Manager, Workforce Strategy & Capacity Planning (BPO Operations) — Palo Alto, CA

Company Description

Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on guarding wellness and giving every person more time free from cancer. Founded in 2012, Guardant® is transforming patient care and accelerating new cancer therapies by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics. Guardant tests help improve outcomes across all stages of care, including screening to find cancer early, monitoring for recurrence in early-stage cancer, and treatment selection for patients with advanced cancer. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook.

Role Summary

The Manager, Workforce Strategy & Capacity Planning is responsible for building and evolving a scalable, data-driven workforce management system across BPO and internal operations. This role goes beyond traditional forecasting to actively shape demand by incorporating escalation reduction, AI, and self-service initiatives into workforce models.

The Manager will translate operational insights including root cause analysis (RCA) findings from our QA team and digital transformation efforts into actionable staffing strategies, enabling the organization to reduce escalations, improve FCR, improve efficiency, and optimize cost.

Success in this role is defined by improved forecast accuracy and measurable reductions in cost per contact through both operational improvements and AI-driven demand reduction.

This position is expected to support Central Time (CT) business hours. Work schedules may be adjusted as needed to meet business and customer needs.

Workforce Planning & Forecasting

• Build and manage end-to-end workforce planning models including forecasting volume, AHT, and staffing requirements to meet SLAs
• Translate forecasts into hiring, scheduling, and capacity plans across BPO and internal teams
• Define key WFM assumptions (shrinkage, occupancy, SLA targets)
• Establish a weekly forecasting cadence and perform variance analysis

Demand Shaping & Escalation-Adjusted Modeling

• Incorporate escalation rates, repeat contacts, and inefficiencies into workforce models
• Partner with Training and QA team to integrate escalation drivers into forecasts
• Quantify impact of avoidable escalations and repeat contacts on staffing and cost
• Develop reduction scenarios based on improved resolution rates, reduced repeat contacts, and reduced escalations

AI, Self-Service & Automation Scenario Modeling

• Build scenario-based workforce models incorporating AI and self-service initiatives
• Quantify digital deflection impact on volume, escalations, and staffing
• Develop baseline, target, and upside scenarios for AI adoption
• Translate AI-driven improvements into FTE and cost savings

Operating Model & Workforce Optimization

• Support evolution of workforce structure (Tier 1, Tier 1.5, Tier 2)
• Align staffing models with complexity and case types
• Identify opportunities to shift work across tiers or to self-service
• Measure and provide actionable insights on the operational and financial impact of transitioning workflows from internal teams to BPO partner, including cost, productivity, quality, and escalation outcomes, and highlight optimization opportunities to inform leadership decisions

BPO Workforce Governance & Vendor Management

• Validate and challenge vendor staffing models and productivity assumptions
• Establish governance cadence with BPO partners

Cost Modeling & Financial Alignment

• Develop cost-per-contact and cost-per-resolution models
• Quantify cost impact of escalations and repeat contacts
• Partner with Finance to align workforce strategy with budgets

Reporting & Executive Communication

• Build dashboards and reporting for workforce metrics
• Deliver insights connecting operational trends to staffing and cost
• Provide executive-ready analysis

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Mathematics, Data Analytics, or related field preferred
• Equivalent practical experience strongly considered
• 5–8+ years in Workforce Management or Capacity Planning
• Experience with BPO operations
• Strong analytical data modeling skills
• Experience with WFM software tools
• Experience with Tableau

AI & Digital Fluency

• Demonstrate curiosity, sound judgment, and the ability to critically evaluate and responsibly leverage AI-enabled tools in accordance with company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of work.

Hybrid Work Model: This section is applicable to onsite employees who are eligible for hybrid work location as specified by management and related policies.  Guardant has defined days for in-person/onsite collaboration and work-from-home days for individual-focused time. All U.S. employees who live within 50 miles of a Guardant facility will be required to be onsite on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. We have found aligning our scheduled in-office days allows our teams to do the best work and creates the focused thinking time our innovative work requires. At Guardant, our work model has created flexibility for better work-life balance while keeping teams connected to advance our science for our patients.

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below. This range does not include benefits or, if applicable, bonus, commission, or equity. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, education, job-related skills, job duties, and business need.

Primary Location: Palo Alto, CA
Primary Location Base Pay Range: $119,100 - $163,800
Other US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $101,235 - $139,230
If the role is performed in Colorado, the pay range for this job is: $107,190 - $147,420 Employee may be required to lift routine office supplies and use office equipment. Majority of the work is performed in a desk/office environment; however, there may be exposure to high noise levels, fumes, and biohazard material in the laboratory environment. Ability to sit for extended periods of time.

Guardant Health is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our hiring processes for candidates with disabilities, long-term conditions, mental health conditions, or sincerely held religious beliefs. If you need support, please reach out to Peopleteam@guardanthealth.com

A background screening including criminal history is required for this role. GH will consider qualified applicants with criminal arrest or conviction histories in a manner consistent with applicable law including but not limited to the LA County Fair Chance Policies and the Fair Chance Act (Gov. Code Section 12952).

Guardant Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

To learn more about the information collected when you apply for a position at Guardant Health, Inc. and how it is used, please review our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants.

Please visit our career page at: http://www.guardanthealth.com/jobs/