Advocate Group
Materials Planning Director
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Materials Planning Director
West London | Hybrid
Competitive Salary and Package
This is a high-growth business with category-leading brands and an EMEA footprint spanning close to 90 countries. If you’re looking for a role where scale, pace and influence genuinely sit at Director level, this is one to take notice of.
As Materials Planning Director, you’ll lead a team of around 17 across the UK and South Africa, including three Senior Managers, two Long-Term Planners and twelve Raw Material Planners. You’ll have end-to-end ownership of Raw Materials Planning across EMEA, covering ingredients, kits and cans, with significant spend and P&L impact.
A key part of the role will be driving the transformation of Materials Planning systems, processes and ways of working. You’ll work closely with SAP and analytics teams to improve planning capability, raise execution standards and build a more proactive, data-led function.
You’ll also play a critical role in New Product Development, ensuring long-lead-time ingredients and packaging are planned effectively to support an ambitious innovation pipeline.
What you’ll be doing
- Own EMEA Raw Materials Planning end to end, driving a 98% casefill target and improved OTIF performance
- Lead supplier performance and relationship management in partnership with Procurement, covering raw material suppliers, co-packers and contract fillers
- Drive the transformation of SAP MRP and Materials Planning analytics, with dotted-line oversight of the SAP MM Analyst
- Set inventory strategy and targets, with a strong focus on reducing obsolescence and proactively managing ageing stock
- Represent Materials Planning through the IBP cycle and co-lead S&OP governance
- Lead, coach and develop a team of Senior Managers and Planners, building capability and future succession
- Act as the senior escalation point for Materials Planning matters across the wider business
- Bring greater structure, visibility and consistency to a complex, fast-moving planning environment
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What we’re looking for
- Strong leadership experience within Materials Planning, ideally across an EMEA or multi-market environment
- Deep knowledge of SAP, MRP and PO lifecycle processes
- Experience leading and developing Senior Managers, alongside broader planning teams
- Strong commercial and analytical capability, with the confidence to operate strategically and influence senior stakeholders
- Someone who can bring structure to complexity while maintaining pace and agility
- A resilient, hands-on leader who enjoys solving problems at scale and driving meaningful transformation
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This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of Materials Planning within a high-growth global drinks business, with genuine scope to influence systems, processes, people and performance across EMEA.
Given the seniority and confidentiality of the search, full details of the business will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
Interested? Apply now or reach out to me directly and I’d be happy to talk you through the opportunity.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The Advocate Group is a leading recruitment partner, based in the UK, to the FMCG and consumer product sectors. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. By applying for this role, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy, which can be found on our website. Please note that The Advocate Group is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.
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