Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Join an ambitious and fast‑growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic brands, infrastructure and people. As proud bakers and chocolatiers, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients or the people we hire. We seek entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for delivering happiness to consumers and embody our Winning Traits.
Why join our team?
Working closely with Supply Planning, Factory Operational, Commercialisation, Finance and Marketing teams, our Strategic S&OP unit collaborates cross‑functionally to turn business ambitions into strategic capacity‑planning insights, future‑proofing supply‑chain operations for the long term.
Responsibilities
- Lead the bi‑annual Supply Chain volume and working capital budgets.
- Convert demand inputs from commercial finance into a phased supply volume plan for all UK manufacturing sites and purchased products.
- Identify and challenge anomalies in growth/decline areas.
- Align supply plans with manufacturing availability.
- Summarise findings and share with key stakeholders.
- Maintain and develop the UK&I capacity modelling toolkit, including the Rough Cut Capacity Plan (RCCP) tool for medium‑to‑long‑term capacity visibility.
- Identify and track hot and cold spots, reviewing monthly.
- Support the creation and delivery of strategic plans to unlock capacity.
- Monitor and report sales performance against budget, providing insight into variances, trends and emerging risks for key sub‑brands.
- Maintain monthly strategic forecast in OMP and support Supply Planners with monthly MTP queries.
- Lead the monthly Medium Term Planning Opportunities & Risks (MTPOR) process and support key messages at the monthly S&OP board.
- Provide capacity assessments and scenario modelling to support strategic opex, capex and growth & innovation projects, feeding into Innovation, Capex, ROL and global SDR processes.
- Ensure capacity modelling aligns between long‑term strategic plans and medium‑term RCCP methodology.
- Support stock‑build and cutover plans for major launches or projects; populate OMP dummy codes early in project delivery.
- Hand over projects to supply planners at Gate3 with detailed assumptions, using fortnightly Supply Planning NPD meetings for alignment.
- Collaborate with Supply Chain, Commercial, Finance and Sales & Manufacturing teams to ensure alignment of demand, supply and capacity plans and support effective decision making.
Qualifications
- Crucial experience in an analytical role in supply chain or a similar environment.
- Proven knowledge of Excel, with a strong ability to turn sophisticated data sets into clear, impactful insights and communicate recommendations positively.
- Effective collaboration and relationship building to encourage alignment.
- Ability to connect with partners and simplify sophisticated messages.
- Ability to challenge and influence stakeholders.
- A self‑starter who can work independently and manage workload.
- Clear communication skills.
- Desired experience working in an FMCG organisation with manufacturing knowledge is an advantage.
- Experience working on long‑term horizon projects and scenario‑planning interdependencies.
- Understanding of the Sales & Operational Planning Processes and factory production processes and capabilities.
- OMP, SAP and Excel skills.
Winning Traits and Behaviours
- Purpose‑Led – Energised by our promise to deliver happiness to the world with every bite.
- Agile – Ever evolving, never satisfied and never standing still.
- Collaborative – Willing to work for mutual success.
- Resilient – Quick to adapt to change, fast learner and persistent in the face of setbacks.
- Positive – Self‑motivated, optimistic, adventurous, and inspiring.
pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.
Strategic & Capacity Planning Lead employer: pladis Foods Limited
At pladis, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture that fosters collaboration and accountability. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through our robust training programmes and clear pathways for career advancement, all while working in a dynamic environment that values diversity and inclusion. Join us in our mission to bring happiness to the world, where your contributions will be recognised and rewarded in a fast-growing global biscuits and confectionery business.
