Planning Director

Salary: up to £125,000 + bonus + benefits

Location: Hybrid - London Office

Are you a visionary leader with the drive to transform global planning processes? We are seeking a Planning Director to take ownership of end‑to‑end planning across Demand Planning, Supply Planning, Inbound Logistics, and Integrated Business Planning (IBP). This is a high‑impact role where you’ll shape strategy, optimise operations, and ensure supply meets demand in a fast‑paced consumer goods environment.

This is your opportunity to join a world‑leading consumer brand with a global presence, where intelligent design and innovation drive growth. Reporting directly to the Chief Supply Chain Officer, you’ll lead a talented team and play a pivotal role in delivering efficiency, resilience, and customer satisfaction worldwide.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead and optimise global planning processes to balance supply and demand at the lowest cost.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve demand and supply planning methodologies, inventory policies, and forecasting accuracy.
• Champion the S&OP/IBP process, leading meetings to align demand, supply, and financial planning with business objectives.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with sales, operations, finance, procurement, and NPD to drive a unified approach.
• Monitor KPIs, inbound freight costs, and inventory flows to identify cost‑saving opportunities.
• Proactively resolve capacity constraints and supply chain disruptions.
• Implement enabling technologies and evolve planning maturity against best practice.

What we’re looking for

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in Supply Chain Planning (Demand, Supply, Inventory) with proven S&OP/IBP leadership.
• Strong background in global consumer goods, ideally with long lead‑time products where stock‑outs are not easily recovered.
• A decisive leader who can paint the vision of what “good” looks like while being hands‑on to help teams deliver.
• Hungry for successful outcomes, pacey in approach, and able to energise teams with positivity.
• Skilled at identifying, managing, and communicating constraints to the wider business.
• Proven ability to talk at granular SKU level demand and lead collaborative S&OP processes.
• Strong people leadership: able to mentor and develop a team of 15 (7 supply planners, 5 demand planners, 2 logistics coordinators, 1 S&OP analyst).
• Expertise in planning techniques, SAP, advanced Excel (Power Query preferable), and ideally APICS/CIPS certification.
• Change management experience in commercially‑driven businesses.

What you’ll get

• Competitive salary up to £125,000 plus performance‑related bonus.
• Flexible hybrid working (3 days office / 2 days remote, flex start/finish).
• Pension contribution and generous holiday allowance with carry‑over scheme.
• Holiday trading and extra days for long service.
• Exclusive staff discounts and access to Perkbox.
• Private wellbeing support and medical appointment flexibility.
• Volunteer days and team recognition schemes.
• Season‑ticket loan and cycle‑to‑work scheme.

Why this role?

This is not just about maintaining processes—it’s about leading transformation. You’ll join a well‑resourced, talented team that needs a decisive leader to show them how to deliver at pace. If you thrive on shaping strategy, driving outcomes, and energising teams, this is your chance to make a lasting impact in a global consumer brand.