Forecasting Insight Manager

Forecasting Insight Manager

Contract type: Permanent

Location: Hatfield (Hybrid working - 3 days in the office)

Working hours per week: 40 hours

Level: Manager

Reports to: Forecasting Lead

Application Closing Date: 27th October 2026

About us

Our mission is to deliver joy in every shop, through unbeatable choice, unrivalled service, and reassuringly good value. We’re also on a mission to empower our business with smart technology; we've recently launched our AI Academy, providing a tailored AI learning journey for every colleague.

We’re Ocado Retail, a market-leading joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, and the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket, ocado.com. Not only is Ocado the only place to shop a full range of M&S food online, it’s also the home to the widest online supermarket range in the UK and a champion of small, independent brands. We’re also the brains behind Zoom by Ocado, our same-day grocery delivery service.

The role

The Forecasting team owns processes, capabilities tools which support specific forecasting processes across many horizons ( S&OP, short-term, seasonal or long-term).

The Forecasting Insight Manager sets direction for run priorities within their scope and leads initiatives to deliver improved capabilities; this likely requires both direct reports from within the team and influence over a wider set of stakeholders to achieve project deliverables and commercial goals.

As Forecasting Insight Manager, responsibilities also include mentoring and developing the team, formulating strategic questions, managing team workload, and fostering stakeholder relationships.

What you'll do

• Lead and develop a small team of Insight Analysts, ensuring analytical projects deliver better forecasting outcomes to stakeholders across customer, logistics and operations.

• Run consistent, data-driven forecasting processes aligned with cross-functional stakeholders

• Deliver forecasting improvement initiatives aligned with overall roadmap.

• Own and develop the team’s project roadmap across operational forecasts and improvement initiatives within scope.

• Continually develop and improve team processes and ways of working to maximise the value delivered (e.g. project management, QC processes).

• Visualising data and presenting insight concisely with presentations tailored to the technical level of the audience.

Example Projects within the team

• Run improvement initiatives related to S&OP forecasting process. This could be exploring the relationship between explanatory variables and the customer mix, frequency or basket size to enable better insights and more accurate forecasts.

• A thorough evaluation of demand patterns within the week across all horizons

• A detailed investigation of capacity shortages, rolled demand and recommendations on levers to pull to balance demand and supply

While we require specific capabilities linked to each process, it is critical to keep consistency across the different timeframes in many aspects. This role will be responsible for several initiatives which cut across the different planning horizons.

• Approach forecast performance consistently across horizons (e.g. forecast accuracy, forecast value add, forecast evolution, model error)

• Ensure consistency in assumptions across horizons

• Approach forecast changes, exception management consistently across horizons

• Where feasible ensure consistency in models, model validation and lifecycle across horizons

Who you are

Essential:

• Stakeholder engagement and management experience

• Experience in presenting analytics-driven output to wide-ranging audiences

• Experience in developing forecasting tools, technology and automation

• Proven hands-on experience in data mining in SQL

• Familiarity with current forecasting methods, exposure to data science and Python

• Ability to manage a team, drive projects forward and deliver to plan

• The ability to communicate and influence at all levels

• Excellent Excel skills

Preferred:

• Experience in a retail, e-commerce or FMCG consumer-facing business

• Experience with data visualisation software such as Tableau

• Familiarity with Google’s wider data ecosystem (e.g. Google Cloud Storage, AutoML)

• Development experience in R or Python

What’s in it for you

By joining Ocado Retail, you’ll have the chance to experience life at the world’s largest online retailer, work with an amazing bunch of people who challenge what’s possible each day, and grow your skills and career in online retail. You'll also be part of our AI Academy, a dedicated learning journey designed to empower every colleague with the smart technology skills of the future.

If that’s not enough to tempt you, you’ll also get access to loads of great benefits to sweeten the deal. Here’s a taste of what we offer:

Health & Wellbeing: Private medical insurance with option to add your family, Digital GP appointments, market-leading family policies, mental health support, discounted gym memberships, dental insurance, and more.

Spend & Save: Annual bonus scheme split between personal and business objectives, recognition with reward platform, up to 7% matched pension contributions, 15% Ocado discount, 20% M&S discount, free breakfast every day in the office, electric vehicle leasing scheme, and free shuttle bus from Hatfield station to the office.

Never miss the moments that matter: Hybrid working, 26 days holiday plus 8 flexible bank holidays, options to buy extra holiday, 2 weeks work from anywhere, and lifestyle break opportunities.

Our Hiring Process

Lucky for us, we receive a high volume of applications and genuinely appreciate the time and effort invested by every candidate. To ensure a fair and thorough process, every application is reviewed by a member of our team. If your skills and experience are a strong match, a Talent Partner will contact you to discuss the role and guide you through the next steps of our hiring process.

Your Application and AI

In the spirit of innovation, we welcome you to use AI tools in your application, just as we use them in our own business at Ocado Retail. However, as you leverage this technology, please don't lose sight of the most important element: your unique self. Your experiences, passions, and personality are what truly set you apart. Ensure that your application still authentically conveys who you are and why you're a great fit for us.

Everyone’s welcome

We’re an equal opportunities employer, which means that we make sure all potential colleagues are treated fairly and equally. We want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to apply; if you need this job description in an alternative format (e.g., larger print, different document type, etc.), please reach out to us at careers@ocadoretail.com and we'll be happy to assist you, and if you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know on the application form.