Resource Planning Manager – Bristol – Contract

Overview

In this role you will own and run the resource planning function for a busy, project-led environment. You will partner with project and operational leaders to forecast capacity, resolve conflicts, and optimise how people are allocated across priorities. You’ll provide accurate capacity and demand insights and shape forward planning and recruitment decisions. The role focuses on practical data-driven planning rather than governance-heavy PMO processes, offering impact through improved data quality and allocation across multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Maintain resource plans using Deltek, Polaris, or a comparable system
• Provide current capacity, utilization, and future demand visibility
• Coordinate allocation and scheduling of people across projects
• Identify resource gaps, over-allocation, and delivery constraints
• Work with project managers and senior stakeholders on changing requirements
• Produce management information on utilization, availability, and forecasts
• Support forward planning, workforce decisions, and recruitment requirements
• Improve resource data quality, consistency, and reliability
• Develop practical resource-planning processes to strengthen existing arrangements

Key requirements

• Strong experience in resource planning, resource management, or workforce planning
• Practical experience with Deltek, Polaris, or similar systems
• Experience managing resources across multiple projects, teams, or workstreams
• Strong analytical skills with capacity, utilization, and demand data
• Ability to identify conflicts and turn data into clear recommendations
• Confident stakeholder-management skills
• Ability to operate independently and bring structure to changing environments
• Experience in consultancy, professional services, engineering, or project-led organisations would be advantageous

• Stakeholder-management
• Analytical thinking
• Independence
• Deltek
• Polaris
• Resource-planning systems

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