26.146 Workforce Modelling Manager

Job summary

The Workforce Modelling Manager will deliver workforce modelling and capacity planning across DBS, translating demand forecasts into optimised workforce strategies that ensure resources, skills and deployment are aligned to operational and strategic requirements.

The role is accountable for delivering robust modelling that supports efficient, effective and sustainable service delivery, identifying capacity risks, informing workforce strategy and enabling evidence‑based decisions on resource allocation and organisational design.

The postholder will drive continuous improvement in modelling approaches and tools, ensuring workforce insight is fully integrated into business planning, performance frameworks and delivery of DBS priorities.

The postholder will also lead DBS's compliance with the Government Functional Standard for Analysis, organisational data maturity, and delivery of the DBS Data Strategy, overseeing assessments and driving cross‑business improvement to strengthen capability, data quality, resilience and risk management.

The successful applicant will initially need to attend office in Liverpool and Darlington for desk training, thereafter the role can be hybrid (remote/office based).

In the case of system outages and business needs, attendance in the office will be required.

Job description

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage and develop the DBS Workforce Modelling function (including Operational resources and wider DBS resources) to deliver a high-quality, trusted service, supporting DBS service delivery and decision-making.
• Translate demand forecasts into resource requirements (FTE, skills, deployment).
• Develop and maintain workforce models covering productivity, utilisation, and throughput.
• Support resource allocation, work distribution, and demand management processes.
• Identify gaps between capacity and demand and recommend solutions.
• Extend resource planning across end-to-end processes and new service areas.
• Contribute to workforce strategy, including skills planning and organisational design inputs.
• Support SLA and KPI development through understanding of capacity constraints.
• Work with Operations to assess impact of demand changes on workforce requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement in workforce modelling techniques and tools.
• Manage compliance with the Government Functional Standard for Analysis, including organisation‑wide assessments and delivery of improvement actions to support continuous improvement in analytical practice.
• Manage organisational data maturity improvement, including maturity assessments and delivery of improvement actions to strengthen data capability and reduce risk.
• Manage and drive delivery of the DBS Data Strategy action plan, coordinating activity across business areas and ensuring progress against agreed priorities to improve data quality, resilience and use.
• Ensure that work processes and approaches, comply with Government Functional Standard 010 (Analysis).
• Build strong, collaborative relationships across DBS and with customers.
• Work collectively to ensure end-to-end service delivery across teams.
• Identify and deliver continuous improvement in quality, efficiency, and processes.
• Ensure accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of data, analysis, and outputs.
• Contribute to business planning, operational delivery, and strategic decision-making.
• Provide clear narrative, insight, and implications alongside data outputs and draw out the 'So What' to enable confident decision making.
• Ensure risks are identified, communicated, and mitigated.
• Support organisational objectives including service transition, LTER, and new products.
• Lead and develop a multi-grade team, setting objectives, managing performance and workload, and building the capability required to deliver current priorities and adapt to future business needs.
• Contribute to governance reporting (Executive Team, Board, committees, Ministers).
• Deputise for the Head of Service as required.

Corporate Responsibilities:

• Support the Head of Service in their role as a member of the Directorate Leadership Team (DLT) and by engaging in and helping to drive change as required.
• From time to time, the postholder may be asked to support corporate activity with duties that are commensurate with the grade (e.g. supporting other parts of the business with HR related matters).

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Ability to lead the development of Workforce Modelling tools.
• Understanding of workforce planning within a large business/operational setting.
• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to interpret complex data and identify key insights.
• Ability to communicate complex data and insight clearly to a range of audiences, including senior management.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills.
• Ability to lead others and deliver under pressure.
• Ability to prioritise work effectively against competing demands.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office tools.
• Experience of producing, interpreting, and presenting data and Forecasts.
• Experience of developing Forecasting and MI products (including dashboards) and prioritising requirements in line with user needs.
• Proven experience in developing and applying data collection, analysis, and performance reporting approaches to support both operational delivery and strategic decision-making.
• Experience operating in a large, complex business/operational environment (ideally central government or similar).
• Track record of managing performance and providing clear direction to teams.
• Experience of delivering outcomes under pressure, prioritising competing demands and meeting challenging deadlines.
• Experience of building effective strategic relationships across a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Desirable Criteria:

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills including practical ability in using Power Query in Excel.
• Expert, current knowledge of Business Intelligence tools and technologies and their practical application.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,221, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes £12,810 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
• Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible working opportunities
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
• 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.

This role is available on a remote, hybrid, or office basis. (delete as appropriate - manager to advise) Initially, all DBS employees' contracts are office-based at one of our two sites.

Employees can apply for remote or hybrid work from day one. If approved, the arrangement will start after six months for transfers from Home Office or after completing probation for new joiners. Requests will be considered based on business needs and role requirements. Informal hybrid working arrangements are also available from day one, subject to business needs and role requirements and will be discussed further following any job offer.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply for this role, please provide a CV along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words, outlining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role, including all essential and desirable criteria.

Selection Process:

As part of the recruitment process the Disclosure & Barring Service will conduct a sift based exercise and interview process.

All candidates who are successful at the initial sifting stage will be invited to attend a virtual panel based interview via MS Teams. As part of the interview, you will deliver a short presentation on a function related subject. You will be given a brief for the presentation in advance of your interview. The presentation will be marked against the behaviour, Managing a quality service.

The aim of the panel interview will be to assess your ability to demonstrate the remaining behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

There will also be probing questions in relation to the essential criteria.

The following timetable outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice.

• Advert Closing date: Monday 2nd November at 10am
• The initial candidate sift is due to take place week commencing 2 November 2026.
• Interviews are due to take place week commencing 16 November 2026.

Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.

Further Information:

To view the DBS Recruitment and On-boarding Privacy Notice, please click the link below:

DBS Recruitment and On-boarding Privacy Notice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

This privacy notice covers personal data collected during the recruitment, security clearance and on-boarding proc

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Christopher Jones
• Email : christopherjones@dbs.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSPeopleSupportTeam@dbs.gov.uk

Attachments

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