STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE LEAD
Salary: £58,000 - £60,000 per annum
Reports to: Head of Organisational Effectiveness
Directorate: Chief Operating Office
Working hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Stratford, London w/ high-flex (1 – 2 days per week in the office)
Closing date: 23:59 7th December
Please note: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.
Summary of Role’s Main Purpose:
Leads Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) and owns planning & performance for the People Plan. Enables consistent SWP cycles with HRBPs, turns scenarios into prioritised actions and trade-offs, and maintains a clear, timely view of progress, risks and impact. Embeds simple routines and measures across HR so delivery stays on track and decisions happen at the right time.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) to guide HR teams in running consistent planning cycles and identifying future workforce needs.
Translate workforce scenarios into clear risks, gaps and options to support long-term decision-making and prioritisation.
Define and monitor critical roles and skills to inform build–buy–move strategies and shape People Plan actions.
Own the People Plan roadmap to track progress, manage dependencies and provide clear recommendations to senior stakeholders.
Embed planning and performance routines across HR to ensure consistent ways of working and build capability in teams.
Prepare governance updates to present People Plan progress, support decision-making and ensure actions are followed through.
Work with Data & Insight colleagues to shape the questions, indicators and narrative that drive meaningful analysis and reporting.
Work with HR People Analytics Manager to manage dashboard development priorities to ensure reporting tools meet planning needs without duplicating effort.
Support HR leaders and workstream owners to interpret insights and take action that improves delivery and impact.
Use resources effectively including time, data and external support, to maximise value and ensure alignment with CRUK’s goals.
Ethical, inclusive practice: Safeguard fairness, accessibility and confidentiality throughout assessments, decisions and opportunities.
Committed to Cancer Research UK’s vision to bring forward the day all cancers are cured.
Undertake other tasks as necessary to contribute to the team objectives and those of Cancer Research UK.
Key Technical Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Behaviours:
Minimum Criteria:
Brings proven Strategic Workforce Planning expertise, modelling demand/supply and scenarios with clear assumptions and ranges and applying disciplined methods that HRBPs can use consistently.
Uses skills-based planning literacy (role–skill mapping, proficiency definitions, criticality signals) to identify gaps and shape practical build–buy–move options.
Works in Partnership with HR People Analytics Manager to iInterprets workforce trends confidently, blending internal patterns (attrition, movement, productivity) with external labour-market signals to inform long-term choices.
Manages the People Plan roadmap with strong portfolio skills—tracking progress, dependencies, risks and benefits—and surfacing decision points at the right time.
Converts insight into decision-ready storytelling, defining a small set of meaningful indicators and producing concise options and trade-offs for senior audiences.
Additional Criteria:
Partners effectively with data teams, shaping questions, measures and definitions, and reading dashboards/forecasts without duplicating analytical build.
Lifts planning & performance capability across HR by creating simple tools and running short clinics that make routines stick and improve delivery.
Change adoption & enablement: evidenced ability to establish new planning/performance ways of working and show uptake and outcomes.
Stakeholder influence & communication: credibility with senior leaders; clear framing of trade-offs; succinct, decision-oriented papers.
Inclusive practice & accessibility: confidence designing planning approaches that are fair, accessible and mindful of equity impacts on different groups.
There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.
We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner.
If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed.
We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen by emailing us at [email protected].
Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.
What We Do
Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research, influence and information. Nearly one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but we’re finding new ways to outsmart it, so that more people can live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.
We carry out scientific research to help prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and our groundbreaking work, funded almost entirely by the general public, will ensure that millions more people survive.
Together we are beating cancer.
Registered charity No. 1089464
