Demand Planner - Central, UK&I

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

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Why join our team? 

pladis is home to iconic brands Godiva, McVitie’s and Ulker. These brands make sweet treats and savoury treats that consumers everywhere recognise and enjoy! As we start on our new pathway, we will continue making the biscuits and confectionery people know and expect from these brands, and we will expand their portfolios too. Together we will build new and exciting products at pladis – new flavours, new concepts and new ways to share happiness.

Our strength is not only in our products, it is also in our people and our values Each business that has united to form pladis are loved for their heritage and values. We will retain the honesty, integrity and trust instilled in our brands by our ground-breaking founders as we embark on the next chapter of our success.

What will this role achieve? 

The operational activities within the demand planning team are essential and the central demand planner will be critical in ensuring the daily and weekly functional activities are undertaken effectively. 

As the first point of contact for the supply chain, the Central Demand Planner will have immediate access to all sales and forecast information and will be closely linked with the customer facing demand planners to ensure effective information flows within the business on all forecasting and sales activities. 

This role will ensure the operational execution of product launch activities, linking closely with the brand and commercialisation teams.  The individual will oversee the operational delivery of the seasonal plan and ensure excess / insufficient stock is minimised throughout the season.

What will be your key deliverables? 

• Supply Chain engagement - 1st point of contact for supply chain (demand / forecasting). 

• Communication & management of short-term supply constraints to demand planners ensuring required action is taken.

• Daily / weekly report generation – high & low level. 

• Circulation & collation of forecast deviation from customer demand planner for supply chain / senior commercial team.

• Allocation management – understand any / all supply constraints, review historical sales vs forecast & define & communicate volume allocation to demand planners / commercial managers.

• Brand / Commercialisation teams project member (as applicable) for all NPD & product development initiatives.

• New product launch management.  Monitor / analyse sales plan population, challenging / resolving sales teams plan population vs Commercial Planning & Brand expectations.  Oversee the operational delivery of NPD implementation in conjunction with the supply chain and brand teams.

• Operational seasonal management (with customer facing demand planners).  Leading weekly cross functional review meetings, identifying excess production vs demand & ensuring changes to the forward production plan.  Identification and circulation of excess / insufficient stock risk in season.

• Partnership with the Commercial Planning team in forecast delivery / execution.

• Undertake centralised base rate amendments & overlays via automated upload as applicable.

• Demand Planning lead for IS / system queries & resolution.

What do you need for this role?

Experience:

• Experience in FMCG, food and drinks

• Previous experience disseminating and interpreting large data volumes.

• Cross-channel experience (Convenience & Impulse, Grocery, Hospitality)

Skills:

• High level of analytical & numeracy skills.  Dissemination of high volume data

• Communication skills – written and verbal.

• Capable to flex from strategy to execution

• Strong capability to influence / stakeholder management

• Leadership, ownership and accountability

Personal Attributes:

• Challenging

• Approachable

• Committed

• Passionate about delivering

Diversity and inclusion is central to everything we do and is reflected across our business. pladis brings together brands and people from around the globe – and this diversity is our great strength.

We’re an equal opportunities employer and believe in fostering an inclusive environment where we celebrate diversity of thinking and respect everyone’s distinctive qualities and perspectives.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform key job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business.
We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.