Program Manager, Workforce Planning

Role Description

Reporting to the Head of Strategic Workforce Planning, this role is responsible for building and operating the systems, operating rhythms, and governance that enable the Workforce Planning team to deliver strategic work consistently and at scale.

As the owner of the Workforce Planning operating system, this person will drive the team's core planning and execution cadence, including planning cycles, governance forums, SteerCo meetings, executive reporting, quarterly organizational health reviews, and recurring team operating rhythms. They will also oversee the integrated portfolio plan across Workforce Planning workstreams, ensuring clear priorities, ownership, milestones, dependencies, and risk management to keep initiatives moving forward in a coordinated way.

In addition, this role will lead the enablement and adoption of Workforce Planning tools, outputs, and policies by managing how approved content is packaged, scheduled, distributed, and communicated to the appropriate audiences. Success requires strong program management, operational excellence, and the ability to bring structure to complex, evolving work while partnering effectively across Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, People Analytics, People Technology, Finance, and other cross-functional stakeholders.

This is an individual contributor role with broad responsibility for planning operations, program delivery, enablement, and cross-functional coordination, allowing Workforce Planning Business Partners to focus on strategic advisory work while ensuring the team's operating model runs effectively.

Responsibilities

• Own the Workforce Planning operating calendar, including planning cycles, governance forums, SteerCo meetings, executive reporting, and quarterly org health reviews.
• Support delivery across all workstreams by tracking plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, and actions.
• Own the Enablement & Adoption operating model and its delivery infrastructure.
• Challenge unclear scope, dates, ownership, and dependencies; escalate material risks with recommended options.
• Package, schedule, route, and distribute approved Workforce Planning insights and materials.
• Manage Talent Acquisition as a scaled distribution channel for Workforce Planning content.
• Build and maintain templates, playbooks, standards, self-service resources, and enablement materials.
• Coordinate training and education sessions and track adoption of tools, outputs, and processes.
• Prepare recurring executive materials using content provided by the relevant workstream owners.
• Coordinate with People Analytics and People Technology on tooling, reporting, and delivery infrastructure.
• Maintain clear documentation of decisions, ownership, processes, and ways of working.

Requirements

• 8 or more years of experience in program management, business operations, planning operations, or strategy and operations.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple connected workstreams.
• Ability to create clear plans, timelines, ownership, and operating rhythms.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing materials for senior leaders.
• Ability to identify and manage risks, dependencies, and blockers.
• Strong attention to detail and consistent follow-through.
• Ability to work independently and effectively across teams in an evolving environment.
• Comfort using data and feedback to track delivery and adoption.
• Demonstrated ability to use automation and AI-enabled tools to simplify operational workflows, documentation, reporting, and knowledge management.
• Demonstrated ability to conceptualize employee experience as a product, with proven success applying product management principles (roadmapping, user journeys, feature prioritization) to HR initiatives
• Proficiency in leveraging design thinking methodologies to deeply understand employee needs, rapidly prototype experience solutions, and implement data-driven iteration cycles that measurably enhance engagement and retention

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to workforce planning, talent planning, or finance planning.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams such as Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, People Analytics, People Technology, and Finance.
• Experience supporting planning cycles, governance forums, or the rollout of new tools and processes.

Durable Skills

AI fluency means using these tools to amplify human judgment, not replace it. We believe people with these skills will thrive as work and technology continue to evolve:

• Awareness: Understand yourself and others.
• Judgment: Evaluate information and make decisions in complex situations.
• Adaptability: Learn, adjust, and stay effective through change.
• Connection: Communicate, collaborate, and build trust.

To learn more about why these skills matter and what the data shows about thriving through change, read this blog post from our Chief People Officer, Melanie Rosenwasser.

Compensation

• Highlight concrete examples of how you built or refined operating calendars, governance forums or reporting cadences in past roles.
• Prepare a short walkthrough of an Excel model you designed for tracking milestones, dependencies and risks; be ready to discuss formulas and visualizations.
• Emphasize experience with Adjust or similar analytics tools; mention specific dashboards or insights you delivered.
• In interviews, showcase how you influence cross‑functional stakeholders without direct authority, using clear communication and data‑driven arguments.
• Research Dropbox’s remote work policies and be prepared to discuss how you stay productive and connected in a distributed team.
• When negotiating, factor in the home‑office stipend and learning budget as part of the total compensation package.
• Watch for vague descriptions of reporting lines; clarify during the interview whether you will have a dotted‑line manager or operate fully independently.