Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) models that identify future skill requirementsand translate them into actionable, practical solutions.

Working closely with People Partners, the person drives the implementation of these plans to boost the deployment of change projects that enable the acquisition and development of critical skills. Central to the role is cultivating strong relationships with business stakeholders and key partners across the Group to comprehend and quantify both current and future role and skill needs, and convert this insight into impactful workforce interventions. The role also involves developing and delivering tools that enhance strategic workforce planning knowledge and capability across the People team and business management. Proactive external horizon scanning is essential to monitor emerging trends, market shifts, and advancements that may impact workforce strategies, while partnership with the Talent Acquisition Delivery team ensures a comprehensive appreciation of external skill availability.

At Arup, you belong to an extraordinary collective – in which we encourage individuality to thrive. Our strength comes from how we respect, share, and unite our diverse experiences, perspectives and ideas.

You will have the opportunity do socially useful work that has meaning – to Arup, to your career, to our members and to the clients and communities we serve.

Is This Role Right For You?

We are interested in speaking to people with the following:

Strategic Thinking: Ability to problem solve, generate hypotheses, structure problems and generate robust conclusions and strategic objectives. Ability to work with ambiguity, taking on non-fully defined opportunities to structure and resolve with the necessary levels of personal investment and resilience.

Subject Matter Expertise: demonstrable experience in SWP methodology development and implementation.

Communication & Storytelling: Excellent written and verbal communication, in particular evidence of producing written outputs for a senior audience.

Data diagnostics: Ability to review and perform good quality exploration, including resourcefulness in sourcing and validating data, to present recommendations.

Stakeholder management: Using a commercial appreciation and excellent communication skills, to develop and maintain positive relationships with a range of people and business areas.

Programme Delivery: Ability to take ownership for a workstream, develop project plans and work right to left to deliver required outputs, at pace.

Partnership: Build partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet allocated objectives. Ability to create a strong network and good working environment within the team and the organisation, working with colleagues at all levels of seniority.

Not ready to apply just yet, or have some questions? Please email Ken Wilkins at ken.wilkins@arup.com. Please note, to ensure we remain GDPR compliant do not send your CV directly to us via this email.

Benefits that work for you:

• Professional Growth & Development: Benefit from continuous learning opportunities, training programs, and mentorship to enhance your skills and advance your career at Arup.
• Global Opportunities: Collaborate with colleagues worldwide and explore potential short-term or long-term assignments at other Arup offices and project locations.
• Financial Well-being & Ownership: Receive a competitive salary and benefits package and share in Arup's success through our global profit-sharing programme.
• Wellbeing and Culture: At Arup we are committed to fostering a healthy working culture by offering a range of health and wellbeing benefits, including health insurance, flexible working schemes, wellness programmes and an Employee Assistance Programme. 
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: We strive to embed inclusion in our way of working, our interactions with one another and the projects we deliver. We are committed to creating an inclusive working environment for talented people of any background, based on merit, fairness and respect.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to building a workplace that reflects the rich diversity of the world around us. We actively promote a culture of inclusion where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued.

We welcome applications from talented individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of age (within legal limits), gender identity or expression, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic. We are committed to making our recruitment process and workplaces accessible. 

Our Application Process 

To understand what to expect next, please visit:  https://www.arup.com/careers/recruitment-process/

Stay safe online – Arup will never ask for your bank details as part of our recruitment process. 

Recruitment Agencies – We have a Preferred Supplier List of trusted partners to assist us when required and do not acknowledge any speculative CVs or unsolicited candidate introductions from agencies not on the list.

Closing date: 18 May 2025