Workforce Optimization Manager

Who are we? Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS) is focused on serving our retail and corporate clients in South Africa and further developing our strategic advantages in the South African market. Sanlam Life and Savings consists of the following business units Retail Mass, Corporate, Risk and Savings, Glacier and various business enabling functions. The Sanlam Life and Savings Office provides strategic direction, coordination and support to the four clusters, as well as performing governance oversight that includes assurance provided by second line of defense functions in SLS, to enable us to meet our business objectives.

What will you do?

• Workforce Management Head, you will lead the Workforce Optimization team in a Life and Savings business that supports all clients interaction mediums. This includes inbound Call centre, email and chat and further extends to support all other units within the broader Group that capitalises on modern workforce management practices. The role facilitates WFM practices across all Client Experience and client facing divisions.
• This is a high impact role focused on building and strengthening workforce planning capabilities, including designing staffing frameworks, leveraging AI and modern tools to model workforce needs, and supporting clients as they scale their operations. You will report to the Director, CX Operations and Support Practice, and work closely with the QA, Training, Business Change, Technical Services, and Implementations teams.

Leadership & Workforce Operations

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Workforce Analysts, Resource Planners, Real-Time Analysts and BI/MI Specialists, providing guidance on workload management, performance metrics, and professional growth.
• Foster a culture of accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement across the Workforce Optimization function.
• Serve as the primary WFM point of contact for internal stakeholders and client discussions, translating workforce data into clear business narratives and actionable recommendations.
• Oversee the overall Workforce Management practice across supported programs, ensuring staffing, scheduling, and performance monitoring activities align with operational targets and client expectations.

Staffing Planning & Headcount Modelling

• Build and maintain data-driven staffing plans for current and potential teams and client accounts, translating volume forecasts into headcount recommendations.
• Develop and present business cases for headcount needs using historical data, growth projections, and productivity benchmarks.
• Create scenario models for ramp, attrition, seasonal demand, and new program launches.
• Leverage AI tools and automation to improve forecast accuracy and reduce time-to-insight on staffing models.
• Ensure capacity plans align with client targets, budgets, and operational resources.

Client Growth & Expansion

• Partner with client-facing teams to identify WFM-related growth opportunities within existing accounts.
• Support expansion conversations by modelling capacity needs tied to new channels, geographies, or product lines.
• Serve as a WFM subject matter expert in client-facing meetings, translating complex workforce data into clear business narratives.
• Collaborate with clients to validate forecast assumptions and provide strategic recommendations that support operational performance and client satisfaction.

Scheduling & Capacity Management

• Own scheduling operations across supported programs using leading edge workforce management tools such as NICE, ensuring service level targets and efficiency goals are met.
• Build and maintain scheduling frameworks that account for time zones, skill-based routing, and multi-channel support environments.
• Ensure accurate creation and maintenance of agent schedules to support 24/7 coverage while balancing cost, efficiency, and service levels.
• Review and approve overtime plans, leave planning, and shift adjustments as needed to maintain optimal staffing coverage.

Real-Time Management & Performance Monitoring

• Oversee intraday monitoring of volumes, queues, and agent performance.
• Monitor real-time adherence and adjust intraday coverage as needed to maintain service levels and productivity targets.
• Direct real-time operational adjustments and communicate action plans to Operations leadership when service risks occur.

Data & Reporting

• Interpret and communicate WFM metrics through dashboards, surfacing actionable insights for operations leaders and clients.
• Design and maintain WFM reporting standards across the practice, including occupancy, shrinkage, utilization, SLA attainment, and adherence.
• Deliver regular reports on workforce performance and provide data-driven insights and recommendations to improve operational outcomes.
• Partner with data and analytics team members to evolve reporting infrastructure as the practice scales.

Strategic Partnership & Continuous Improvement

• Identify workforce risks and propose mitigation strategies.
• Lead initiatives to improve forecasting accuracy, scheduling efficiency, and overall workforce optimization.
• Drive continuous improvement across WFM processes, tools, and reporting standards.

What will make you successful in this role? Role Requirements Expert with Workforce Management Systems, MS Excel and Power BI.

• Excellent communications skills with a focus on the ability to liaise with senior staff across businesses.
• Solid knowledge of call centre nuances including call patterns, AHT, adherence etc.
• Experience in WFM beyond conventional call centres (to include latest methods of client interaction)
• Excellent skills in resource forecasting processes, techniques and modelling.
• Good understanding of system installation, configuration, administration, and integration.
• Application and multimedia development and administration; and overall project management.
• Direct personnel and functional management experience required.
• Experience in supporting financial and administrative systems required.
• Experience with the relational databases and client/server development
• Project management and application development methodologies
• Demonstrated effective vendor management.
• Experience with information technology supporting a Contact Centre environment.

Qualifications And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Computer Science, or Statistics; with several years of progressive development within the WFM area of expertise.
• More than 6 years’ Workforce Management experience in a contact centre environment
• Proficiency in WFM tools (Verint, NICE, Aspect, Genesys, or equivalent) and advanced MS Excel and Power BI skills.
• Proven track record building staffing plans and headcount business cases with measurable outcomes.
• Hands-on experience with scheduling platforms; experience with NICE is a strong plus.
• Proficiency with BI/reporting tools for data interpretation and dashboard management.
• Demonstrated ability to use AI tools to accelerate analysis, automate workflows, or build models.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to present workforce data and recommendations to both operations teams and client stakeholders.
• Experience leading or mentoring workforce analysts, resource planners, real-time analysts, and BI/MI specialists.
• Comfortable working across multiple client programs simultaneously in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• Exposure to implementation or onboarding workflows where WFM inputs are needed early in the client lifecycle.
• Experience building WFM functions from scratch or in a startup or scale-up context.

Knowledge And Skills Resources Scheduling Systems

Call Centre workflow management

Call Centre forecasting

Policies and procedures

Tracking and reporting

Personal Attributes Decision quality - Co