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.
Demand Review & Challenge
- 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.
Due Diligence & Governance
- 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.
Pay Equity & Rate Cards
- 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 relativities.
Cost Control & Reporting
- 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.
Stakeholder Management
- 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.
HSE
- 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 organizational safety expectations.
- Perform any other duties or responsibilities assigned by the manager to support the achievement of division / organizational objectives.
Top competencies required
- Analytical Rigor - Critically evaluates demand and cost data, drawing sound, evidence based, and defensible conclusions.
- Governance & Control - Applies standards and policies consistently, ensuring robust processes and maintaining a clear audit trail.
- Commercial Acumen - Demonstrates clear understanding of cost drivers, rate structures, and the overall OpEx framework to support effective decision-making.
- Fairness & Integrity - Promotes pay equity and ensures consistent, transparent, and ethical treatment across roles and employee groups.
- Communication - Communicates complex data, insights, and recommendations clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, enabling understanding and informed action.
- Stakeholder Management - Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal stakeholders, effectively influencing and collaborating with leaders, Procurement, Finance, and business units to achieve shared outcomes.
- Collaboration - Works cross-functionally with Procurement, Finance, and business stakeholders, fostering alignment and driving collective solutions.
