Senior Demand Planning Business Partner in Southall

Overview

We take play seriously. We're looking for curious adventurers ready to find their party, fueled by imagination and drive to build what's never been built before. At Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, you'll collaborate with passionate teams to reimagine our iconic brands and create experiences that spark joy, connection, and community through the magic of play. This is your chance to shape legendary play that lasts a lifetime.

Responsibilities

• Demand Planning Governance and Cluster Ownership: Lead the monthly Demand Management process for the assigned cluster(s) and deliver the agreed‑upon unconstrained demand plan throughout the rolling planning horizon. Act as the single accountable planning partner for cluster commercial leadership and co‑lead the Demand Management Review, aligning inputs from Commercial, Marketing, Finance, Supply Planning, and Market Distribution Planning (MDP). Ensure that the final demand plan reflects detailed assumptions, risk and opportunity decisions, and a clear rationale for material changes versus baseline or prior cycle.
• Forecast Enrichment, Analytics, and Assumptions: Govern forecast enrichment through HERO or the approved successor process, ensuring change traceability, reason coding, and measurement of Beneficial Forecast Adjustments within the defined enrichment horizon. Validate baseline and enrichment logic using market events, promotions, price changes, channel shifts, launches, seasonality, Point of Sale (POS) insights, and relevant external drivers. Drive data quality, historical cleansing in the field, and planning data integrity checks as foundations for reliable statistical forecasting.
• Business Partnering and Performance Management: Manage critical cluster demand indicators including forecast accuracy, bias, FVA, and handoff timeliness, and direct detailed root cause analysis alongside the relevant contributors. Own the demand‑side Risk & Opportunity log, key assumptions pack, and recommended actions to protect revenue, service, and financial delivery. Translate sell‑out, customer, and commercial intelligence into a robust sell‑in signal and challenge weak or unsupported requests using facts and analysis.
• Lifecycle, Interface, and Capability Leadership: Direct New Product Introduction (NPI) and innovation demand planning within the assigned scope and work closely with MDP, Commercial, and Marketing on phase‑in, transition, and lifecycle assumptions. Own the formal handoff pack to MDP, including the consensus plan, assumptions, demand‑side risks, and near‑term horizon notes, and ensure execution feedback is reflected in future cycles where appropriate.
• Mentor and Guide: Mentor and guide Demand Planners or support resources within the assigned cluster, contribute to standardization, backup coverage, continuous improvement, and help build a scalable planning process.

Qualifications

• Strong expertise in demand planning, IBP/SOP, and commercial business partnering, typically built through significant experience in complex matrix environments.
• Advanced knowledge of forecasting techniques, enrichment oversight, segmentation, lifecycle strategy, and balancing forecast accuracy, effort, and business agility.
• Solid understanding of market, customer, category, and channel dynamics, including the capability to analyze commercial drivers and financial consequences.
• Degree or equivalent experience in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Analytics, or a related field; APICS or equivalent is desirable.
• Strong working knowledge of planning systems and reporting environments such as Logility, SAP, Power BI, or equivalent tools.
• Excellent communication skills with influencing and stakeholder management, ability to challenge senior partners constructively, and hold tension in planning discussions.
• Ability to communicate analytical conclusions clearly to technical and non‑technical audiences through concise narratives, reports, and meeting facilitation.
• Comfort operating across multiple functions, countries, and leadership levels with English as the common business language.

Technical Skills

• Deep capability in leading Demand Management Reviews, structuring assumptions, governing enrichment, and connecting demand decisions to the wider IBP cycle.
• Strong analytical ability to integrate shipment, POS, customer stock, promotions, launches, pricing, and market signals into a coherent demand plan.
• Experience managing demand benchmarks such as forecast accuracy, bias, and FVA, and converting root causes into effective improvement measures.
• Strong understanding of NPI forecasting and transition planning, and the relationship between strategic demand planning and short‑term execution feedback.
• Ability to build clear recommendations from incomplete or conflicting inputs and to escalate material risks with sound judgment.

Abilities & Behaviours

• Strong sense of ownership with the confidence to make recommendations and stand behind the planning signal.
• Mentoring orientation and willingness to develop others, standardize work, and strengthen team resilience.
• Comfort with ambiguity, change, and cross‑functional complexity while maintaining focus on process and calendar adherence.
• Continuous improvement mindset with focus on scalable practices, auditability, and data‑based decision making.
• Balanced commercial, operational, and financial thinking; able to protect the integrity of the demand plan without losing business pragmatism.

Benefits and Programs

• Health & Wellness
• Time Off to Recharge
• Financial Well‑being
• Life & Family Support
• Volunteer and Community Initiatives
• Learning & Development
• Exclusive PerksEmployees may be eligible for annual and long‑term incentives as part of their overall compensation package, depending on role, location, and eligibility.

Working Arrangement

Hybrid working pattern: In‑office requirement on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Option for remote working on Mondays and Fridays. Full‑time hours.