Central Planning Manager

Insignis Talent; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization seeks a Central Planning Manager in London to oversee comprehensive planning activities, ensuring alignment with financial targets and forecasts. This role demands strong leadership and analytical skills, offering a collaborative and growth-oriented work environment, with direct involvement in executive decision-making. The successful candidate will lead a multi-site team and optimize planning processes for diverse international operations.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in demand/supply planning or high-level project management.
• Proficiency in planning software essential.
• Fluency in French preferred but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead demand and supply planning ensuring accurate S&OP processes.
• Present monthly S&OP outcomes to the Executive Team.
• Drive standardization and optimization of planning processes.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder Management

Analytical Skills

Organizational Skills

Communication

Education

Level 7 qualification in Supply Chain

Engineering qualification

Tools

SAP

Tableau

Excel

Job description

This range is provided by Insignis Talent. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

Direct message the job poster from Insignis Talent

Specialist Engineering Recruitment Consultant | Connecting Top Talent with Leading Organisations

Central Planning Manager – London – up to £70,000 + Car Allow. + Bonus + Ex. Bens - Permanent

Are you a collaborative leader who thrives on aligning strategy, data, and people? Join our client to shape demand planning across a diverse international team.

As the Central Planning Manager, you will oversee all planning activities across European manufacturing sites, ensuring forecasts align with capacity and financial targets. Leading a multi-site team, you’ll deliver accurate, data-driven insights and drive the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process. This high-impact role supports key decisions across Sales, Operations, Finance, and the Executive Committee. Success will require inclusive leadership, technical expertise, and a commitment to transparency and collaboration.

Strategic Influence – High-impact role with direct input into executive decisions.

Leadership Autonomy – Lead and shape a multinational planning team.

Inclusive Culture – Work in a collaborative, diverse, and supportive environment.

Career Growth – Access to mentorship, development, and major transformation projects.

Global Scope – Operate across international sites in a stable, growth-focused business.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning & Forecasting: Lead demand and supply planning, ensuring an accurate and integrated S&OP and Master Production Schedule (MPS) for all product lines across sites.

Sales Forecast Ownership: Publish monthly sales data and rolling forecasts (3-year view), incorporating risks and opportunities.

Operational Risk Management: Identify and escalate capacity constraints and risks via the Industrial Operations Risk Register and weekly P&L meetings.

Executive Reporting: Present monthly S&OP outcomes, progress updates and forecast variances to the Executive Team.

Cross-Functional Communication: Serve as the planning focal point for senior leaders, providing insight to guide investment and operational decisions.

Leadership: Provide strategic and day-to-day leadership to the planning team. Foster a culture of excellence, inclusion, development, and collaboration.

Process Improvement & Systems: Drive standardisation, automation (RPA, AI), and optimisation of planning processes. Shape the long-term vision of the planning function, including ERP upgrade preparation.

Cross-Site Coordination: Align planning cycles across factories, integrating commercial inputs, sales forecasts, and capacity plans.

Performance Reporting: Monitor and analyse key performance metrics including factory utilisation, headcount alignment, and OP performance.

Requirements:

• Level 7 qualification in Supply Chain, Engineering, or related field.
• Significant experience in demand/supply planning or high-level project management in a manufacturing or engineering context.
• Expertise in S&OP processes and scenario planning.
• Proficiency in planning software and tools (SAP, Ortems, Tableau, Excel).
• Experience leading multi-site, international teams.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Highly organised, adaptable, and analytically strong.
• Basic grasp of French
• Full right to work in the UK.
• Fluency in French (preferred but not essential).
• Familiarity with financial reporting and forecasting.
• Exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, or CI methodologies.

How to apply:

To apply for this excellent opportunity, please submit your CV via Linkedin.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Supply Chain, Strategy/Planning, and Sales

• Industries

  Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage, Engineering Services, and Manufacturing

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