Head of Demand Planning in Blackburn

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: £60,000 - £70,000 per annum
• Car Allowance: £5,000 per annum
• Bonus: up to 15% of annual salary
• Annual Leave: 25 days plus bank holidays
• Hours of work: Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 17:00
• Flexi time: core hours 09:30 – 14:30, with the ability to accrue an additional day leave per quarter

Reporting To: Director, Global Business Planning

Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK

Job Overview

The Head of Demand Planning is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and improvement of the business demand forecasting process and strategy, including input into the Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (S&OP) process. The role is a global, senior planning position within the PPE organisation, collaborating at all business levels and across all business functions.

Core Responsibilities

• Demand Planning Leadership: develop and lead the monthly Demand Planning process, acting as the bridge between commercial teams, finance, and supply chain.
• Forecasting Strategy: direct the generation and implementation of consensus demand planning, utilising demand planning as a key decision‑making strategy tool.
• Lead assessment, recommendation, and implementation of Demand Planning Software, ensuring robust data management and best practices to optimise supply chain performance.
• Team Leadership: mentor, manage, and scale the demand planning team while establishing performance metrics (KPIs) including forecast accuracy, bias and value add.
• Cross‑Functional Alignment: partner with internal and external stakeholders to validate customer demand and market changes.
• Continuous Improvement: lead ongoing assessment and implementation of forecasting best practices, process adherence, tools, and reporting software platforms.
• Travel: base at HQ in Blackburn with occasional travel to US facility in Brenham, Texas and other locations.

Scope of the Role:

Make decisions that impact demand planning, consensus management and communicate plans to stakeholders; identify and resolve plan variances, risks and opportunities. Contribute to annual and strategic planning, SIOP and S&OE processes, special projects and supply chain initiatives.

Key Accountabilities

• Finished Goods (FG) product availability and service (on time in full OTIF / OTD).
• Demand planning process implementation and adherence.
• Forecast accuracy governance and demand planning performance including KPI utilisation.
• Advance demand planning maturity across local planning and business teams.
• Implement simple and effective ways of working to support revenue, growth targets and decision speed.
• Lead and develop demand planning team, fostering engagement and collaboration.
• Drive improvements in demand planning systems, reporting, teams and processes.
• Analyse demand performance and provide input to optimise OTIF, sales, inventory and business performance.
• Deliver strong leadership across functions, create communication processes, build relationships and contribute to PPE management group.

Governance and KPI Management

• Implement and monitor key demand planning KPIs using IDEX planning systems.
• Address and correct group behaviours that adversely affect demand planning and SIOP KPIs.

Essential Skills, Experience & Knowledge

• 5‑10 years of experience in demand planning, strategic demand planning and demand planning change management.
• Exceptional understanding of technology tools that enable demand planning and reporting.
• Ability to use technology tools that facilitate collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Applying IDEX standard procedures and working with the corporate office to ensure compliance.
• Business and commercial acumen and knowledge of finance, sales, marketing, manufacturing, planning and procurement functions.
• Strong numeracy and analytical skills with the ability to translate data into high‑level analysis.
• Experience of Integrated business planning, best practice, and successful implementation.
• Experience with Microsoft suite and reporting tools such as Power BI.
• Understanding of end‑to‑end planning and supply chain management.
• Experience in using and improving systems (SAP ERP).
• Proven people and line management experience.
• Knowledge of processes in sales, marketing operations, finance and manufacturing.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve KPIs like plan accuracy improvement, process adherence, stock turns, return on investment and project completion.

Desirable

• Effective communication skills with the ability to pivot messages and data to different levels of the organisation.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships across the end‑to‑end supply chain (from commercial through distribution).
• Ability to take data and tell a compelling story that drives understanding and decisions.
• The ability to translate business goals and metrics into business process outcomes and related business cases for specific projects.
• The ability to understand and present demand planning data at relevant ways to all key stakeholders.
• Focus on both short‑term results and long‑term goals.

Complexity & Creativity

• Evaluate demand and supply scenarios with diligence and end‑to‑end supply chain impact in mind.
• Ability to understand, refine and train algorithms to aid analysis and scenario planning.
• Understanding of systems and business processes to facilitate sound and efficient decision making.
• Judgement and decisions.
• Work with various cross‑functional teams on projects such as new product launches, line extensions, product discontinuations and data cleansing.

Competencies

• Influencing: Build excellent relationships with key internal and external customers based on trust and confidence. Teaching, educating, coaching and mentoring team members and stakeholders toward desired business outcomes. Ability to work under pressure and drive change and development. Ability to work within high‑performing teams and be highly collaborative.

• Analytical Thinking: Evaluate scenarios with mindfulness and end‑to‑end supply chain impact in mind. Ability to understand, refine and train algorithms to aid analysis and scenario planning. Understanding of systems and business processes to facilitate sound and efficient decision making.

PPE is a member of the IDEX corporation and is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity.

Job Family: Operations

Business Unit: PPE