Demand Planning Manager

Demand Planning Manager

Our client, a fast-growing, better-for-you snack brand, is seeking a Demand Planning Manager to build and lead the forecasting processes that support its continued growth across grocery, mass, club, natural, and e-commerce channels. This is a remote position reporting to the SVP, Operations.

This is a hands-on opportunity to own demand planning, strengthen processes, and work closely with Sales, Finance, Marketing, and Operations. If you enjoy turning complex data into clear plans and thrive in an entrepreneurial environment, this role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

About the Role

The Demand Planning Manager will own the demand forecast, from weekly SKU-level projections to an 18-month plan supporting production, inventory, and financial targets. You will bring together sales, retailer, and marketing inputs into a consensus forecast and lead the demand side of the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process.

What You'll Do

• Own the demand forecast. Build statistical and consensus forecasts by SKU, customer, and channel, with weekly and monthly views across an 18-month horizon.

• Translate data into actionable plans. Combine shipment history, retailer point-of-sale (POS) data, customer forecasts, and e-commerce trends with promotions, distribution gains, pricing changes, seasonality, and marketing activity.

• Plan for innovation. Develop forecasts for new products and line extensions, and manage SKU transitions and discontinuations.

• Lead demand reviews. Run the monthly demand review and represent demand planning in S&OP and executive meetings, presenting risks, opportunities, and scenarios to support decisions.

• Connect demand and financial plans. Partner with Finance to reconcile unit forecasts with revenue budgets and updated projections.

• Partner with Sales and key accounts. Align forecasts with promotional calendars, new retail locations, and customer programs across retail, club, Amazon, and direct-to-consumer channels.

• Support supply and inventory decisions. Provide reliable forecasts to guide co-manufacturer production and ingredient and packaging purchases. Work with supply planning to establish safety stock and inventory targets that balance service levels, shelf life, and write-off risk.

• Identify inventory risks early. Flag slow-moving and near-expiration inventory and recommend actions.

• Improve performance and processes. Monitor forecast accuracy, bias, and value-add; investigate forecast misses; and improve planning tools, dashboards, systems, and data quality as the business scales.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, economics, statistics, or a related field.

• At least 8 years of demand planning or forecasting experience, including 3 or more years in CPG food or beverage.

• Hands-on experience leading a monthly S&OP or integrated business planning (IBP) demand review.

• Experience forecasting for major retail and club accounts, such as Costco, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods, or Amazon.

• Advanced Excel skills, including modeling, pivot tables, lookups, and scenario analysis, with confidence working with large datasets.

• Working knowledge of syndicated and POS data, such as SPINS, Nielsen/Circana, and retailer portals.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain forecast assumptions, support recommendations with data, and build alignment across Sales, Finance, and leadership.

Preferred Experience

• Building planning processes at an emerging or high-growth brand.

• Experience with planning systems such as Netstock, Anaplan, Kinaxis, o9, Logility, or NetSuite/SAP demand modules.

• SQL, Power BI, or Tableau skills.

• Forecasting for short-shelf-life products and co-manufactured supply.

• APICS/ASCM CPIM or IBF CPF certification.

Compensation

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $110,000, plus eligibility for an annual bonus. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors such as the selected candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, training, education, and other relevant business considerations.

Our client is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates of all backgrounds. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.