Operations Manager Workforce Planning (M/F/X)

As Operations Manager Planning, you are responsible for efficiently managing and developing the activities within your department. You ensure that the strategic objectives of your department are achieved within the established timelines and budget. You guarantee that inspections, audits, and other services are always scheduled efficiently, to high quality standards, and in line with customer agreements. In this central role, you combine strategic insight with operational leadership, managing a number of Planning Officers and Planning Experts, with whom you work daily to deliver optimal service, high customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement. In addition, you lead projects with strategic impact both within and beyond the scope of your department.
Overview:

You play a central role in shaping and optimizing planning and capacity management across the organization. You combine strategic insight with operational leadership, ensuring efficiency, quality, and customer focus in all planning processes. Your responsibilities cover a broad range of domains, including strategy, performance management, people leadership, stakeholder collaboration, budget control, and project management.

1 Strategy:

• You translate the organization’s and division’s strategy into a concrete strategy for your department.
• You turn organizational objectives into clear goals for your team and employees.
• You define individual responsibilities for key functions within your department.
• You communicate strategy and objectives clearly and convincingly within your team.
• You advise the Workforce Planning Director on strategic decisions.
• You closely monitor market developments related to planning needs and practices, and translate these into opportunities for Vinçotte.
• You actively contribute to evaluating and adjusting cross-divisional planning processes and initiate improvement projects to sustainably and innovatively optimize the quality and efficiency of planning and service delivery.

2. Performance Management:

Organizational Activities:

• You are responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving the planning strategy.
• You coordinate all activities and projects within your department with a focus on maximum efficiency. You identify trends and bottlenecks in capacity and translate these into strategic advice.
• You ensure an optimal and future-oriented approach to capacity issues, balancing efficiency with customer needs. You develop and monitor cross-divisional capacity planning.
• You translate operational guidelines into clear procedures.
• You create dashboards to monitor relevant KPIs and, based on these, provide recommendations to the Workforce Planning Director.
• You closely monitor KPIs (e.g., timelines, volumes).
• You safeguard quality and intervene where needed.
• You ensure optimal use of resources (people and materials).
• You make decisions on hiring additional staff or investing in materials within the agreed budget framework.
• You act as a bridge between efficiency, customer needs, and collaboration across departments.
• You ensure smooth communication within the department and with other departments such as Operations, Customer Services, etc.
• You ensure that tools and systems developed within the organization are efficiently rolled out, correctly used, and embedded in daily operations.
• You ensure that digital transformation contributes to greater efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction.

People Management:

• You foster a climate of trust and collaboration within your department and across divisions, continuously building a positive team spirit.
• You provide both strategic and operational leadership in planning & capacity management.
• You are responsible for the management, coaching, development, and evaluation of your N-1s (Planning Officers & Planning Experts).
• You consult and inform employees on relevant topics.
• You proactively address problems and conflicts.
• You evaluate employee performance and advise on promotions.
• You ensure that employees have access to additional training opportunities.
• You encourage employees to embrace digital solutions and guide them through change.

Stakeholder Management:

• You work actively with Operations Managers, Operational Team Leads, and Customer Services to align planning with business and customer needs.
• You organize and lead meetings and project groups with relevant stakeholders.
• You identify stakeholder needs, challenges, and developments, and translate these into improvements in the planning process.

Budget Management & Realization:

• You monitor your department’s financial results, identify deviations, and make adjustments as needed to achieve objectives.
• You allocate budgets and resources to different teams and projects—both personnel and materials—and closely monitor their use.
• You advise the Workforce Planning Director in preparing the annual budget and provide input on additional investments.

3. Project Management:

• You take on the role of project manager for both divisional and cross-divisional/team-wide projects aimed at optimizing planning, capacity management, and process design for Vinçotte or Kiwa.
• You implement innovative solutions and new technologies.
• You are responsible for drafting project plans, monitoring deadlines and budgets, and ensuring project goals are met.

Responsabilities:

Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Management, or a related field.
Experience:

• 5–8 years of relevant experience in operations, planning, workforce/capacity management, or process optimization.
• Proven experience in leading teams and driving cross-departmental projects.
• Strong background in performance monitoring, KPI management, and continuous improvement.
  Experience with digital tools, planning systems, and transformation projects is an asset.

Languages: Native in Dutch or French, with a good command of the other language, and a strong working knowledge of English.

Competences:

• Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire, coach, and develop teams.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to translate data into strategic insights.
• Strategic and problem-solving mindset, able to see the big picture while balancing operational priorities.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, able to align diverse interests.
• Results-oriented and proactive, with a focus on efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction.
• Change-minded and comfortable with digital transformation and innovation.
• Solid project management skills: planning, prioritizing, monitoring budgets, and achieving objectives

Qualifications:

Interested in joining our teams?

Great! We can promise you that with us you…

•  can count on our Vinçotte community: enthusiastic and driven colleagues
• get the chance to develop and expand your own expertise
• learn to work objectively, but are also allowed to think out-of-the-box
• sign up for a job with impact: your voice helps determine our policy
• contribute daily to a safe and efficient society
• can count on an attractive salary supplemented with a company car, extra-legal benefits (meal vouchers, extra vacations, etc.).

Find out more about working at Vinçotte!