The Director, Planning and Operations sets the strategic direction for planning and trade spend management across the business unit. This role ensures visibility to all key metrics of growth including forecast accuracy, trade spend, and shipments (direct/indirect), while ensuring alignment with the company's broader planning objectives.
The role requires ongoing engagement with senior stakeholders across Sales, Supply Chain, Finance and Marketing, and demands strong executive presence, cross-functional influence, and the agility to navigate competing priorities. This role balances customer service, inventory, and cost goals, and helps the business make better decisions through clear forecasts and cross-team alignment.
Responsibilities:
Sets the forecasting standard and gets buy-in across teams, then builds the tools and processes to apply it consistently. Deploys this process with the sales function/brokers and then combines these forecasts into ONE number, while ensuring accuracy. Gathers feedback regularly and improves the process over time. Uses sell-in and sell-out data from actuals/forecasts to ensure P&L’s are comprehensive and accurate.
Sets the trade management standard and gets buy-in across teams, then builds the tools and processes to apply it consistently. Rolls it out through sales function/brokers, combines inputs into one BU number, and checks it for accuracy. Gathers feedback regularly and improves the process over time. Owns the SPAY process, holds sales leaders accountable, flags issues, and resolves old trade disputes. Works with Finance to keep sales and finance numbers aligned.
Works with leaders across departments to roll out planning standards and tools, ensures compliance with local and company rules, and is a key member of the Canadian Leadership Team.
Qualifications:
- 8+ years working in planning, sales, finance or a similar role in CPG.
- Solid grasp of forecasting, trade spend and demand planning dynamics.
- Experience leading teams and getting buy-in without formal authority.
- Strong analytical skills and confidence using data to guide decisions.
- Able to spot patterns in forecasts, trends, and POS data and act on them.
- Track record of influencing stakeholders on strategy and committed decisions (AOP/Budget/Latest Estimates).
- Great communicator who builds trust across teams and at all levels.
- MBA or similar advanced degree is an asset.
