Linklaters
Head of People Analytics and Strategic Workforce Planning
City of London
Posted about 19 hours ago
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Head of Workforce Planning & People Analytics
Linklaters is seeking a Head of Workforce Planning & People Analytics to lead a critical firm-wide capability at the intersection of strategy, talent, data, and operations. This role will shape the future size, shape, and skills profile of the Firm's global workforce, ensuring Linklaters has the right capacity and capabilities to meet evolving client demand over the short, medium, and long term.
Responsibilities
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Strategic Workforce Planning (Multi-year horizon)
- Lead the Firm's multi-year strategic workforce planning (SWP) approach, working with Firm leadership to define future demand for capacity, roles, and skills aligned to client needs and strategic priorities.
- Develop forward-looking views of workforce size, shape, capabilities, and cost, (build, buy, borrow, bot) taking account of growth, demand variability, productivity expectations, and utilisation aspirations.
- Translate Firm strategy into clear workforce implications across global practices, business teams, and regions.
- Design and deliver sophisticated scenario planning (e.g., demand shifts, practice growth, AI adoption, new service models).
- Work with Division/Practice leaders to translate Firm future workforce assumptions into divisional and geographical multi-year plans.
- Translate the impact of AI on future workforce needs into future skills requirements and job design, informing how we hire, develop, evaluate, and reward.
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Annual Resource Planning & Headcount Actions
- Establish and own an integrated annual resource planning cycle, in close partnership with Finance, Business Management, Operations, and HR, embedded within the Firm's broader planning and budgeting processes.
- Convert multi-year workforce strategy into year-on-year workforce actions, including:
- Hiring and lateral growth
- Attrition assumptions
- Promotions and career progression
- Internal mobility and redeployment
- Productivity and utilisation levers
- Ensure headcount plans have the appropriate governance, are financially grounded, operationally feasible, and strategically aligned, enabling clear accountability and decision-making by leaders at both global and practice levels.
- Track outcomes against plans, providing insight on variances, risks, and adjustment actions throughout the year.
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People Analytics & Insight
- Define and execute the Firm's people analytics strategy, ensuring high-quality data, trusted metrics, and decision-grade insight.
- Deliver executive-ready analytics and narratives covering capacity, utilisation, skills gaps, productivity, workforce risk, and cost.
- Mature analytics capability from descriptive to predictive, supporting proactive decision-making rather than retrospective reporting.
- Ensure appropriate data governance, confidentiality, and ethical use of people data.
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Stakeholder Partnership & Influence
- Act as a strategic advisor to Practice and functional leaders, HR Business Partners, and Finance on workforce-related trade-offs.
- Translate complex analysis into clear, compelling insight for senior legal and business audiences.
- Embed workforce planning and analytics into ongoing Firm governance and leadership conversations, not as an annual exercise but as a continuous capability.
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- Team Leadership & Capability Build
- Build and lead a high-performing Workforce Planning & People Analytics team, setting high standards for analytical rigour, storytelling, and impact.
- Establish common definitions, methodologies, and planning standards across regions and practices.
- Continuously evolve tools, processes, and capability in line with external best practice.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Significant experience (typically 10-15+ years) in workforce planning, people analytics, strategy, or analytical leadership roles.
- Proven track record establishing enterprise-level workforce and resource planning cycles in complex, global organizations.
- Strong analytical capability combined with commercial and strategic judgement.
- Credibility and confidence working with senior leaders in a partnership or professional services environment.
- Ability to translate insight into clear headcount and investment decisions.
Desirable
- Experience in professional services, legal, or other knowledge-intensive organizations.
- Exposure to workforce planning and analytics platforms (e.g., Workday, Visier, Anaplan, Orgvue, or similar).
- Understanding of AI-enabled productivity and skills-based workforce models.
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Skills
Strategic Workforce Planning
People Analytics
Scenario Modelling
Resource Planning
Data Governance
Stakeholder Management
Headcount Planning
Predictive Analytics
Commercial Judgement
Analytical Rigour
Storytelling
AI Productivity Analysis