Senior Specialist Manpower planning

The Senior Specialist, Manpower Planning is responsible to run the day-to-day planning and governance of Abu Dhabi Airports’ outsourced manpower – the area previously managed in a fragmented way across Procurement and the business units. The role challenges and validates outsourced demand, runs due diligence on every business case, safeguards pay equity through consistent rate‑card application, and reconciles contingent spend against the OpEx envelope – ensuring outsourced manpower is justified, fair and cost‑controlled.

• Review & challenge demand – assess and challenge all requests for outsourced manpower, testing genuine need (must‑have vs. good‑to‑have) before any approval.
• Validate the business case – confirm that each request is supported by a clear, justified business case aligned to the operating plan and budget.

• Run due diligence – conduct due diligence on each request, confirming role justification, scope, duration and the appropriate sourcing route.
• Apply the framework – apply the outsourcing policy and operating framework consistently, maintaining a clear audit trail and supporting governance and assurance requirements.
• Single controlled intake – act as the controlled intake point for outsourced requests, eliminating off‑channel or duplicate engagements.

• Safeguard equity – apply rate cards consistently and ensure fair, defensible pay across comparable outsourced roles.
• Rate‑card governance – maintain and benchmark rate cards, flagging anomalies and ensuring alignment with market and internal relativity.

• Align to cost – reconcile contingent spend against the OpEx envelope to keep outsourced manpower cost controlled.
• Data & reporting – maintain accurate outsourced‑manpower data and produce regular reporting on demand, headcount, cost and utilisation for the Head of SWP and management.
• Continuous improvement – identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consolidate demand and reduce duplication across the contingent workforce.

• Business units – partner with business units to plan and validate their outsourced manpower requirements.
• Procurement & Finance – coordinate with Procurement on vendor and contract matters and with Finance on budgeting and spend reconciliation.

• Support the review of risk assessments through collaboration and consultation with HSE team, ensuring key risks are understood without direct field involvement.
• Promote safe work practices by encouraging timely reporting of incidents, near‑misses, and environmental concerns, and reinforcing the importance of organisational safety expectations.
• Perform any other duties or responsibilities assigned by the manager to support the achievement of division / organisational objectives.

• Analytical Rigor – critically evaluate demand and cost data, drawing sound, evidence‑based, and defensible conclusions.
• Governance & Control – apply standards and policies consistently, ensuring robust processes and maintaining a clear audit trail.
• Commercial Acumen – demonstrate clear understanding of cost drivers, rate structures and the overall OpEx framework to support effective decision‑making.
• Fairness & Integrity – promote pay equity and ensure consistent, transparent and ethical treatment across roles and employee groups.
• Communication – communicate complex data, insights and recommendations clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, enabling understanding and informed action.
• Stakeholder Management – build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders, effectively influencing and collaborating with leaders, Procurement, Finance and business units to achieve shared outcomes.
• Collaboration – work cross‑functionally with Procurement, Finance and business stakeholders, fostering alignment and driving collective solutions.