The Head of Capacity Planning is responsible for leading the strategic and operational planning of resources ensuring alignment between demand forecasts and the organizations capabilities. This role oversees the development of scalable models products/tools and processes to optimize workforce infrastructure and production capacity across the business.

The Head of Capacity Planning will run the executive Capacity Planning meeting and process working with leads and teams from Growth Resource Management (RM) Human Resources and Talent Acquisition to determine what is coming down the pike and what is important to discuss. This includes pitches current work projects with health concerns and expansions. They will also be focused on the success of large cross-Merkle projects.

Capacity Planning analyzes current capacity and future needs and improves collaboration and communication among our teams. The Head of Capacity Planning sets the stage for our resource management practice.

The Head of Capacity Planning will have the Resource Management team reporting into them. Candidates must be based in the Eastern or Central Time Zones for team collaboration and operational alignment.

Key Responsibilities:

Capacity Planning Strategy Meeting Lead and Process

• Partnering with Executives to determine most important projects to discuss at each meeting.

• Setting and understanding KPIs to review and the cycle in which to review them. As an example how often to review shoring level pyramid etc..

Strategic Partner to the Business

• Each Sub Practice should look to Capacity Planning and the RM team to solve their short term needs AND long term aspirations.

• RMs should look to cast our employees in the right role vs just filling an open role with a title. This means that we should look at the employees experience skillset career goals and relationship with the client or team among other things.

• Attend Sub Practice operational meetings know the players on the team and understand whats needed to deliver on their goals and clients.

• Partner with senior leadership in Sales Delivery Resource Management Talent Acquisition Human Resources Operations and Finance to develop integrated capacity plans.

• In large projects we should focus on having our RMs be billable.

Leadership

• Lead the RM team and set long-term strategy aligned with organizational goals.

• Translate business objectives into actionable capacity requirements.

• Drive RM team to meet KPIs and report cadence to measure against them.

• Create high functioning and strategic RM team.

Capacity Forecasting & Modeling

• Develop and refine forecasting models based on historical trends business growth projections and seasonal variations to ensure we can staff appropriately.

• Analyze resource utilization and make recommendations for scaling capacity efficiently based on meeting future demands based on a long-term view.

• Create a cadence of reporting and measurements for the team at large and within each Sub Practice.

Operational Planning

• Align operational execution with capacity planning to ensure timely and cost-effective resource availability.

• Create contingency strategies to address under- or over-utilization risks.

• Monitor KPIs to track performance against capacity goals and SLAs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with HR TA Finance and Sub Practice Leadership on reporting and strategic planning.

• Heavy partnership with Project Management group as they are the input to our output.

• Lead monthly/quarterly planning reviews and ensure data-driven decision-making.

Technology & Process Improvement

• Implement and manage capacity planning tools and systems.

• Drive continuous improvement in planning processes leveraging data analytics and automation where possible.

• Work with Product Owners of current tools for constant optimization.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Operations Management Supply Chain Business Engineering or related field; MBA or equivalent preferred.

• 12 years of experience in capacity planning demand forecasting or operations strategy.

• Proven executive presence and leadership experience managing cross-functional teams and large-scale planning processes.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; proficiency in tools like Excel SQL and planning software (e.g. Anaplan SAP IBP Oracle).

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Experience in large agency setting.

Key Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and vision

• Data-driven decision-making

• Organizational agility and change management experience

• Strong financial acumen

• Exceptional executive presence

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