Workforce Management & Insights Manager

About Us: The FT has an uncompromising mission: delivering independent, quality information, news and services to individuals and companies around the globe. It’s the cornerstone of our reputation and the heart of our ambitions for the future. But for our people, the FT offers so much more than what we do. FT people come from all kinds of backgrounds and work across a huge range of disciplines and locations, and find empowering, warm and welcoming culture that values curiosity and rewards smart, ambitious thinking. Those who are willing to unite around our mission and live our values will find plenty to challenge, inspire and interest them. Like the audiences we serve, no two FT people are the same; but together we help our audience be better informed and understand the world around them. It’s a job that’s never mattered more, and a career that can take you anywhere you want to go. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace: At the FT, we give all employees a voice so that diverse perspectives are heard and valued. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work. We'll continue to remove barriers for all, and in particular, barriers facing employees from underrepresented groups. About the role: Customer Care plays a critical role in protecting and strengthening the relationship between the Financial Times and its global readership. Delivering consistently excellent service relies on accurate forecasting, effective workforce planning, timely operational insight and clear performance visibility. Reporting to the Head of Performance & Insights, the Management Information Manager (official business title) leads the Management Information team and is responsible for workforce planning, operational reporting and real-time performance management across the Customer Care operation. The role ensures leaders have the insight, forecasts and recommendations needed to make informed operational decisions. Working closely with operational stakeholders, the Management Information Manager identifies emerging trends, highlights risks and opportunities, and translates complex operational data into practical recommendations that improve customer experience, colleague effectiveness and operational performance. Alongside leading the team, the role is responsible for continuously improving reporting, forecasting and workforce management processes, including supporting the implementation and ongoing optimisation of workforce management technology and AI-enabled capabilities. Responsibilities: Lead and develop the Management Information Team (Reporting Analyst and Real Time & Workforce Management Analyst), ensuring priorities, responsibilities and performance expectations are clear. Report directly to the Head of Performance & Insights, providing concise updates on performance trends, forecast accuracy, capacity risks, scheduling effectiveness and progress against team objectives. Represent the Management Information Team within Customer Care and regular operational leadership meetings, speaking confidently on behalf of the team and escalating key risks, opportunities and recommendations. Organise and manage the team's reporting, real-time and workforce management activity, ensuring outputs are accurate, timely, consistent and aligned to stakeholder needs. Plan contact centre workload, forecasts, staffing requirements, and schedules across all channels, accounting for volume trends, shrinkage, SLAs, and projected staffing surplus or deficits. Produce short- and long-term contact volume forecasts, capacity plans and schedules across Customer Care channels and present in a clear and commercially relevant way for senior stakeholders and operational managers. Monitor service levels, occupancy, average handling time, chat concurrency, productivity, shrinkage and other agreed KPIs, identifying trends, risks, anomalies and improvement opportunities. Lead regular planning and review sessions with operational managers to agree assumptions, understand reporting requirements and turn insight into practical actions. Develop and embed AI capabilities within Management Information processes, identifying opportunities to automate reporting, improve forecasting accuracy, enhance insight generation and support more efficient decision-making. Essential: Proven people management or team leadership experience, including coaching, prioritising work and supporting team performance. 3+ years’ experience in MI, forecasting, scheduling, capacity planning, workforce management or contact centre reporting. Strong understanding of workforce management principles, including demand forecasting, shrinkage, capacity modelling, scheduling and service level management. Advanced Excel skills and confidence working with large or complex data sets. Experience representing a team in meetings and presenting updates, risks and recommendations to operational or senior stakeholders. Experience creating, improving and governing regular reporting or dashboard outputs. Ability to turn complex, multi-dimensional data into clear insight, narrative and recommendations. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to speak on behalf of the team and influence at multiple levels. Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and ensure the team delivers high volumes of work accurately. A proactive, methodical and solutions-focused approach to problem solving with high attention to detail and a results-oriented mindset. Ability to build trusted internal relationships and collaborate effectively across teams, projects and functions. Desirable: University or college degree in a related discipline, such as Statistics, Mathematics, Business Management, Data Analytics or a related field. Experience using Salesforce reporting or other contact centre reporting tools, use of and management of a Workforce Management Tool Experience developing automated or macro-enabled reports. Understanding of contact centre operations across multiple channels, including voice, email, chat and case management. Regular use of AI Capabilities to improve efficiency and productivity Key leadership expectations: Provide clear direction and structure for the Management Information Team, ensuring priorities are understood and delivery is coordinated. Create a positive, accountable and collaborative team environment for direct reports. Represent the team professionally and confidently, ensuring its work is visible, understood and of a high standard Use data-led insight to influence operational decisions and support the wider Performance & Insights agenda. Develop team capability by sharing knowledge, improving ways of working and encouraging continuous improvement. Customer Care Values Customer-Centric: We put the customer at the heart of everything we do, going above and beyond to deliver the gold-standard service our customers expect and deserve. Collaborative: We believe in the power of individuals and teams working together across different roles and responsibilities in a respectful and open-minded way so that we can deliver the best customer outcomes. Accountable: We act with integrity, whilst taking responsibility for our performance and personal growth, to ensure that we give our best to both customers and colleagues. Resilient: We are adaptable, flexible and brave, maintaining a positive attitude during times of challenge and change, so that we can respond to the needs of our customers and the FT. Effective: We are creative and productive whilst remaining focused on our goals with a results-driven approach so that we deliver the right outcomes for our customers and for the FT. What’s in it for you? Our Benefits: Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include: generous annual leave, flexible working (including working from home), health coverage (medical & dental), company match and enhanced family leave packages. Full details of our benefits can be found here. Further Information: The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We also promote flexible working and will consider specific requests around flexibility for all roles where it can be accommodated. Please let us know if you require any adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, please contact a member of our HR team, who will be happy to help.