Specsavers
Director of Global Demand Planning
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At Specsavers
Our purpose is clear: to change lives through better sight and hearing. Behind that purpose sits a highly complex global supply chain responsible for ensuring products reach our customers, stores and partners efficiently, reliably and at scale.
We're looking for a Director of Global Demand Planning
To lead a strategically critical global function, bringing together Demand Planning, Sales & Operations Planning and Inbound Logistics to create a seamless connection between customer demand, supply capability, inventory investment and logistics execution.
The role
This is a senior leadership role responsible for translating global demand into robust, executable supply plans through data-led decision making, strong governance and cross-functional collaboration. Leading the front end of the supply chain, you'll connect forecasting, demand planning, inventory strategy and logistics execution, ensuring alignment between commercial ambition and operational delivery. You'll play a key role in building a planning culture that balances service, cost and availability while ensuring products are in the right place, at the right time and at the right cost.
Reporting to the Director of Supply Chain Fulfilment, you'll lead global teams across Demand Planning, Sales & Operations Planning and Inbound Logistics, with four direct reports located across multiple regions and an indirect global team of around 50 colleagues.
What you'll be doing
- Leading global teams across Demand Planning, Sales & Operations Planning and Inbound Logistics.
- Developing and executing capability and succession plans.
- Driving process excellence through continuous improvement and data-driven decision making.
- Building strong collaboration across Supply Chain and championing consistent, reliable technology-based solutions.
- Defining, measuring and improving key KPIs, including forecast accuracy, inventory efficiency, service levels, S&OP maturity, logistics times and costs.
- Developing and owning governance for the end-to-end planning process, ensuring clear accountability and decision making across Supply Chain functions.
- Driving continuous improvement in forecast accuracy and establishing inventory policies that balance service, inventory and cost objectives.
- Leading demand review processes across regions, channels and product categories.
- Exploring advanced forecasting methodologies, analytics and AI-enabled planning tools to improve forecast quality, scenario planning, decision speed and adoption across Demand Planning and S&OP.
- Partnering with Commercial, Product, M&D, Supply Chain Operations and Territory teams to create a collaborative demand plan.
- Establishing and leading the end-to-end monthly Sales & Operations Planning process, aligning demand, supply, inventory and financial plans around a single set of assumptions.
- Driving scenario planning and risk assessment to support growth and resilience.
- Owning strategic relationships with logistics vendors and defining global inbound logistics strategies.
- Managing carrier, freight forwarder and customs broker relationships.
- Optimising freight costs, inbound lead times and transportation reliability.
- Leading customs compliance, import/export governance and trade risk management.
- Developing contingency and business continuity plans for inbound logistics disruptions.
- Supporting sustainability ambitions through carbon reduction across inbound logistics activity.
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What we're looking for
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- Strategic supply chain leadership experience.
- Strong general leadership capability, including relationship development, networking, team development and individual development.
- Proven ability to influence executive stakeholders and drive alignment across competing business priorities.
- Strong commercial acumen, with experience balancing service, inventory, working capital and profitability objectives.
- A data and analytics-led approach to decision making.
- Experience leading change and transformation, with strong influencing skills.
- A collaborative, cross-functional leadership style.
- Customer-centric thinking and the ability to connect operational plans to business outcomes.
- Experience working towards best-in-class financial and operational KPIs.
Why this role
This is an opportunity to shape a global planning function at scale, strengthening how Specsavers connects commercial ambition with operational execution, inventory management, logistics performance and long-term growth.
Working across multiple markets and stakeholders, you'll influence business-wide decisions, strengthen cross-functional collaboration and drive supply chain performance that supports the continued growth of the business.
Location: UK or Guernsey, with frequent UK and international travel.
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We may close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.
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