Workforce Planning Lead

About the role

Austal Defence Australia (ADA) is looking for a Workforce Planning Lead to lead the transformation of workforce planning for the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (SSA). The role drives data-driven workforce planning decisions, improves workforce optimisation and strengthens planning capability so that workforce management processes, systems, data sources and reporting support a scalable, sustainable operating model aligned with project demand, service commitments and ADA objectives.

Key responsibilities

• Establish and operationalise a best-practice Workforce Planning Framework for the SSA.
• Design the end-to-end operating model, processes, procedures and templates for workforce planning.
• Define roles and responsibilities, including the relationship between project teams, Finance, HR EPMO and the Commercial Team.
• Build and maintain a reliable data suite as a single source of truth for enterprise-level workforce planning decisions.
• Clarify how different teams depend on workforce planning data and set up efficient, regular data access.
• Set up data management processes that maintain data quality and support accurate, timely, defensible data.
• Design, implement and maintain workforce management practices, reviewing them regularly for assurance and standardisation.
• Ensure workforce casting, scheduling and optimisation meet operational requirements, leadership and client expectations for sustainability.
• Apply workforce planning disciplines proactively across SSA program delivery teams so risks stay current.

Required profile

• Tertiary qualification in Business, Commerce, Engineering or Data Modelling.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing workforce planning in complex organisations, including setting frameworks and operationalising practices and processes.
• Proven track record of raising workforce planning maturity, improving forecasts and data accuracy.
• Strong analytical ability to turn workforce data into clear insights and recommendations.
• Eligibility for a Defence Security Clearance.

Required skills

• Experience using workforce management platforms and tools.
• Strong Excel capability, with Power BI or other data visualisation skills.

What we offer

• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Professional development and training opportunities.
• A supportive, dynamic work environment.
• Career advancement opportunities within a growing organisation.