Global Workforce Planning & Optimization Strategist

Job Description:

Position Summary

The Global Workforce Planning & Optimization Strategist will establish and evolve Mars’s enterprise strategic workforce planning (SWP) capability within the newly established Workforce and Organizational Effectiveness Center of Excellence (COE). In this high-impact position, you will design and implement the enterprise SWP signature process - establishing governance, frameworks, and metrics - while balancing centralized guidelines with decentralized execution across Mars’s diverse business units. You will lead enterprise-wide SWP initiatives, advise on priority business-unit projects, and collaborate closely with business, finance, strategy, commercial, and people data analytics teams. Operating as an enterprise capability builder and a hands-on advisor, this role is pivotal in shifting the organization toward proactive, data-driven workforce decisions and scalable capability building. We are looking for a strategic leader who leads with curiosity, shapes the path forward in an evolving capability area, and passionately owns outcomes to drive business impact.

Core Responsibilities

Enterprise Frameworks & Governance

• Set the enterprise direction for strategic workforce planning including the vision, priorities, and roadmap

• Establish enterprise WFP framework including guiding principles, processes, roles/responsibilities, governance, and metrics

• Integrate workforce planning into existing business cadences, including financial planning, enterprise risk management, and strategic reviews

• Integrate future of work/AI transformation principles, concepts, and tools into WFP framework

• Partner with enterprise and business unit stakeholders to pilot and evolve the enterprise SWP signature process

• Lead enterprise SWP governance forums to drive shared ownership among P&O, finance, strategy, and other key stakeholders

• Continuously refine frameworks and resources based on adoption, evolving business needs, and leading industry practices

Strategic Advisory & Projects

• Lead enterprise-level SWP analysis, connecting business capabilities and workforce implications

• Develop and deploy scenario-based modeling capabilities to analyze workforce implications of business strategies, AI, and organizational design changes

• Provide expert counsel on the workforce impact of AI, automation, and digital labor trends, including effects on productivity, workforce mix, and future capabilities

• Translate complex quantitative analysis into compelling narratives and executive-level recommendations to enable decisive action

• Advise on use cases and business requirements for SWP data and technology solutions (e.g., data governance and integration, Workday Adaptive, Anaplan, OrgVue, Visier)

Capability Building & Continuous Innovation

• Architect and deploy scalable playbooks and toolkits to operationalize SWP signature process

• Establish and implement SWP capability roadmap including people, process, and technology requirements and milestones

• Maintain perspective on emerging workforce transformation concepts, tools, and benchmarks - integrating these into enterprise frameworks and projects

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business, I/O Psychology, Strategy, or a related field. A Master’s degree (e.g., MBA, I/O Psychology) is preferred

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in strategic workforce planning, workforce transformation, and organizational design with an enterprise or global scope

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Management Consulting advising large, complex organizations on workforce planning and transformation OR 10 years of in-house experience at a global, multi-business unit company, serving in an enterprise team / COE for workforce planning/transformation

• Proven experience building and scaling enterprise SWP frameworks and capabilities within complex, matrixed organizations (CPG or medical services preferred)

• Experience with workforce of the future concepts including: future of work frameworks/tools, operating model evolution, skills-based workforce, AI-enabled workforce, workforce intelligence

• Experience leading workforce transformation engagements related to AI/automation, assessing workforce impacts and advising senior leaders on workforce implications

• Deep expertise translating business strategy into workforce implications and driving workforce decisions

• Experience with WFP platforms (e.g., Anaplan, Workday Adaptive, Orgvue, Visier) and a strong understanding of HR/Finance data ecosystems (Workday experience required)

• Experience leading complex, cross-functional enterprise projects and partnering with senior leaders across HR, finance, and strategy

• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with a proven ability to serve as a trusted advisor, facilitate senior-level decisions, and build executive-ready narratives

• Strong analytical and data storytelling skills, with experience using workforce, financial, and business data to model scenarios and generate actionable insights

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles. 

• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today. 

• A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University. 

• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus. 

• Find out more about what Mars can offer you by visiting our Global Careers site. 

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

The pay range shown is applicable to all US locations listed within the job posting:USD 169,840.00 - USD 233,530.00