Strategic Supply Chain Lead – Middle East

Rituals (B Corp™); Dubai; On-site; AED 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Rituals seeks a Head of Supply Chain to lead regional planning across GCC, transforming data into strategic actions and ensuring product availability that drives sales and profitability in the Middle East.

You will oversee Merchandise Planning, Demand Planning, Procurement and Inventory Management, collaborating with Retail, Merchandising, Marketing, Finance, Regulatory and European teams to shape commercial performance. 10+ years in supply chain planning preferred.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Supply Chain Planning, Merchandise Planning, Demand Planning or Commercial Planning within international retail or consumer goods.
• Proven experience managing planning activities across multiple Middle East markets.
• Strong expertise in forecasting, inventory optimization, merchandise planning and Open‑to‑Buy management.
• Excellent commercial acumen with ability to analyze category, product and market performance and translate insights into actions.
• Advanced analytical skills with experience developing executive reporting, dashboards and business performance reviews.
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management, assortment planning and inventory productivity.
• Experience with ERP and planning systems along with advanced Excel and BI tools.
• Outstanding stakeholder management and influencing skills to partner across regional and global teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead transformation, improve planning processes and build scalable capabilities.
• Strategic, entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for continuous improvement and business performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead regional merchandise planning and demand planning strategy across all GCC markets.
• Partner with Merchandising, Retail and Finance to optimize category, collection and SKU performance.
• Deliver meaningful commercial insights supporting assortment decisions, launches, promotions and pricing.
• Develop executive dashboards and business reporting for MD and Leadership Team.
• Translate trends into recommendations to improve sales, profitability and inventory productivity.
• Identify opportunities and risks through data analysis and recommend proactive actions.
• Own the regional forecasting process with high forecast accuracy across channels and markets.
• Lead monthly demand review and align forecast with Commercial, Retail and Marketing.
• Drive continuous improvement of forecasting methodologies using historical trends and lifecycles.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and bias; implement initiatives to improve planning performance.
• Develop inventory strategies maximizing availability while optimizing working capital.
• Balance service levels, inventory investment and commercial objectives.
• Manage replenishment from European distribution centers into the Middle East.
• Monitor stock, weeks of cover, ageing inventory and replenishment across GCC markets.
• Lead initiatives to minimize obsolete inventory and maximize sell-through while protecting gross margin.
• Own the regional planning and performance reporting framework.
• Produce regular executive reports on category performance, inventory health, forecast accuracy and KPIs.
• Provide strategic insights to support investments, assortment optimization and growth.
• Build partnerships with European Supply Chain teams for product availability and launches.
• Collaborate with Merchandising, Retail, Finance, Regulatory, Marketing and Tech to align priorities.
• Support strategic reviews with robust analysis and recommendations.
• Drive evolution of planning processes, systems and reporting capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to automate reporting and improve efficiency.
• Champion a data-driven planning culture across the organization.
• Lead continuous improvement to enhance forecast accuracy, inventory productivity and decision-making.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Business partnering

Forecasting

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Economics or related field

Tools

ERP systems

Excel

BI tools

Job description

Rituals seeks a Head of Supply Chain to lead regional planning across GCC, transforming data into strategic actions and ensuring product availability that drives sales and profitability in the Middle East.

You will oversee Merchandise Planning, Demand Planning, Procurement and Inventory Management, collaborating with Retail, Merchandising, Marketing, Finance, Regulatory and European teams to shape commercial performance. 10+ years in supply chain planning preferred.