Senior Manager - Pilot Workforce Planning

United Airlines•Chicago, IL

About The Position

Get ready for a career at the leading edge of the airline industry! Our Flight Operations team works hard to connect people and unite the world safely, reliably and efficiently every single day. From industry leadership and pioneering technologies to next-level training — our Flight Ops team hires, trains, qualifies and supports the best pilots in the industry. The moments we share in the air and on the ground with our customers and our colleagues make United a special place to work and a great way to fly, together. The Senior Manager of Pilot Workforce Planning leads the development of the long-term forecast for pilot hiring and training at United Airlines, strategically delivering an efficient yet operationally reliable staffing plan over a horizon of up to five years. This leader also manages the pilot hiring, vacancy, and training planning efforts, ensuring a dependable delivery of pilots through our pilot training pipelines and working in close coordinated fashion with our partners at the Flight Training Center to build integrated plans. Collaboration with our Flight Operations Finance team is ongoing in the planning process, maintaining coordination in our financial forecast and close consideration of cost in decision making. Additionally, the Senior Manager leads the development process of the monthly plan, transitioning a forecast into a final staffing plan, balancing resource demands and operational constraints to delivery a durable schedule for our pilots and operating teams. In addition to developing these staffing plans, this leader plays a key role in communicating the strategy to upper level leadership, highlighting trends, risks, and financial impacts. This role requires a strong analytical mindset, cross-functional leadership, and the ability to translate complex operational and contractual into clear insights and actionable strategies. With ongoing evolution of the airline’s growth plans, this team operates in a fast paced environment, frequently adjusting to changes in pilot demand and the staffing landscape. Additionally, developing a comprehensive understanding of the pilot contract and implications to our strategies is crucial. This function is a critical and central role with Flight Ops and the greater Air Operations organization, supporting one of United’s most crucial resources – our 18,000 pilots – and this Senior Manager will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on a key facet of United’s growth.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or 4 years of relevant work experience
5+ years of either: A) airline experience, majority financial and/or resource planning, or B) Professional Advisory serving airline clients with engagements across supply chain, resource planning, operational efficiency, or continuous improvement
Demonstrated track record of developing models and forecast with complex analytical methodologies
Leadership mindset that thinks strategically, connects dots, with the foresight to anticipate the impact of ‘known unknowns’
Commitment to developing and communicating a plan to establish a coordination and alignment
Natural inclination to ask "why" and challenge the status quo, understand trends, and improve processes
Strong leadership skills and ability to foster a positive team culture
Experience engaging with senior leaders, presenting complex analytical concepts succinctly, and anticipating questions to ensure clarity
Self-starter, ability to handle concurrent projects and prioritize multiple competing demands, managing the matching of resources with workload, and manage up status updates without follow-up
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship
Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

Nice To Haves

Degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, Mathematics, or Statistics or equivalent experience in Management Consulting or Airline Management
Crew Planning, Network Planning, Financial Planning & Analysis, or Strategic Planning/Corporate Development at a major global airline with multiple aircraft types and crew bases

Responsibilities

Leads the development and maintenance of long-term pilot staffing models (up to five years), forecasting pilot supply and demand based on fleet growth, retirements, attrition, and operational constraints.
Partner with Network Planning and Finance to ensure closely coordination of network growth, pilot staffing, and financial forecasts.
Develop advanced analytical modeling to reflect historic trends in order to predict future staffing impacts, while also reflecting potential risk and cost implications of those forecasts.
Serves as a central coordination point for long-term pilot staffing strategy, ensuring that broad Flight Operations considerations are represented in the plan. Leads scenario planning exercises and presents findings and impacts to senior leadership.
Leads the coordination within Crew Planning of an integrated development of the monthly plan, ensuring a smooth transition from forecast to actual plan with respect for contractual requirements.