Darigold is seeking an experienced and motivated Demand Planning Manager to join our team. Reporting to the Director of Commercial Strategy & Execution, the Demand Planning Manager supports the development of Darigolds demand forecasting and planning processes, helping ensure commercial decisions are informed by accurate, data-driven insights. This role partners closely with Sales, Finance, Supply Chain and Commercial teams to translate pricing, promotional, customer and market dynamics into actionable demand plans. The Demand Planning Manager drives forecasting excellence, supports scenario planning and provides business performance insights that help align commercial strategies with operational execution.
Darigold is the fifth largest dairy cooperative in the United States based on milk volume and one of the largest privately held organizations headquartered in the state of Washington. Since 1918, our producers have taken pride in producing dairy products with unsurpassed quality. Today, we are one of the nations largest agricultural cooperatives, producing over 8.5 billion pounds of milk every year. Through innovative technology and our efficient, flexible production capabilities, we deliver value added products and customer-driven solutions. Darigold is now known throughout the world for bringing fresh, wholesome dairy products and ingredients from the Northwest to people all around the globe.
What You Will Do:
Demand Planning & Forecast Management -
- Develop and maintain baseline and incremental demand forecasts across products, customers and channels.
- Translate pricing, promotional, assortment and customer strategies into demand planning assumptions.
- Facilitate the consensus forecasting process by coordinating inputs from Sales, Finance and Commercial teams.
- Support the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process through forecast development, assumption tracking and risk identification.
- Monitor forecast performance and identify opportunities to improve forecasting accuracy.
- Analyze demand drivers, including pricing, promotional activity, customer trends and market dynamics.
- Partner with Supply Chain to ensure demand plans align with operational capabilities and constraints.
Commercial Analytics & Business Support -
- Support scenario planning and demand modeling related to pricing, promotions, customer activity, product mix and market changes.
- Evaluate volume, revenue and profitability impacts of commercial initiatives.
- Provide data-driven analysis and recommendations to support decision making.
- Identify risks and opportunities within demand forecasts and communicate findings to stakeholders.
- Contribute demand insights to annual planning, forecasting and commercial investment discussions.
Performance Management & Reporting -
- Develop reporting and dashboards to monitor sales performance, demand trends and forecast accuracy.
- Support monthly and quarterly forecasting, Risks & Opportunities (R&O) and Annual Operating Plan (AOP) processes.
- Maintain scorecards and performance tracking for customer and product launches.
- Provide ad hoc analysis and reporting as needed.
Team Leadership & Capability Development -
- Build strong working relationships across Sales, Finance, Supply Chain and Commercial teams.
- Drive alignment around forecast assumptions, planning inputs and business priorities.
- Promote data-driven decision making through clear communication of insights and recommendations.
- Support continuous improvement efforts related to forecasting, reporting and planning processes.
- Lead, coach and develop the Demand Planner.
- Ensure effective forecasting processes, data integrity and execution excellence.
- Strengthen organizational capabilities in demand planning, analytics and scenario modeling.
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and data-driven decision making.
What You Will Bring:
- Bachelors degree in Business, Finance, Economics or related field.
- 4+ years of experience in demand planning, commercial strategy, finance or related analytical roles.
- Experience partnering with Sales, Finance and Supply Chain teams to drive business outcomes.
- Understanding of demand drivers, including pricing, promotions, customer behavior and market dynamics.
- Experience using forecasting systems, customer data platforms and syndicated data sources.
- Strong analytical and financial acumen with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights.
- Advanced Excel skills and proficiency with data visualization tools such as Power BI.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives in a dynamic environment.
- Action-oriented and results-driven.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
- Effective at influencing and collaborating across a matrixed organization.
- Customer-focused with strong relationship-building skills.
- Adaptable, resilient and comfortable operating in ambiguity.
- Demonstrates Darigolds values of Leadership, Stewardship and Perseverance.
Nice To Haves:
- Experience in consumer-packaged goods, food & beverage, agribusiness, retail or related industries.
- Masters degree or MBA.
- Experience with DemandTec, Retail Link, ARA, Vendor Central, Nielsen, Circana/IRI or similar platforms.
Benefits of Working at Darigold:
We understand that as an employee, benefits that support you and your family in and out of work are important. We're proud to offer eligible positions a competitive total rewards package that includes:
- 401k competitive employer matching
- Comprehensive medical, dental & vision benefits
- Employer paid life & disability coverage
- Paid time off and paid holidays
- 8 weeks paid parental leave
- Education assistance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible hybrid working arrangement where it applies (up to 1 day/week after initial 90 days and approval by hiring manager and HR)
- Compensation range: $114,060.52 - $171,090.78 (individual wage based on previous experience, knowledge and skills)
Our Commitment to Diversity:
Achieving our vision to Lead Dairy Forward requires cultivating and supporting a team with varying backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We are committed to providing a workplace based on mutual respect where all employees feel included and can bring their best and authentic selves to work every day. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Affirmative Action Employer. We welcome all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, marital status, creed, religion, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. As a condition of employment applicants offered a role will be required to successfully pass our pre-employment background screen, receive a negative drug screen result & confirm eligibility to work in the U.S. We participate in E-Verify - please follow the links for details, English / Spanish & view our Right to Work Statement, English / Spanish.