Head of Central Planning F/M (London)

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Company: Alcatel Submarine Networks stands as an industry leader with over 850,000 km of optical submarine systems globally - that's nearly 21 times the Earth's circumference. We cater to a wide range of needs: from traditional telecom applications and webscale service provider infrastructures to offshore oil and gas projects.

PRIMARY PURPOSE AND OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE JOB:

Are you a collaborative leader who thrives on aligning strategy, data, and people? Join us to lead demand planning across a dynamic and diverse international team. As Head of Central Planning, you will be responsible for Industrial Operations planning within a complex manufacturing environment. Overseeing a team based in 3 locations across Europe, this role will align strategic forecasting initiatives with corporate financial objectives, enhancing operational efficiency in a sustainable manner.

The successful candidate will bring an inclusive leadership style that values diverse viewpoints, encourages collaboration and builds trust across the organisation to foster a data-informed culture, promote transparency and engagement with the S&OP process. You will work closely with senior stakeholders, including the Executive Committee, Sales, Operations, R&D, and Finance to deliver accurate forecasts and support financial investment decision-making.

This individual will implement scalable efficient models and analytical frameworks to support scenario planning and long-range capacity utilisation, ensuring responsiveness to evolving market and operational conditions.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Demand and Supply Planning: Responsible for an accurate aggregate master plan (S&OP and MPS levels) for all relevant product lines using the relevant software (SAP, Ortems, Tableau, Excel).
• Sales Forecasting: Responsible for maintaining and publishing monthly accurate Sales data including sales progress, Risk & Opportunities, and Quarterly/Yearly landing points stretching to cover the next 3 years.
• Risk Management: Critical analysis of the demand plan alongside all relevant stakeholders to identify capacity bottlenecks for all product lines that could impact the delivery of a project. Responsible for managing the Industrial Operations planning Risk Register and escalation through the weekly P&L meeting.
• Communication: Responsible for the communication to the project teams and/or senior stakeholders on project progress, Risks & Opportunities.
• S&OP Data Presentation: Responsible for presenting outputs and bottlenecks to the executive team at the monthly S&OP meeting.
• Leadership: Provide strategic direction and leadership to the functional team. Foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, inclusion and innovation. Champion team development and create an environment where all team members, especially emerging leaders, can thrive and reach their full potential.
• Key point of contact for senior stakeholders, providing structured, data-driven insight that supports business-critical decisions.
• Subject matter expertise in Demand Forecasting, with knowledge of process design, simplification, standardisation, lean six sigma, and advanced planning solutions including SAP, Ortems, Tableau.
• Continuous Improvement: Driving the improvement and automation of reporting tools to enhance efficiency using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or Artificial Intelligence (AI). Shape and implement the strategic vision for the planning department.

Travel: This role requires regular travel, typically 1-2 days every month to our French offices. Travel will be planned in advance and with consideration for personal commitments.

WANTED PROFILE:

EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THE JOB

Essential:

• Level 7 qualification in a Supply Chain or Engineering related discipline.
• Significant experience in a senior demand/supply planning role or high-level project management within an engineering environment (Supply Chain Planning, Forecasting experience, S&OP Process).
• Expert-level proficiency in SAP, Ortems and advanced analytical and MS Excel skills preferred.
• Experience in leading global teams at a department level.
• Skilled or experienced with building and navigating strategic conversations with Senior Stakeholders.
• Highly organised, with a structured and adaptable approach to complex challenges.
• Strong communication skills, adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, collaborative environment.
• Full right to work in the UK.

Desirable:

• Understanding of financial performance reporting.
• Fluency in English and French (French is preferred but not essential).

Travel: 5%-10% of working time. Ability to travel to the EU.