Colleague Planner

About Family Adventures Group

Family Adventures Group manages award-winning nurseries and family leisure venues across South West, Midlands, and Wales. The company emphasizes exceptional experiences for children, families, and staff while fostering a people-centric culture defined by its core values: Accountable, Reliable, Caring, and Honest (ARCH).

Role Overview

The Colleague Planner is crucial in ensuring appropriate staffing across nurseries and support functions, making sure the right people are scheduled effectively. Reporting to the Chief Quality & Operations Officer, the role involves coordinating workforce plans, monitoring availability, supporting staff deployment, and maintaining safe staffing levels.

Due to operational demands, the position requires early engagement starting at 7:30am on weekdays to assist management with staffing challenges promptly.

Work Hours

The standard schedule is Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 12:30pm (25 hours weekly). Flexibility around total weekly hours is possible, but availability to start at 7:30am is essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and update colleague deployment plans throughout the organization.
• Track staffing levels, occupancy, and operational needs.
• Assist nursery and operational managers in optimizing scheduling.
• Spot staffing shortages and arrange cover as needed.
• Ensure staffing aligns with regulations and operational demands.
• Monitor annual leave, training, and colleague availability.
• Keep accurate records on colleague availability, hours, and shifts.
• Coordinate colleague movement between sites, both planned and short-term.
• Work with agency providers and internal teams to secure extra resources.
• Update workforce planning systems for new hires.
• Generate reports on staffing, utilization, absences, and forecast needs.
• Alert leadership on staffing risks and emerging workforce trends.
• Support projects aimed at enhancing workforce efficiency.
• Maintain strong communication lines with managers and staff regarding staffing and deployment.
• Provide guidance on workforce planning to managers.
• Identify and promote improvements in scheduling processes.
• Champion consistent workforce planning practices across the group.

Candidate Profile

• Experience in workforce or resource planning, scheduling, rostering, or operational admin is essential.
• Strong organizational abilities and time management skills.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• Competency in Microsoft Excel and Office applications.
• Ability to analyze data and detect patterns.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Capable of working independently and managing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Desirable: Experience in childcare, education, hospitality, healthcare, retail, or multi-site operations.
• Familiarity with workforce management software and understanding of staffing ratio regulations.
• Experience producing management reports and workforce analytics is a plus.

Values & Work Ethic

• Accountable: Takes responsibility and reliably delivers results.
• Reliable: Provides accurate, dependable support and consistently meets deadlines.
• Caring: Shows empathy and professionalism, recognizing the impact of decisions on colleagues, children, and families.
• Honest: Communicates with openness, respect, and integrity.

Benefits

• Competitive salary (£19,214 per annum; £30,742 FTE).
• Flexible working options.
• Enhanced annual leave.
• Pension plan.
• Life insurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme including GP and counseling support.
• Discounted childcare services.
• Complimentary lunches during work.
• Recognition programs for colleagues.
• Ongoing professional development opportunities.
• Access to wellbeing, reward, and benefit programs company-wide.

Safeguarding Commitment

The organization is dedicated to child welfare, requiring suitable pre-employment checks, including references and DBS screenings where appropriate.