Director – Planning & Forecasting

Role Title: Director Planning & Forecasting

Reporting To: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Location: Mumbai, India (Global Responsibility US, UK & Europe Markets)

About the Role

We are looking for a highly strategic and data-driven Director Planning & Forecasting to lead demand planning, supply planning, forecasting, and business performance planning across the organization.

This role sits at the center of strategy, sales, supply chain, finance, and operations, ensuring the business scales efficiently with high forecast accuracy and optimal inventory outcomes.

You will play a critical leadership role in driving Sales and Operations Planning / IBP, building robust forecasting models, and enabling data-backed decision-making at a leadership level.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead Demand Planning, Supply Planning, and Forecasting across products, customers and geographies
• Drive the Sales and Operations Planning / Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process in collaboration with Sales, Factory, sourcing and Finance
• Develop short-term, mid-term, and long-term forecasting models aligned with business growth plans
• Optimized lead times for Just-in-Time operations using integrated demand planning, supply planning, and forecasting.
• Improve forecast accuracy, reduce bias, and manage demand volatility
• Translate historical data into actionable forecasts
• Optimize inventory planning to balance service levels, working capital, and obsolescence risk
• Partner with Finance on annual operating plans, budgets, and rolling forecasts
• Build dashboards and KPIs for forecast accuracy, inventory turns, memo turns, fill rate, and capacity utilization
• Analysis for growth, seasonality, and market shifts
• Drive process standardization, automation, and adoption of planning tools / ERP systems
• Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing planning & analytics team
• Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership and executive committees
• Identify top-performing SKUs by volume, value, and margin
• Analyze slow-moving and non-moving designs
• Recommend replenishment quantities for fast-moving SKUs
• Flag excess inventory and propose liquidation or re-merchandising strategies

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong expertise in Demand Planning, Forecasting, Sales and Operations Planning / IBP
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Deep understanding of supply chain, sales dynamics, and financial planning
• Ability to work cross-functionally and influence senior stakeholders
• Advanced knowledge of Excel, planning tools, ERP systems
• Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Zoho, etc.) is a plus
• Strategic thinker with hands-on execution capability

Experience & Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in Planning, Forecasting, or Supply Chain Strategy
• Proven experience leading enterprise-level forecasting and planning functions
• Prior experience in manufacturing, FMCG, retail or consumer goods preferred
• MBA / masters in operations, Supply Chain, Analytics, or Finance preferred

Why Join Us

• Leadership role with direct impact on business growth and profitability
• Opportunity to build scalable planning systems from the ground up
• Work closely with senior leadership on strategic decisions
• High-ownership, high-visibility role in a fast-growing organization