Professional Services Operations Manager

Practice/Department: Professional Services Position Title: Services Operations Manager Position Location: Remote - USA Reports to: Sr Director, PMO Job Summary: The Services Operations Manager (SOM) is responsible for overseeing the strategic allocation, forecasting, utilization, and management of professional services resources across the organization. This role serves as the central coordination point between Sales, PMO, Delivery Leaders, Practice Managers, and Operations to ensure the right resources are assigned to the right projects at the right time. The SOM is a first-line people leader with direct management responsibility for the Resource Management Desk team and services operations. This position will oversee a team of staffing coordinators and resource management professionals responsible for day-to-day staffing operations, resource assignments, utilization tracking, and workforce planning activities. The Manager will provide leadership, coaching, mentoring, performance management, career development, and operational direction to the team while ensuring consistent execution of resource management processes and service delivery standards. The Services Operations Manager drives workforce planning, capacity management, utilization optimization, and staffing governance while balancing customer commitments, employee development, and business objectives. This individual plays a key role in maximizing resource utilization and supporting revenue attainment. FLSA Status: Exempt Essential Functions: Resource Planning & Allocation Manage enterprise-wide resource allocation across multiple service offerings, projects, programs, and clients. Facilitate staffing requests and resource assignment decisions based on skills, availability, utilization targets, location, and client requirements. Maintain visibility into resource demand, capacity, and forecasted needs. Ensure resource assignments align with project schedules, budgets, and business objectives. Manage resource conflicts and prioritize assignments based on organizational priorities. Capacity & Workforce Management Develop short-term and long-term resource forecasts. Monitor resource capacity and utilization across technical and delivery teams. Identify potential resource shortages, skill gaps, and capacity constraints. Support hiring plans by providing workforce demand projections and staffing recommendations. Assist leadership in workforce balancing strategies during periods of underutilization or high demand. Utilization Management Monitor individual, team, and organizational utilization metrics. Identify underutilized and overutilized resources. Support achievement of organizational utilization and profitability targets. Produce utilization reporting and executive dashboards. Demand Management Partner with Sales, Solution Architects, and Service Delivery teams to assess upcoming project opportunities. Participate in resource reviews for pipeline opportunities and forecasted engagements. Evaluate staffing impacts of new business opportunities. Support pre-sales staffing discussions. Ensure resource commitments are realistic and achievable. Skills & Talent Management Maintain resource skill inventories, certifications, experience profiles, and capability matrices. Work with Practice Leaders to align staffing decisions with professional development goals. Work with Practice Leaders for succession and cross-training strategies to improve workforce flexibility. Governance & Process Improvement Establish and maintain resource management processes, standards, and procedures. Lead regular resource planning meetings and staffing governance reviews. Drive continuous improvement initiatives within resource management operations. Develop and maintain reporting and analytics related to staffing, capacity, utilization, and demand. Support PMO and operational excellence initiatives. Stakeholder Management Serve as the primary point of contact for resource planning and staffing activities. Build strong partnerships across PMO, Delivery, Operations, Sales, Recruiting, and Leadership teams. Facilitate discussions to resolve competing resource priorities and business demands. Required Skills/Abilities/Competencies Strong resource planning and workforce management skills. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building abilities. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to evaluate resource demand, capacity, and utilization data. Ability to prioritize competing demands and make sound staffing decisions. Strong organizational and time management skills. Ability to facilitate discussions and resolve conflicts effectively. Strategic thinking and workforce planning capability. Proficiency in reporting, analytics, and dashboard development. Ability to influence decision-making across multiple levels of the organization. Strong collaboration and teamwork skills. Continuous improvement mindset. Critical thinking and sound business judgment. Attention to detail and accuracy. Ability to work in a fast-paced, changing environment. Professionalism, discretion, and ethical decision-making Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, Project Management, Human Resources, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience. 5+ years of experience in resource management, workforce planning, project delivery, PMO operations, or a related professional services environment. Experience managing resource allocation, capacity planning, forecasting, and utilization reporting across multiple projects, teams, or business functions Physical Requirements: Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.