Planning Section Manager | alfanar Electric

alfanar; Dubai; On-site; AED 446,000 - 781,000; Full time

Job summary

alfanar is seeking a planning leader to integrate demand, material, and distribution planning across functions in the UAE. The role focuses on balancing service levels, inventory, cost, and capacity to ensure material and finished goods availability while upholding commitments to customers.

The successful candidate will drive planning governance, data accuracy, and KPI monitoring, leading a team to optimize supply chain performance and integrate planning across the organization.

Qualifications

• Lead demand planning by consolidating inputs from sales, projects, and commercial teams.
• Ensure forecasts are accurate, validated, and aligned with market trends.
• Oversee forecast changes to minimize volatility and disruption.
• Drive continuous improvement in forecast accuracy and visibility.

Responsibilities

• Oversee material planning to ensure timely availability of raw materials and components.
• Align demand plans, production plans, and procurement strategies.
• Monitor shortages, excess, and obsolescence risks; drive corrective actions.
• Coordinate with logistics to support efficient product flow.
• Lead cross-functional planning reviews (S&OP) and escalate risks with options.

Skills

Demand planning

Forecast management

Material planning

Distribution planning

Inventory optimization

S&OP

Cross-functional coordination

KPI tracking

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

ERP planning tools

Job description

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Description.

Job Purpose

Responsible for leading and integrating demand planning, material planning, and distribution planning activities to ensure optimal availability of materials and finished goods while balancing service levels, inventory, cost, and capacity. The role ensures planning accuracy, cross-functional alignment, and disciplined execution to support business objectives and customer commitments.

Key Accountability Areas

Demand Planning and Forecast Management

• Lead the demand planning process by consolidating inputs from sales, projects, and commercial teams
• Ensure demand forecasts are accurate, validated, and aligned with business assumptions and market trends
• Oversee demand review cycles and manage forecast changes to minimize volatility and supply disruption
• Drive continuous improvement in forecast accuracy and demand visibility

Material Planning and Supply Readiness

• Oversee material planning activities to ensure timely availability of raw materials, components, and packaging
• Ensure alignment between demand plans, production plans, and procurement strategies
• Monitor material shortages, excess, and obsolescence risks and drive corrective actions
• Ensure effective use of planning parameters, lead times, and inventory policies

Distribution Planning and Inventory Optimization

• Lead distribution planning to ensure optimal allocation of finished goods across warehouses and channels
• Balance service levels, stock availability, and logistics cost through effective distribution planning
• Oversee inventory levels, stock aging, and redistribution actions across locations
• Coordinate with logistics and warehouse teams to support efficient product flow

Integrated Planning and Cross-Functional Coordination

• Drive alignment across demand planning, material planning, production planning, procurement, and logistics
• Ensure planning decisions support sales commitments, project requirements, and operational constraints
• Participate in S&OP or integrated planning forums to support decision-making and issue resolution
• Escalate planning risks and constraints with clear options and recommendations

Planning Governance, Systems, and Performance

• Ensure planning processes are executed in line with approved policies, procedures, and system standards
• Oversee planning data accuracy and effective use of ERP planning tools
• Define, monitor, and review planning KPIs related to forecast accuracy, service level, inventory, and planning adherence
• Lead initiatives to improve planning efficiency, visibility, and data quality

Team Leadership and Capability Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the planning team to ensure strong analytical and execution capabilities
• Set clear objectives, monitor performance, and support professional development within the section
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Role Accountability

HR Proficiency:

• Ability to recruit, recognize and cultivate high performers and expose them in order to create a robust second line of management.
• Ability to recognize low performers and guide them to improve or release them.
• Ability to treat subordinates equally without any discrimination.
• Assessment criteria of subordinates is performance that leads to planned results.
• Ensure availability of delegation of authority matrix to have sufficient delegations as per company policy.

Responsibility:

• Must take full responsibility for his operation as per the job description and the required deliverables from this position, taking into consideration the general company guidelines.
• Able to anticipate problems and make the necessary proactive steps to prevent them
• Ability to take necessary and proper timely decisions.

Delivery:

• Deliver the required results in timely manner with required quality and cost.
• Making a Tangible Difference:
• Must make a tangible difference to his area of operation. and exceed business expectations.

Business Planning and Performance:

• Able to transform the corporate goals into business plans.
• Able to Plan, follow-up and execute those plans, whether they are annual or development plans.
• Monitor the plan performance and initiate action to strengthen results and take the corrective action accordingly.
• Provide periodic work progress reports.
• Responsible for monitoring and controlling budgets and expenses to achieve the optimum cost efficiency.

Organizational Development:

• Develop the organizational structure according to the current requirements taking into consideration future and development plans.
• Ensure availability of job descriptions for all job roles and deployment.

Business Process Improvements:

• Develop, coordinate well-defined written systems, policies, procedures, and seek automations opportunities as much as possible.
• Should be conversant and able to navigate through IT solutions especially those relevant to his job and business.
• Promote the automated systems and using them fully, to spread its culture.

Quality:

• Quality is considered as alfanar’s prime competitive advantage as such, managers are expected to act accordingly.

Adaptation:

• Adapt to new and alternative techniques, technologies, management structures, and business models.

Health, Safety and Environment:

• Ensure a safe, secure, and legal work environment as per the standard regulations.

Academic Qualification

Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering

Work Experience

6 to 10 Years

Technical / Functional Competencies

Materials Flow Analysis Materials/Parts Knowledge Continuous Flow Production Demand Management Workforce Demand Analysis Demand Forecasting Distribution Resource Planning (DRP) Material Requirements Planning (MRP/MRPII)