Strategic Workforce Planning & Modelling Analyst

Job Description

The Strategic Workforce Planning & Modelling Analyst plays a central role in how Virgin Media O2 understands, plans and shapes its workforce to deliver business strategy, transformation and growth. The role is responsible for building and maintaining workforce and organisational models that inform decisions on headcount, capability, cost and structure. This includes supporting strategic workforce planning, transformation, operating model design and cost initiatives by translating business plans into scenarios and actionable options.

Working at the intersection of People, Finance and Strategy, the role helps leaders understand how workforce shape and cost evolve under different scenarios, and what actions are needed to address risks, close gaps or realise opportunities. It operates in close alignment with the enterprise People Cost model in Anaplan, using its outputs as the primary source of truth for workforce cost, headcount and scenario assumptions, while translating this into strategic workforce planning insights.

The role also plays a key part in identifying opportunities to improve workforce efficiency and productivity, including the potential impact of automation and AI on roles, skills, capacity and cost, and supports the use of data‑driven approaches to streamline planning, modelling and insight generation within the role itself. This role contributes directly to improving workforce efficiency, resilience and strategic alignment in a fast‑changing market.

Who we are At Virgin Media O₂, we connect people to the moments that matter most. Virgin Media leads the UK for broadband reliability, speed and overall performance, while O₂ keeps people connected on the move with award-winning coverage. We’re also proud to be named one of the Financial Times Top 500 Best Employers for 2026, based on one of the UK’s largest employee satisfaction surveys. Join us and you’ll be part of a team that stays curious, positive and focused on making life easier for our customers and each other. We’re investing in the future of connectivity, from expanding next-generation 5G to exploring satellite-supported solutions that help reach rural communities and hard-to-connect places. You’ll work with people who back good ideas and give you plenty of room to grow. So if you’re looking for a place where you can feel supported, trusted and genuinely valued, you’ll feel right at home here.

Our ways of working.
We’re a flexible-first organisation, because we know people do their best work when they have choice and clarity. To support meaningful collaboration, we ask everyone to spend at least eight days a month connecting with each other in person.That doesn’t just mean time in the office – it could be team meetings, offsites, volunteering days, cross-functional projects, or away days. What matters is making those moments count – so when we come together, it benefits everyone.

Accessible, inclusive and equitable for all
We believe a better tomorrow starts with the choices we make today. That means moving the dial on diversity, building equity into everything we do and putting inclusion at the heart of our business.Virgin Media O₂ is an equal opportunities employer and we work hard to remove bias and barriers. We want every person who joins us – and everyone thinking about joining us – to feel seen, heard and supported.When you work with us, you’ll have access to our award-winning employee network groups. These communities bring people together, champion allyship and create uplifting spaces where you can learn, share and feel part of something bigger. They play a big role in helping people feel connected from day one. The must haves

• Experience in workforce planning, people analytics, strategy, finance (FP&A) or modelling roles, ideally in a large, complex organisation
• Proven ability to build structured, scenario-based models and forecasts
• Strong financial and numerical modelling skills, including advanced Excel
• Strong understanding of how workforce decisions affect cost, capacity and performance
• Confident stakeholder management, with the ability to influence senior decision-makers
• Ability to turn complex analysis into clear, structured insights and recommendations

The other stuff we are looking for

• Experience supporting large-scale transformation programmes
• Knowledge of strategic workforce planning methodologies
• Exposure to organisational design (spans and layers, operating models)
• Experience working with HR and Finance data in large, complex organisations
• Sector experience in telecommunications or similarly fast-changing, tech-led industries
• Experience with BI tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)
• SQL (or similar) for data extraction
• Familiarity with HR systems and tooling (e.g., Oracle Cloud HCM, Avature, org modelling tools)
• Experience working with enterprise workforce or financial planning tools (e.g. Anaplan), and translating outputs into strategic workforce planning of executive decision-making insights
• Comfortable using AI‑enabled tools to enhance individual productivity, automate routine analytical tasks and support continuous improvement in modelling, analysis and insight generation

What's in it for you We know life isn’t just about work, so our benefits are built to support you in the moments that matter. You’ll get Bupa healthcare, wellbeing support, life cover, a pension and generous holiday –plus your birthday off.And there’s more. Enjoy some extra perks on us, with optional electric vehicle lease and Cycle2Work schemes, dental insurance, neurodiversity assessments, and brilliant discounts on broadband, TV and mobile. You’ll even get access to the Virgin Family platform and the O₂ Priority app, with exclusive rewards, experiences and chances to attend events at The O₂ and beyond. Next steps If this feels like a place where you can belong, we’d love to see what you can do. Once you apply, the next steps might include a call with a recruiter, an interview with the hiring manager and a task or assessment.

We’ll also ask about any adjustments you might need, and we’ll do our best to make them happen. We review applications and interview throughout the advert window, so it’s worth applying sooner rather than later. If you’re offered the role, the offer will be subject to background checks, including a criminal record check and, for some roles, a financial background check. #LI-NR1