Agency Workforce Planning Advisor
| Posting date: | 11 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £34,765 to £41,375 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National: £34765 - £37,080 London: £38,795 - £41,375 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 24 November 2025 |
| Location: | Cardiff |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 436389/3 |
Summary
As a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) within the Resourcing and Deployment Team the postholder will play a key role in supporting the implementation and embedding of the APHA Sustainable Futures Strategy, which outlines the organisation’s vision for the future. A core element of this vision is ensuring that APHA becomes a data-driven organisation, enhancing its ability to identify and respond to emerging threats, manage risk effectively, and deploy resources sustainably.
The role provides an opportunity within the central workforce planning team working across APHA with direction from the Senior Executive Officer (SEO) Agency Workforce Planning Manager to ensure that workforce strategies are executed and that recruitment needs are understood to enable the development and delivery of a recruitment plan meeting current and future business needs. The post holder will be supporting the analysis of workforce data and capabilities, forecasting future workforce needs, and utilising talent strategies to ensure that the organisation has the right skills, in the right place at the right time.
The role will provide support for the delivery of services and projects within Agency Workforce Planning Team areas of responsibility, by supporting the implementation of policies and operational procedures. This role will support and complement APHA Directorates for workforce planning activity to develop a community of practice approach.
This role presents an exciting opportunity to shape APHA’s Workforce Planning approach, driving improvements that support the organisation’s long-term goals.
Leadership and Management
- Support and co-ordinate work across a number of sections, functions or geographic locations, as required, ensuring alignment with the Agency’s strategic priorities and goals.
- Contribute to driving the professional and skills development of team members, as required.
- Provide support to the team of workforce planning specialists in the delivery of workforce planning solutions, translating business requirements into workable solutions for the team. Act as required to keep work on track and maintain high standards of performance.
- Monitor the governance of Civil Service Commission recruitment principles to ensure compliance is maintained and support central audit.
- Provide support to embed the necessary cultural changes required for the Agency to thrive, implement new ways of working making the most effective use of technology across the agency.
- Promote diversity, inclusion, and equality of opportunity by promoting a respectful and inclusive environment that values external experience and differences.
Service Delivery
- Contribute to policy development within area of responsibility/remit.
- Support the smooth delivery of processes within your area of responsibility/ remit.
- Support the efficient and sustainable ways of working and procedures that enhance operational efficiency.
- Develop a holistic understanding of the current and future recruitment and capability needs across APHA supporting the SEO Manager and Grade 7 Lead to inform, create, and monitor a workforce plan which includes a breakdown of the skills, knowledge, and competencies required for specialist roles across the directorates, collaborating with the APHA Capability & Experience Team as needed.
- Provide support on governance and audit of FTA, STA, Contingent Labour, Loans & Secondments to balance directorate autonomy with workforce planning compliance to HR Policies and Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
- Assist in Approval Apps recruitment requests for GRS audit trail, along with Post number allocation and control.
- Support the assessment of current workforce gaps, identifying key skills, capabilities, and competencies to forecast future needs and prioritise recruitment.
- Assist in supporting the progress of Business Cases and monitor criteria.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Develop and maintain working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and alignment with APHA’s priorities.
- Collaborate with Directorate operational workforce planning teams to support consistent communities of practice and governance across the agency.
- Collaborate with the Capability & Experience team and Directorate workforce planning teams to assist in assessing current workforce gaps, identifying key skills, capabilities, and competencies to forecast future needs and prioritise recruitment.
- Work collaboratively with team members and other departments to achieve common goals.
- Assist with the development and implementation of engagement and communication plans, as required.
Data Analysis and Reporting
- Support in the collection of data to enable assessment of trends, attrition rates, recruitment activity and EDI and employee demographics, interpreting complex data sets to identify patterns, trends, and potential areas for improvement, and use these to inform recruitment requirements.
- Assist in the development, production and analysis of high quality, accurate and timely data, intelligence, and management information that informs decision making and drives great outcomes, as required.
- Follow processes and standards to enable accurate tracking and analysis of data to enable the production of reports, highlighting to SEO Manager associated risks, issues or opportunities.
- Assist in the design, development and production of high-quality, visually immersive dashboards, reports and MI products to the agreed timetable and accuracy standards, to support insight and decision making at senior levels through adding in depth analysis and intelligence.
Continuous Improvement
- Embrace / promote new systems, processes and ways of working, ensuring harmonisation across APHA and the wider Defra group, where appropriate.
- Identify opportunities for process improvements.
- Utilise continuous improvement working practices.
- Work alongside peers and managers to ensure consistency and effectiveness, promote the sharing of best practices and lessons learned to drive continuous improvement.
- Support initiatives to implement changes based on feedback and lessons learned, ensuring the candidate experience process evolves and improves continuously.
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