Demand Planning Manager

Job description

Overview

We are Recruiting!

Our client, a leading Food Processing Company company in Zambia, is looking for a Demand Planning Manager to join their team in Lusaka.Zambia Job Market

If you are interested or would like to know more, please click the link below.

Role purpose

To manage the end-to-end demand planning process and translate this data into a rolling demand forecast and a frozen short-term production plan. To indicate the need and consumption of raw materials, ingredients, packing materials and production capacity availability and drive accountability through plan-vs-actual performance reviews.

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Core outputs

Rolling demand forecast in weekly periods (horizon aligned to lead times).
Weekly cross-functional agreed plan and frozen production plan for the next week.
Materials requirements and capacity/labor-hour estimates supporting the plan.
Weekly performance indicators: requested vs produced vs sold/fulfilled, with drivers and corrective actions.

Key responsibilities

1) Demand planning and forecasting

Collect and consolidate inputs from Sales, promotions, customer requirements, and market inputs.
Build and maintain a rolling weekly demand plan; segment where useful (key accounts vs general trade; depots; exports; etc).

2) Weekly planning and plan freeze

Facilitate the weekly planning meeting with Sales, Operations, Procurement, and Finance.
Present demand, constraints, and trade-offs; drive decision-making and issue the frozen plan.
Control changes to the frozen plan and track the impact on service, cost, and execution stability.

3) Materials and capacity feasibility

Translate the plan into raw and packaging materials requirements and replenishment triggers.
Model short-term capacity constraints (lines, shifts, maintenance windows).
Maintain full visibility of supplier lead times and risks; coordinate mitigations with Procurement.

4) Performance review and accountability

At week-end, reconcile requested vs produced vs sold/fulfilled (OTIF) and quantify variances.
Lead root-cause analysis for gaps (forecast error, supply constraints, execution issues, customer changes).
Drive corrective actions with Sales and Production and track completion.

5) Governance and continuous improvement

Maintain planning master data (SKUs, lead times, safety stock parameters, delivery time, etc).
Develop and improve planning templates, reporting, and meeting cadence (weekly + monthly S&OP where applicable).
Promote disciplined planning behaviors: single source of truth, decision logs, and escalation of risks early.

KPIs / measures of success

Forecast accuracy by SKU/category level.
Service level / fill rate and/or OTIF (depending on business definition).
Production plan adherence (actual vs frozen plan).
Stock-out rate and excess/slow-moving inventory.
Schedule stability (frequency and magnitude of last-minute changes).

Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing & Supply, Logistics, Business, Economics, Statistics, Engineering, or related.
Added advantage: CIPS Level 4+ (Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply) and/or CPIM -Certified Planning and Inventory Management- (planning-focused).

Experience

2–5 years in demand planning, production planning, inventory planning, supply planning, or procurement planning (manufacturing/FMCG -fast moving consumer goods-/distribution preferred).
Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally with Sales and Operations.
Food Safety Management System certified companies

Technical and behavioral skills

Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, robust formulas; Power Query preferred).
Comfortable working with ERP/MRP data (Dynamics/SAP/Sage/Oracle or similar).
Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management; ability to challenge assumptions respectfully.
Analytical problem-solving; high attention to detail; integrity and accountability mindset.