Senior Occupancy Planner - job 1 of 2

Senior Occupancy Planner 

This position will require you to be onsite 4 days per week.

What this job involves 

The Senior Occupancy Planner is responsible for for providing strategic occupancy planning expertise, leveraging a deep understanding of our client’s space supply and demand to develop scenario and occupancy plans for our client's portfolio. 

Fostering relationships 

You'll foster critical relationships between various individuals and organizations, including:  

• Corporate Real Estate to review and resolve planning forecast requirements, concerns, and issues, 

• Business Unit leadership to collect headcount forecasts and resolve headcount forecast discrepancies between their numbers and those collected at the group level, 

• Corporate Finance group to gather top-down headcount and growth projections, 

• Project management to review planning strategies that drive construction projects and support the implementation of these projects, 

• Move coordination and facility management teams to review and approve moves, develop migration plans, and conduct facility audits, and 

• Other members of the occupancy planning team to ensure the development of portfolio strategy plans across separate locations. 

Driving optimal occupancy planning solutions 

Your primary focus areas for this role will be managing the development of occupancy plans, sequencing group-level and individual moves, and resolving planning issues identified during client planning sessions. You will ensure the alignment of planning with corporate guidelines and that all scenarios maximize the use of space. You will recommend, educate, and enforce space policies/standards, procedures, and protocols, notify the client of customer-requested exceptions, and, as necessary, assist in developing site-specific Planning Strategies with Senior Leadership. You will be a Subject Matter Expert in the client's workplace program and in using data to drive solutions that increase productivity. You will be a leader in the Occupancy Planning and account team, modelling superior client relationship management and strategic thinking. 

Reporting 

One of your major requirements will be to get familiar with space utilization methods and the presentation of utilization data. Interacting with organizational leadership, you will identify space requirements and prepare and update project status reports on actual versus projected seat demand at the building level. In addition, you will report on current supply and capacity, forecast inventory changes as required, and work with the client to reconcile any discrepancies from top-down projections. 

Key Responsibilities include: 

Be able to answer how much space is currently available, what is the workplace strategy impact to overall capacity, and what are projected space needs based on (top-down) demand forecast and business requirements by group.  

Specifically, the responsibilities include:  

• Develop and manage occupancy strategies for a rolling three-year planning horizon, aligning with corporate guidelines and business requirements 

• Analyze the client's portfolio to identify space optimization opportunities and develop site-specific planning strategies 

• Create and maintain migration plans, stacking diagrams, and space allocation plans for markets, buildings, and floors 

• Collaborate with business unit leaders to collect headcount forecasts and resolve discrepancies between top-down projections and group-level data 

• Implement and support mobility programs, including analysis of badge data and utilization studies to inform planning recommendations 

• Prepare and present quarterly reports on headcount projections, supply and capacity information, and major initiatives 

• Educate stakeholders on space policies, standards, procedures, and protocols, ensuring compliance across the organization 

Required Qualifications and Skills 

• Bachelor's Degree in Real Estate, Finance, Architecture, Design, Construction Management, or a related field 

• Proficiency in CAFM/IWMS systems and advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, V-Lookups, formulas) 

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and articulate findings clearly 

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of interacting with executive-level clients 

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and develop innovative solutions to complex problems 

• Experience in occupancy planning, workplace strategy, or related field 

Desired Qualifications 

• Working knowledge of office design principles and trends, such as mobile or collaborative workplaces 

• Experience with data visualization and presentation tools (e.g., PowerPoint) to effectively communicate planning strategies 

• Familiarity with project management principles and practices