Sales & Operations Planning Manager

The S&OP Manager leads the company’s end-to-end Sales and Operations Planning process, aligning demand, supply, inventory, capacity, and financial plans across the organization. This role facilitates a disciplined monthly planning cycle, converts business priorities into an executable operating plan, identifies risks and opportunities, and enables timely leadership decisions. The position partners closely with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, Engineering, and Product Management to improve service, working capital, cost, and operational performance.

What You’ll do:

• Own and continuously improve the monthly S&OP process, including data preparation, demand review, supply review, pre-S&OP reconciliation, executive S&OP, and action tracking.
• Develop and maintain a rolling, constraint-based operating plan across the agreed planning horizon.
• Lead cross-functional reviews that reconcile customer demand, production capacity, materials, labor, inventory, new product activity, and financial objectives.
• Chair demand and supply review meetings, clearly documenting assumptions, gaps, decisions, owners, and due dates.
• Translate the consensus demand plan into supply, capacity, inventory, and procurement requirements by site, product family, or business unit.
• Identify capacity constraints, material risks, demand volatility, and inventory exposure; coordinate scenarios and mitigation plans.
• Partner with Finance to connect the operating plan to revenue, margin, working-capital, and budget or forecast expectations.
• Establish planning policies, time fences, segmentation rules, inventory targets, and escalation thresholds.
• Monitor forecast accuracy, bias, schedule adherence, service, backlog, inventory health, capacity utilization, and other planning metrics.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action when performance misses agreed targets.
• Support product launches, phase-ins and phase-outs, promotions, transfers, shutdowns, and other events that affect supply or demand.
• Improve planning data, system use, process governance, and reporting; partner with IT and process owners on ERP and planning-tool enhancements.
• Build planning capability across functions through standard work, training, coaching, and clear decision rights.
• Present recommendations, trade-offs, and unresolved issues to senior leadership for timely decision-making.

What we look for:

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, operations management, engineering, business, finance, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Seven or more years of progressive experience in manufacturing planning, supply chain, operations, demand planning, or related roles.
• Three or more years of experience leading S&OP, integrated business planning, master planning, or a comparable cross-functional process.
• Demonstrated knowledge of demand planning, production planning, capacity planning, inventory management, and material requirements planning.
• Experience in a multi-site, make-to-stock, make-to-order, engineer-to-order, or mixed-mode manufacturing environment preferred.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including the ability to connect operational decisions to revenue, margin, cost, and working capital.
• Proficiency with ERP and advanced planning systems; strong spreadsheet, business intelligence, and data-analysis skills.
• Ability to travel up to 40%.

 Core Competencies

• Cross-functional leadership and influence without direct authority
• Structured problem-solving and scenario analysis
• Executive communication and meeting facilitation
• Data-driven decision-making and attention to detail
• Business judgment and constructive challenge
• Change management, process discipline, and continuous improvement
• Accountability, prioritization, and follow-through

Key Performance Indicators

• Forecast accuracy and forecast bias
• Customer service level, on-time-in-full delivery, and backlog
• Inventory turns, days on hand, excess and obsolete inventory, and working capital
• Production plan attainment and schedule adherence
• Capacity utilization and constraint resolution
• Premium freight, expedite activity, and planning-related cost
• S&OP cycle adherence, action closure, and decision effectiveness

Working Conditions

This position operates in an office and manufacturing environment. Periodic travel to manufacturing sites, suppliers, or business meetings may be required. The role may occasionally require flexibility outside standard business hours to support planning cycles, month-end activities, or urgent supply and customer issues. Any physical requirements should be reviewed and tailored to the specific work environment.

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