Strategic and Category Forecast Manager

Suntory Beverage & Food France; Uxbridge; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company specializing in beverages seeks a Strategic and Category Forecast Manager in Uxbridge. You will oversee demand forecasting, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and ensure alignment of strategic planning against business objectives. The role demands strong analytical and communication skills, focusing on enhancing forecasting accuracy for business growth.

Qualifications

• Solid experience in a Senior Demand Planning or similar role.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical skills to connect data, events, and trends.

Responsibilities

• Oversee long-term demand forecasts and validate assumptions.
• Collaborate to develop and manage demand forecasts.
• Track KPIs related to category forecasting accuracy.

Skills

Communication

Analytical Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Problem-Solving

Education

Experience in Senior Demand Planning

Tools

Excel

Job description

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Strategic and Category Forecast Manager, Uxbridge

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Client:

Suntory Beverage & Food France

Location:

Uxbridge, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

ed596742d2de

Job Views:

5

Posted:

29.06.2025

Expiry Date:

13.08.2025

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Job Description:

Who We Are

Suntory is a fast moving, agile and entrepreneurial business that is home to some of the nations most loved brands. The Suntory Group is one of the largest soft drinks companies and among the world’s leading consumer products companies. We offer a uniquely diverse portfolio of beverages enjoyed by millions across the globe

About your role

You will play a critical role in our business for overseeing the long-term demand forecasts across our brands, and ensuring our strategic vision and plans are delivering against our ambitions for volume growth.You will work with multiple stakeholders of all levels to validate assumptions that feed the plan, holding the tension of ambition vs. reality, and ensuring that growth expectations are based off robust market trends and customer behavior that will unlock category growth or expansion.

What You'll Do

Category Forecasting

Collaborate with marketing, RGM, CS&P to develop, evolve & manage long-term demand forecasts vsbusiness objectives.

Be the objective stakeholder who interrogates ambition & plans against assumptions of growth to create a robust plan that is reflective of the most likely outcome

Drive our maturity by working with BPO & other SBFE markets on Statistical Forecasting to unlock efficiencies, drive a long-term demand view and guide our strategic planning

Supporting the demand forecasting team on building the 2–3-year forecast, understanding & being confident on all assumptions

Strategic Planning

Coordinate x-functional teams to ensure that to ensure alignment of category forecasts against all 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) ensure high-level assumptions from range extension to cost price increases are included.

Utilise multiple data sets and systems to facilitate strong forecasting methodologies, including and not limited to Statistical Forecasting & Segmentation Analysis

You will integrate the above into our Mid-Term Planning (MTP) Annual Operational Planning (AOP) cycles that are fundamental to planning & realising or business goals.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting:

Track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to category forecasting accuracy and performance and put in place corrective actions where needed to optimise performance in line with expectation

Working across markets & with the support of the Demand BPO, you will help identify opportunities for process improvements and implement best-in-class practices and innovative solutions to enhance forecasting accuracy and efficiency

What's in it for you

Suntory is a fast moving, agile and entrepreneurial business that is home to some of the nations most loved brands. The Suntory Group is one of the largest soft drinks companies and among the world’s leading consumer products companies. We offer a uniquely diverse portfolio of beverages enjoyed by millions across the globe

What You need to be successful

Solid experience in a Senior Demand Planning or similar role

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, who is able to engage multi-functional senior stakeholders across our business.

Someone who can confidently & constructively challenge data assumptions & seek to gain alignment for business-based decisions

Advanced Excel (Power Query advantageous) for reporting and analysis

Strong analytical skills able to make the connections in data, events and trends

Adaptable and resilient, with the ability to navigate complexity and ambiguity through effective problem-solving and a process-orientated approach

Key Competencies and skills (Suntory Leadership Spirt)

You have that Yatte Minahare (Go for it!) Spirit and an entrepreneurial flare!

Growth Mindset – if we’re not moving forwards, we’re moving backwards!

You have an opinion, and you want to share it … in the right way of course!

A People centric ethos – we look to develop and create empowered leaders, not managers!

You have a passion for learning and developing - we live in an increasingly volatile world so want to ensure our team has learning agility and grow personally and professionally within this!

Our DEI Commitment

At Suntory, we recognize that diverse knowledge, perspectives, and backgrounds contribute to our collective success. We are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where all individuals can bring their whole selves to work every day, regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or any other protected characteristic.

Our recruitment and selection processes are designed to highlight what Suntory offers as an employer while allowing candidates to share their unique skills and experiences. We understand that career trajectories vary, and if you believe your experience/background can benefit our team, we encourage you to apply. We endeavor to make our interview process as inclusive as possible and offer reasonable accommodations as needed. Together, we can cultivate a workplace where everyone can thrive and propel our mission of Growing for Good.