Senior Supply Chain Manager

careem; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

careem in the United Arab Emirates is looking for a Senior Demand Planner to take ownership of demand planning from statistical modeling to facilitation. You will manage demand forecasting models, develop frameworks for demand variability, and lead the S & OP processes.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of experience in demand planning and a strong background in SQL and Excel. Knowledge of BI tools and a proactive mindset are essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in demand planning, preferably in quick commerce or high-velocity retail.
• Experience in a high-growth tech company or start-up.
• Solid grasp of statistical forecasting methods.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain demand forecasting models across categories.
• Develop frameworks to manage demand variability.
• Facilitate weekly and monthly S & OP processes.

Skills

Demand planning

Statistical forecasting

Advanced SQL

Advanced Excel/Google Sheets

BI Tools proficiency

Python or R

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics or related quantitative field

Tools

Looker

Tableau

Metabase

Job description

About the Team

Careem Grocery is reinventing how people shop for groceries, pharmacy, and everyday essentials on-demand in minutes. We’re a startup within a startup: a small, high-conviction team operating at speed with real ownership over outcomes. We’re building the supply chain infrastructure that makes that promise possible and we’re looking for someone to own the demand side of it.

About the Role

This is a senior individual contributor and cross‑functional leadership role for someone who is equally comfortable writing a SQL query, challenging a commercial team’s promo forecast, and presenting supply risk to a VP. You’ll own demand planning end‑to‑end—from statistical modelling to S & OP facilitation—and you’ll be expected to build and improve the systems, not just run them.

What You’ll Do

Forecasting & Modelling

Build and maintain demand forecasting models across SKUs, categories, and dark store locations. Go beyond Excel by leveraging statistical methods (time series, regression, ML‑assisted forecasting) and own the tooling decisions that get us there. You should be comfortable pulling your own data in SQL and sense‑checking model outputs against ground truth.

Demand Variability & Scenario Planning

Develop frameworks to manage volatility from seasonality, promotions, new product launches, and macroeconomic signals. Run scenario models before they become supply crises.

S & OP Process Leadership

Own the weekly and monthly S & OP cadence. Facilitate cross‑functional alignment across commercial, ops, and logistics. Surface gaps early, propose solutions, and drive decisions—not just document them.

Inventory Optimisation

Set and monitor inventory targets by SKU and location to balance availability against holding cost and waste. Work closely with category and logistics teams to design replenishment logic that performs at quick commerce speed.

Data & Tooling

You’ll be hands‑on with data: write and maintain SQL queries for demand signals, build dashboards that non‑technical stakeholders can act on, and explore AI/ML tooling to improve forecast accuracy. If a process can be automated, you’ll be the one to build the case and execute it.

Insight & Communication

Translate complex demand signals into clear narratives for senior leadership—forecast updates, variance analysis, risk flags. Own the story and the numbers behind it.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or a closely related quantitative field (MBA or supply chain certification like APICS/CSCP is a plus).
• 5+ years in demand planning, supply chain, or a related function, strongly preferring quick commerce, grocery, e‑commerce, or high‑velocity retail.
• Experience in a high‑growth tech company or start‑up is a meaningful plus.
• Advanced SQL: Fluent and hands‑on capability; you write your own queries regularly rather than just having "exposure" to it.
• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets: Mastery in building complex data models, going well beyond basic lookups.
• Forecasting Fundamentals: Solid grasp of statistical forecasting methods (exponential smoothing, ARIMA, seasonality decomposition) and knowing when to apply them versus simpler models.
• BI Tools: Proficiency with Looker, Tableau, Metabase, or equivalent business intelligence platforms.
• Python or R: Strong skills for data analysis are a plus, though not strictly required.
• Advanced Forecasting Tech: Familiarity with AI/ML forecasting tools, or a demonstrated curiosity and aptitude to learn them fast.
• Proactive & Resilient Mindset: Ability to hunt down data independently, navigate ambiguity, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and hold a high bar for accuracy by owning both misses and wins.
• Stakeholder Influence: Proven ability to influence without authority across commercial, operations, and tech teams.