What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Demand Planner position at Arkadia Search Recruiting?
About the Role
This is a high impact Demand Planner role within a fast growing, product driven organization operating in a complex, multi-SKU environment. The business is scaling quickly and needs a strong analytical leader who can turn demand signals into accurate forecasts, align stakeholders through S&OP, and drive better inventory and service outcomes.
If you enjoy owning forecast accuracy end to end, partnering closely with Sales and Operations, and using data to influence real business decisions, this role offers meaningful visibility and impact.
What You'll Do
As the Demand Planner, you’ll sit at the center of the business bridging commercial ambition with operational reality.
You’ll be responsible for:
Demand Forecasting & Analytics
- Building and continuously improving statistical demand forecasts across short, mid, and long term horizons
- Analyzing trends, seasonality, promotions, and market dynamics at the SKU level
- Improving forecast accuracy through data refinement, modeling, and scenario planning
- Translating complex data into clear, actionable insights for stakeholders
S&OP & Cross Functional Alignment
- Leading demand planning inputs into the S&OP process
- Partnering with Sales to incorporate pipeline, customer insights, and market intelligence
- Collaborating with Product and Marketing on new product launches and promotions
- Working closely with Supply Chain and Operations to align forecasts with capacity and inventory plans
Inventory & Service Performance
- Defining and optimizing safety stock strategies
- Identifying risks related to excess, slow-moving, or obsolete inventory
- Supporting high customer service levels while improving working capital efficiency
Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Building dashboards to track forecast accuracy, bias, and demand variability
- Performing root-cause analysis on forecast vs. actuals
- Presenting recommendations and insights to senior leadership
- Driving continuous improvement through structured problem solving
What You'll Bring
Experience
- 7 years in demand planning, forecasting, or supply chain analytics
- Proven success improving forecast accuracy in complex or high growth environments
- Strong experience working cross functionally, especially with Sales and Operations
- Background in consumer products, electronics, or similar SKU intensive industries is a plus
Technical Skill Set
- Hands on experience with demand planning tools (SAP APO, Oracle Demantra, Blue Yonder, or similar)
- Advanced Excel skills (modeling, analysis, forecasting)
- ERP experience and comfort working with large data sets
- SQL and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau) preferred
- Solid understanding of statistical forecasting methods; exposure to AI/ML a plus
Core Strengths
- Strong analytical and quantitative mindset
- Ability to turn data into business decisions...not just reports
- Clear communicator with comfort presenting to leadership
- Detail oriented, structured, and process driven
- Comfortable operating in a fast paced, evolving environment
Education & Credentials
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Analytics, Statistics, or related field
- APICS CPIM or CSCP certification is a plus