Global Head, Planning & Resource Management

Job title: Global Head, Planning & Resource Management

ICON plc is a world-leading healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization. We’re proud to foster an inclusive environment driving innovation and excellence, and we welcome you to join us on our mission to shape the future of clinical development.

What You Will Do

Define and lead ICON's global workforce planning and resource management strategy, ensuring talent investments, capacity decisions, and workforce deployment support the organization's growth ambitions, delivery commitments, operational performance, and long-term business objectives.

Own the enterprise-wide demand forecasting, capacity planning, resource deployment, and workforce analytics framework, translating commercial forecasts, portfolio dynamics, and business priorities into actionable workforce strategies and executive decision-making insights.

Lead ICON's global Headcount Approval Process, establishing governance standards, analytical rigor, and decision frameworks that guide workforce investment decisions across all functions, business units, and geographies.

Serve as a trusted advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Leadership Team, Finance leadership, and business presidents, providing strategic guidance on workforce investments, organizational capacity, delivery risk, productivity, and resource optimization.

Influence critical workforce and organizational decisions by partnering with senior stakeholders to evaluate resource requirements, challenge assumptions, balance competing priorities, and ensure alignment with enterprise objectives, delivery excellence, and financial performance goals.

Drive the transformation of workforce planning and governance capabilities, advancing forecasting accuracy, workforce agility, operational efficiency, decision quality, and scalability through process optimization, technology enablement, automation, and advanced analytics.

Partner closely with Finance, Human Resources, and operational leadership to evaluate the commercial and financial implications of workforce decisions, including utilization, productivity, margin performance, revenue realization, resource costs, workforce investments, and organizational efficiency.

Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing global organization, fostering leadership capability, succession planning, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement while representing workforce strategy and resource management at the highest levels of the organization.

Your Profile

Extensive executive leadership experience in workforce planning, capacity management, resource optimization, demand forecasting, and deployment strategy within large, complex, global organizations. While experience in CRO, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, consulting, or other professional services environments is advantageous, we are open to leaders from any project-based, talent-intensive business where workforce planning is critical to operational and financial success.

Demonstrated success partnering with and influencing executive leadership teams, business presidents, and C-suite stakeholders, providing trusted counsel on workforce investments, organizational capacity, growth planning, operational risk, and strategic decision-making.

Significant experience leading enterprise workforce governance, investment approval, resource allocation, or headcount management processes, establishing rigorous decision frameworks that improve organizational effectiveness, accountability, and business outcomes.

A proven track record of leading high-performing global organizations through senior leaders, creating strong cultures of accountability, collaboration, innovation, succession planning, and continuous improvement within complex matrixed environments.

Exceptional commercial and financial acumen, including a deep understanding of utilization, productivity, margin optimization, workforce investment, resource costs, revenue realization, and the operational drivers of performance within service-based organizations.

Strong analytical, strategic, and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to synthesize complex business dynamics, leverage workforce analytics and forecasting methodologies, and translate data into clear, actionable recommendations for executive decision-making.

Outstanding executive presence, communication, and influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to present complex analyses, challenge assumptions constructively, and build alignment among senior stakeholders in high-profile, high-impact business environments.

Experience leading transformational change and building scalable workforce planning capabilities, leveraging process improvement, technology enablement, advanced analytics, and organizational leadership to improve forecasting accuracy, workforce agility, and operational efficiency.

Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in Business, Finance, Operations, Economics, Human Resources, or a related field strongly preferred.

Ability to travel up to 10%

Live in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland; locations in other countries will be considered.

What ICON can offer you:

Our success depends on the quality of our people. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to build a diverse culture that rewards high performance and nurtures talent.

In addition to your competitive salary, ICON offers a range of additional benefits. Our benefits are designed to be competitive within each country and are focused on well-being and work life balance opportunities for you and your family.

Our benefits examples include:

• Various annual leave entitlements
• A range of health insurance offerings to suit you and your family’s needs.
• Competitive retirement planning offerings to maximize savings and plan with confidence for the years ahead.
• Global Employee Assistance Programme, LifeWorks, offering 24-hour access to a global network of over 80,000 independent specialized professionals who are there to support you and your family’s well-being.
• Life assurance
• Flexible country-specific optional benefits, including childcare vouchers, bike purchase schemes, discounted gym memberships, subsidized travel passes, health assessments, among others.

Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.

At ICON, inclusion & belonging are fundamental to our culture and values. We’re dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all candidates. ICON is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.