Forecast & Planning Manager

The OVO Group's mission is to drive progress towards net zero carbon living. To reach zero, we need everyone to come together. Not as customers buying energy, but as members with a common goal. Find out more here. OVO Energy is OVO's flagship brand, offering its pay-monthly customers an unparalleled suite of digital energy services, solutions, and technologies. OVO has smart data capabilities allowing people to take control of their energy and take advantage of our market leading technology. When we launched in 2009, we set out to make energy better. We brought great service, clear information and honesty to the industry. These days our sights are set even higher - and we'd love you to be part of that journey. Where in the world of OVO will I be working? Working within OVO's award winning Contact Centre, this role is a senior position responsible for delivering the optimum blend of efficiency, great employee experience and supporting delivery of the exceptional service which our OVO customers expect. As part of the wider Customer service team, this role sits within Forecasting and Planning where you will manage 6 direct reports. You will be required to contribute to the wider management of the operation, involving significant stakeholder engagement and playing a critical role in both our employee and customer experience plans. This role provides a breadth of opportunity rarely seen in such positions. What will I be doing? As a Forecast & Planning Manager, you will own and manage all scheduling of resource and Real Time adherence of staff through the contact centre's inbound hours of operation to ensure Service level targets are achieved with maximum efficiency. You will also schedule for 500+ FTE currently both Onshore and Offshore across multiple brands and functions. Crucially, you will be required to develop plans and business cases for the very latest technology and will be tasked with building a best in class workforce management department, which also contributes effectively towards an award winning employee experience for the wider department.....so balance is critical! Key responsibilities include: Principle Accountabilities * Effectively manage customer contact through accurate planning, forecasting and resource management to ensure service levels are achieved to the full potential * Work closely with product managers and department heads to continually assess resource requirements based on upcoming demand * Work closely with our Finance team to manage the Customer Services budget - from planning submissions to tracking against actual spend. * Use data to demonstrate the need to put the customer at the heart of all we do * Provision of data and trends to enable relevant coaching and development activity that changes behaviours and performance results * Design, produce and implement shift patterns and agent schedules that acknowledge the requirements of the business and our contractual obligations to our colleagues and work with the leadership team to ensure effective implementation * Provide long and short term recruitment plans detailing FTE requirements across the operation and work with resourcing teams to deliver against those plans * Design, production and delivery of reliable, timely and accurate Management Information, ensuring at all times that it meets the requirements of business * Effective intraday and realtime management of call traffic ensuring that dynamically changing demands of the business are satisfied through contact management, volume distribution decisions and reactive resource management Change and continuous improvement Actively develop, implement and advocate a culture of continuous performance improvement within department to achieve customer service excellence and optimum operating efficiency * Act upon internal customer and employee satisfaction results to drive quality, service and motivational improvements in line with corporate values * Use root cause analysis, research and bench-marking techniques to influence planning, resourcing and MI requirements * Develop and support the operational deployment of resource efficiencies ensuring customer service teams maximise contact with high value customers, reduce unnecessary calls and increase first contact resolution Performance and Management Information * Provide accurate forecasts and plans to allow business units to manage capacity so that productivity is optimised; ensuring an appropriate balance between service, volume and cost * Provide timely and accurate reporting both on a regular and ad-hoc basis * Agree team targets, objectives and key performance indicators with management team and key stakeholders to ensure alignment to the overall business strategy * Ensure that appropriate policies and procedures are in place, understood and adhered to by colleague members People Management * Coach and where appropriate hire to ensure a highly skilled and motivated team * Agree and implement the training and development strat