Resource Advisor

Job description

National Markets Audit - Resource Advisor (“RA”)

Resourcing is a critical business function at KPMG. It ensures that organisations have the right people, with the right skills, in the right locations, available at the right time.

Resourcing ensures the effective utilisation and development of on and offshore resource. Its responsibilities range from workforce planning and headcount management to demand and supply management for client engagements.

Effective Resourcing contributes significantly to KPMG delivering its business performance but also plays a key role in helping individuals at KPMG fulfil their career ambitions.

The role

The RA will work closely with the Resourcing Manager and Performance Leader within their allocated department to understand the resourcing needs of the business. This will involve combining the management of the annual resource planning cycle of our recurring work with the proactive management of ad hoc resourcing requests for non-audit projects. In order to do this, they need to develop a good understanding of the client base of their respective departments, the pipeline of opportunities and the skills set of the client facing staff in order to make the right resourcing decisions in conjunction with the Resourcing Manager.

This role is based in our Cambridge office.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for driving the year round planning process. This includes working closely with managers and senior managers within their respective departments to understand the resourcing requirements for their individual clients.
• Proactively monitor resourcing levels against client level budgets, challenging where resource requests exceed budgeted allocation.
• Chair manager meetings as a group and also on a one to one basis to ensure client needs on each client are covered.
• Understand client booking requirements in terms of complexity and the nature of the jobs, timing, skills requirement and link those with the client service staff skills set and preferences. Understand where there is flexibility in individual bookings.
• Manage the process around shortfalls – understand where the clashes are and how they can be resolved; challenge the requirements – staffing, timing etc. Proactively look for solutions by moving bookings around but still achieving appropriate level of support for our audit clients. Work as a team with other Resource Management Advisors and the Resourcing Manager to manage the shortfall position across National Markets Audit as a whole.
• Take responsibility for managing the Retain bookings to ensure that it accurately reflects our current resourcing positions and that is it is up to date for minimum of 6 months in advance.
• Understand the drivers behind utilisation and utilisation management. This includes appropriate charging of time worked on the client; booking of training commitments; sickness/absenteeism etc. Flag issues of either under-utilisation of resources or where individuals are working consistently over the expected hours.
• Actively participate in regular Resourcing meetings with the People Leaders and with the local Resourcing teams.
• Understand Headcount planning and the need for any additional staff. Proactively communicate with the Resourcing Manager on any issues and concerns arising from the level of headcount we have and the level of ongoing commitments. This will include gaining an understanding of blue sky work expected and the level of staff required to deliver this work.
• Manage holiday requests in conjunction with the agreed policy, approving holiday where appropriate.
• Monitor sickness/absence level highlighting issues as appropriate.
• Monitor time sheet submission, challenging where appropriate on time charged to client or other codes.
• Manage on-boarding of all new joiners.
• Training - advising on training bookings, dealing with cancellations and issues as they arise; develop and promote an understanding of the training path requirements for all grades. Chase attendance on mandatory training courses.

The Individual

• Experience in a resource management environment is desirable
• Excellent personal effectiveness to deal with conflicts, express own ideas persuasively and creatively, obtain buy-in and influence decisions outcomes while managing the expectations of the business
• Good commercial awareness of the business issues that drive resourcing
• Understand our market to balance business goals against each individual’s goals
• Confidence to challenge when necessary at all levels.
• Strong influencing skills to obtain resources for projects both at very short notice and in advance
• An excellent negotiator who is able to build relationships in a wider network
• Strong multi-tasking skills with excellent judgment to work within potentially competing demands.