Duties:

• Manage a team of Category Planners against set performance targets
• Manage production plans across the portfolio to minimize risk stock and maximize availability within boundaries of inventory targets
• Run end-to-end production plans for complex plants
• Manage demand forecasts of all items in the portfolio, making use of the planning system and allocated resources to achieve KPIs set for forecast accuracy M0, M-1, M-2
• Manage daily, weekly and monthly exception reports to achieve KPIs
• Manage raw materials supplier performance through collaborative initiatives to ensure compliance to set supply performance targets, and demonstrate improvement
• Manage plant performance against plan and improve metrics through collaborative intervention
• Continuously improve plan parameters in an ever-changing environment to ensure production lines are balanced and inventory is optimized
• Generate tactical plans and facilitate cyclical reviews of shift patterns, obtain plant consensus
• Manage inventory investment against portfolio and ensure targets are met throughout the year, given seasonality tends, MOQs, lead times, supplier reliability and periods of non-supply
• Collaborate cross functionally to ensure planning efforts support and enable TCO initiatives
• Collaborate with Promotions Planning Manager to ensure LTOs, launches and discontinuations are executed according to plan
• Recommend opportunities to supplement supply or change source of supply using fact-based analysis and trending, and manage transition
• Assist in continuous improvement of software functionality
• Implement relevant SOPs within the Planning environment to ensure an accurate master dataset is maintained
• Communicate risk of short supply to the business in an effective and timeous manner, and collaborate with Procurement and Marketing teams to mitigate risk and duration of non-supply
• Generate annual volume budgets for the portfolio
• Assist in implementing projects as required by the Group Planning Manager

Education and Experience:
• Relevant tertiary qualification; BSc, BEng or alternatively B.Com
• At least 3 years’ experience in a planning environment
• Experience with Barnton Planning system preferable
• Strong competence in: MS Excel, Outlook, Power Point, SQL/MS Access advantageous