Position SummaryThe Integrated Business Planning (IBP) Manager leads the end-to-end planning function and is accountable for aligning demand, supply, and production scheduling into a single consensus plan that governs both near-term execution over a rolling 12-week horizon and longer-term planning over a rolling 12-month horizon. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), this individual contributor role partners closely with Sales, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Production Scheduling teams and owns the monthly IBP cycle that connects commercial, operational, and financial plans. The role also carries direct ownership of inventory, with accountability for balancing service levels against working capital.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who combines strong analytical capability and fluency with analytics, automation, and AI-enabled planning tools with the ability to collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, drive consensus, and translate plans into executable actions that improve service levels, inventory performance, operational efficiencies, and asset utilization.
Key ResponsibilitiesIntegrated Business Planning Process Leadership- Own and facilitate the monthly IBP cycle, including product review, demand review, supply review, integrated reconciliation, and management business review.
- Lead a weekly short-term planning cadence for the rolling 12-week horizon and a monthly IBP cycle for the rolling 12-month horizon, ensuring near-term demand, supply, and production decisions stay reconciled to the 12-month plan and that changes in either horizon are communicated promptly.
- Identify gaps, risks, and opportunities between plans; use analytics and simulation tools to develop data-driven scenarios and recommend trade-off decisions to senior leadership.
- Establish and maintain the IBP calendar, governance, decision rights, and meeting standards.
- Partner closely with the Production Scheduling team to ensure the master production schedule reflects the approved consensus plan across the rolling 12-week horizon, align on capacity constraints and schedule stability rules, and quickly resolve disruptions that affect plan attainment.
- Partner with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Procurement to ensure plan ownership and accountability.
Demand Planning Oversight- Direct the development of statistical, machine learning-driven, and consensus demand forecasts at the appropriate levels of aggregation.
- Ensure commercial intelligence, promotions, new product introductions, and phase-outs are incorporated into the forecast, and apply demand-sensing analytics using order, point-of-sale, and market signals to refine the near-term forecast.
- Monitor forecast accuracy and bias through automated performance tracking; lead root-cause analysis and continuous improvement of forecasting methods.
- Facilitate the demand review and secure commercial alignment on the unconstrained demand plan.
Supply Planning Oversight- Oversee translation of the demand plan into supply requirements, including materials, capacity, and inventory plans.
- Lead rough-cut capacity planning and constraint analysis, using scenario modeling and optimization tools, to identify resource, material, and supplier limitations.
- Set and maintain analytics-driven inventory strategies, including safety stock, target levels, and segmentation policies.
- Own inventory performance with accountability for inventory levels, investment, and turns against plan; lead the monthly inventory review, reconcile planned versus actual inventory with Finance, and drive actions to prevent and reduce excess, slow-moving, and obsolete (E&O) inventory.
- Collaborate with Procurement to mitigate supply risks and ensure material availability.
Performance Management, Systems, and Analytics- Define and report key planning KPIs such as forecast accuracy, bias, schedule attainment, on-time-in-full (OTIF), inventory turns, and days of supply through automated, near-real-time dashboards.
- Serve as the business owner for planning systems and drive adoption, process standardization, and the use of advanced analytics and AI capabilities across the planning process.
- Establish and enforce master data disciplines in support of planning, including clear ownership, governance standards, and routine audits of critical planning parameters such as bills of material, routings, lead times, lot sizes, safety stock settings, and item and location attributes, so that system-generated plans are accurate, trusted, and executable.
- Identify and implement opportunities to automate routine planning tasks, such as data preparation, exception alerts, and reporting, so planners can focus on exception management and decision-making.
- Lead planning process improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
- Provide clear, concise insights and recommendations to executive leadership.
QualificationsRequired- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related field.
- 7+ years of experience in supply chain planning, including demand planning, supply planning, and/or production scheduling.
- 3+ years of experience leading cross-functional planning processes or initiatives without direct authority.
- Demonstrated experience leading or participating in an S&OP or IBP process.
- Advanced proficiency with ERP and planning systems (experience within Deacom a plus), Microsoft Excel, and data analytics/visualization tools (e.g., Power BI).
- Strong understanding of MRP, MPS, capacity planning, and inventory management principles.
- Working knowledge of master data management and its impact on planning outcomes, with experience establishing data governance and quality controls.
Preferred- Experience in food manufacturing, preferably sauces, condiments, dressings, or similar processed food products, including familiarity with shelf-life and lot/date-code management, allergen-driven sequencing and changeovers, and seasonal or promotional demand patterns.
- Experience in a manufacturing environment with multi-site or complex production operations.
- Experience implementing or upgrading planning systems or IBP processes.
- Experience applying AI/machine learning, advanced analytics, or process automation to planning and scheduling.
Core Competencies- Cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence without direct authority.
- Strategic thinking balanced with strong operational execution.
- Analytical problem-solving, scenario modeling, and fluency with data, analytics, and AI-enabled tools.
- Clear, confident communication with all levels of the organization, including executives.
- Sound judgment in making trade-off decisions under uncertainty.
- Commitment to continuous improvement and change leadership.
Reporting Relationships- Reports to: Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
- Direct reports: None (individual contributor role).
- Key partners: Manufacturing, Procurement, Production Scheduling, Sales and Sales Operations, Marketing, Finance, Customer Service, Logistics, and Information Technology.
Work EnvironmentThis position is primarily office-based with regular presence on the manufacturing floor. The role may require flexibility during peak planning periods and month-end IBP cycles.
