OverviewLion is seeking an experienced Global Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) Manager to own, mature, and continuously enhance the company's global S&OP process. This role is responsible for designing, managing, and driving a disciplined, end-to-end S&OP operating model that aligns demand, supply, inventory, and financial plans with Lion's strategic and commercial objectives.
The Global S&OP Manager will serve as a critical integrator across Sales, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain-ensuring alignment between market demand, product portfolio strategy, financial commitments, and operational execution. An expectation of this role is the ability to translate supply-chain scenarios, metrics, risks, and decisions into clear financial and commercial impacts, enabling executives to make informed, value-driven decisions.
This role provides the structure, transparency, and decision-making rigor needed to support profitable growth, product innovation, and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities- Lead the global Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, including annual planning, rolling forecasts, and monthly executive S&OP cycles
- Manage S&OP governance, meeting cadence, standard inputs/outputs, and decision rights across regions and business units
- Partner with Sales, Product Management, and Finance to ensure demand forecasts, product strategies, and financial targets remain aligned and achievable
- Integrate product lifecycle management into the S&OP process, including new product introductions (NPI), transitions, and end-of-life planning
- Ensure NPIs are fully reflected in demand, supply, capacity, inventory, and financial plans with clear assumptions, risks, and launch-readiness criteria
- Translate commercial and product strategies into executable supply, capacity, production, scheduling, and inventory plans
- Drive sales and operations execution by aligning with Sales, Customer Service, Operations, and Supply Chain on a tactical billable-orders strategy that supports revenue attainment and backlog quality
- Strengthen end-to-end supply-chain alignment across demand planning, supply planning, manufacturing, procurement, and logistics to improve responsiveness and stability
- Monitor and track key S&OP performance metrics-including forecast accuracy, OTIF, inventory turns, excess and obsolescence, working capital, capacity utilization, schedule adherence, and plan stability-and clearly explain gaps, trends, and changes during the monthly S&OP cycle
- Translate supply-chain metrics and scenario outcomes into financial and commercial impacts to support executive decision-making
- Present scenario-based analyses that highlight risks, constraints, trade-offs, and the financial implications of supply-chain decisions
- Lead executive-level S&OP meetings by providing transparent visibility to gaps, risks, and recommended actions
- Identify demand, supply, and portfolio risks through scenario analysis and lead mitigation planning (capacity, sourcing, allocation, inventory, and prioritization strategies)
- Drive continuous improvement of S&OP effectiveness through standardization, analytics, and best-practice adoption to improve decision quality and execution outcomes
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred
- 5+ years of progressive experience leading Sales & Operations Planning in a global, cross-functional environment
- Proven experience integrating product lifecycle management and NPI planning into S&OP processes (launch readiness, transitions, and end-of-life planning)
- Strong understanding of end-to-end supply-chain planning, including demand planning, supply planning, production scheduling, and inventory optimization
- Demonstrated ability to partner with and influence Sales, Product Management, and Finance leaders at senior and executive levels
- Demonstrated ability to translate supply-chain metrics, scenarios, and operational decisions into financial and commercial impact
- Strong analytical skills and ability to drive executive decisions using KPIs, scenarios, and trade-off recommendations
- Excellent executive communication, facilitation, and stakeholder-management skills in a matrixed environment
- Experience with ERP and S&OP planning tools preferred
- Ability to influence without authority and drive accountability across global functions
