Planning Manager at OrganOx in Oxford

OrganOx is a commercial stage organ technology company dedicated to developing technologies to improve outcomes for patients with acute or chronic organ failure. The company was established as a spin‑out of the University of Oxford in 2008 and is now part of the Terumo Group. OrganOx is a pioneer in normothermic machine perfusion (NMP). Its flagship platform, the metra®, is available for use in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia. It has been utilized in over 7,000 liver transplants to date to keep donor livers in a metabolically active state outside the body, enabling longer preservation times and functional assessment of the organ prior to transplant, leading to an increased number of organs available for transplant.

The Planning Manager is responsible for leading and developing a team of planners while driving the organization’s Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process to ensure alignment between demand, supply, inventory, and operational objectives. This role provides strategic and tactical planning leadership, establishing and maintaining planning policies, business rules, and standard operating procedures that support operational excellence, service performance, and continuous improvement. The Planning Manager collaborates closely with cross‑functional stakeholders to optimize planning outcomes and ensure the effective execution of business priorities.

As the primary subject matter expert for the SAP S/4HANA ERP platform, the Planning Manager oversees the development, maintenance, and continuous enhancement of planning‑related system capabilities, reports, and analytics. The role is responsible for delivering actionable business insights through advanced operational analysis, supporting decision‑making for Operations and senior leadership teams. Additionally, the Planning Manager develops and maintains SAP‑based reporting solutions and Power BI KPI dashboards, ensuring accurate, timely, and meaningful performance visibility across the organization.

The Planning Manager will primarily work at OrganOx’s Oxford site, with occasional travel to other Terumo facilities in Europe, the USA and Asia.

Major Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Management – Lead and develop the planning team, driving performance, capability building, succession planning. Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and data‑driven decision making. Facilitate cross‑training and knowledge sharing to ensure business continuity. Build strong cross‑functional partnerships across the business.
• Integrated Business Planning (IBP) Leadership – Own and facilitate the end‑to‑end Integrated Business Planning process, aligning demand, supply, inventory, capacity, and financial objectives. Lead executive S&OP/IBP review meetings. Manage scenario planning and risk assessments. Translate strategic business objectives into operational plans.
• SAP S/4HANA Functional Ownership & Governance – Act as the SAP S/4HANA Planning SME, owning planning processes and master data governance. Provide user training and ERP best practices. Partner with IT and SAP support teams to implement enhancements, user training, and ERP best practices. Maintain data integrity across planning and supply chain processes. Evaluate and implement new SAP functionality and automation opportunities.
• Planning Policy, Process & SOP Management – Develop and maintain planning policies, governance frameworks, SOPs, and compliance standards within a regulated manufacturing environment. Standardize planning methodologies across business units. Ensure compliance with quality management systems and regulatory requirements applicable to medical device operations. Maintain process documentation and audit readiness.
• Supply Chain & Inventory Planning Oversight – Oversee inventory, supply, demand, and capacity planning to optimize service levels, working capital, and supply continuity. Lead mitigation plans for shortages, excess inventory, and obsolescence. Support new product introductions, product lifecycle changes, and phase‑outs. Monitor key supply chain planning KPIs.
• Business Analytics & Executive Decision Support – Provide business analytics, forecasting, scenario planning, and executive decision support through data‑driven insights. Identify business risks, trends, and improvement opportunities, and support strategic initiatives through data‑driven recommendations. Prepare executive reports and presentations. Conduct financial and operational impact assessments.
• Reporting & Business Intelligence Development – Design and maintain SAP reports, Power BI dashboards, KPI scorecards, and automated reporting solutions. Automate manual reporting processes, ensuring reporting accuracy and consistency. Continuously improve dashboard functionality and user experience.
• Performance Management, Continuous Improvement & Digital Transformation – Own planning performance metrics and KPI governance, including forecast accuracy, inventory turns, service levels (OTIF), capacity utilization, and ERP data quality. Drive continuous improvement, process automation, digital transformation, and planning maturity initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, planning effectiveness, and business performance.

Key Deliverables

• Monthly IBP cycle.
• SAP governance.
• Data quality management.
• SOPs and work instructions.
• Power BI dashboards.
• Automated reporting solutions.

Requirements – Skills & Experience

• Proven leadership experience in planning, supply chain, or operations.
• Management experience of remote teams.
• Strong expertise in IBP/S&OP, demand planning, supply planning, inventory management, and supply chain optimization.
• Advanced knowledge of SAP S/4HANA (planning, reporting, master data governance, and process improvement).
• Experience developing Power BI dashboards, KPI reporting, and business intelligence solutions.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and stakeholder management skills, with experience presenting to senior leadership.
• Demonstrated success in ERP, digital transformation, and continuous improvement projects.

Qualifications

• Essential
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Engineering, Logistics, Manufacturing, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5–7 years’ experience in supply chain planning, production planning, demand planning, or operations planning roles.
• Minimum 2–3 years’ experience in a leadership or supervisory role managing planning or supply chain personnel.
• Desirable
• Professional qualification in Supply Chain, Operations, or Logistics, such as Level 5 or Level 6 Diploma in Operations Management, Advanced Certificate in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) qualification, Membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).
• Experience within the medical device, healthcare, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, or other highly regulated manufacturing sectors.
• Experience implementing or enhancing SAP S/4HANA planning, reporting, or analytics solutions.
• Experience supporting audits, regulatory inspections, and quality management system compliance activities.
• Experience leading business transformation, ERP implementation, or digitalisation projects.

Job Details

• UK Location – On site – Oxford with flexibility.
• Reporting to the Director of Sourcing.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an equal opportunities employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected by law.

Disclaimer

A job description does not imply that the duties stated are the only ones to be performed by the job holder. The job holder will be required to follow any other job‑related instruction as reasonably requested by their line manager or their designate.