Director of Demand and Supply Planning

The HT Group; Detroit (MI); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The HT Group is seeking a Director of Demand & Supply Planning in the Detroit/Cleveland area for a hybrid, full-time leadership role. You will own the S&OP process, demand forecasting, and production scheduling across a multi-brand manufacturing network, leading a team to standardize planning practices and drive inventory optimization.

You’ll partner with Sales, Finance, Operations, and Procurement to deliver consensus forecasts, align material availability, and implement scalable planning

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in demand planning, supply planning, S&OP, IBP, or related planning
• Significant manufacturing environment experience
• Experience leading planning processes across multiple product lines and locations
• Strong forecasting, production planning, capacity planning, and inventory optimization knowledge
• Ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross-functional alignment
• Experience building and leading planning teams
• Advanced Excel and analytics capabilities

Responsibilities

• Build and lead end-to-end Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process
• Align demand, supply, production, inventory, and financial plans across brands and facilities
• Own statistical and collaborative demand forecasting including seasonality and promotions
• Translate forecasts into master production schedules and capacity plans
• Collaborate with Sourcing to align materials with production requirements
• Develop inventory strategies balancing service levels and working capital
• Monitor KPIs like forecast accuracy, inventory turns, fill rate, and on-time delivery
• Standardize planning processes, systems, and reporting across network
• Oversee planning tech evaluation, selection, and implementation
• Support new product introductions and readiness for launches
• Partner with Finance on annual and rolling forecasts
• Lead and develop planning teams

Skills

Demand planning

Supply planning

S&OP

IBP

Advanced Excel

Data modeling

ERP/APS systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management

MBA

APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP

Tools

ERP systems

APS systems

Job description

Director of Demand and Supply Planning (BH-20530)

Location Mentor, United States Sector Manufacturing & Production Salary 170,000.00 US to 180,000.00 US per annum

Director of Demand & Supply Planning Location: Cleveland, OH or Detroit, MI area
Employment Type: Full-Time
Work Environment: Hybrid
Travel: Periodic domestic and occasional international travel
About the Opportunity
The HT Group is partnering with a growing, multi-brand manufacturing organization to find a Director of Demand & Supply Planning to build and lead its end-to-end planning function.
This is a highly visible transformation role for an experienced supply chain leader who knows what a mature planning organization looks like but is equally comfortable stepping into an environment where processes, systems, and methodologies still need to be built and standardized.
Reporting into executive leadership, this individual will take ownership of the organization's S&OP process, demand forecasting, supply and production planning, inventory strategy, and planning systems across a complex network of brands, facilities, and internal and external manufacturing partners.
The right person will be more than an operator of an existing process. We're looking for someone who can evaluate what's working today, identify gaps, and build a scalable planning framework capable of supporting the organization's continued growth.
What You’ll Do

• Build, lead, and continuously improve the company's end-to-end Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process.
• Align demand, supply, production, inventory, and financial plans across multiple brands and manufacturing facilities.
• Own statistical and collaborative demand forecasting, incorporating historical trends, seasonality, promotions, and market intelligence.
• Partner with Sales and business leaders to establish consensus forecasts across products, customers, and channels.
• Translate demand forecasts into master production schedules and capacity plans alongside Operations and plant leadership.
• Partner with Sourcing and Procurement to align raw material and component availability with production requirements.
• Develop inventory strategies including safety stock, replenishment, and min/max methodologies to balance service levels with working capital.
• Establish and monitor key planning metrics including forecast accuracy, inventory turns, fill rate, on-time delivery, and expedite costs.
• Identify supply-demand imbalances and provide leadership with clear scenarios and recommended trade-offs.
• Standardize planning processes, systems, tools, and reporting across a diverse manufacturing network.
• Lead the evaluation, implementation, and ongoing administration of demand and supply planning technology.
• Support new product introductions and ensure supply and demand readiness for new SKUs and product launches.
• Partner with Finance on annual operating plans and rolling forecasts.
• Identify and address excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Lead and develop a team of demand and supply planning professionals.
• Support broader manufacturing network and production strategy through scenario analysis and capacity planning.

The position is specifically expected to build scalable practices in areas where mature frameworks do not yet exist, while also leading planning-system selection and implementation.
What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of progressive experience across demand planning, supply planning, S&OP, IBP, or related supply chain planning functions.
• Significant experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading planning processes across multiple product lines, business units, brands, plants, or manufacturing locations.
• Demonstrated success building, transforming, or substantially improving an S&OP or integrated planning function.
• Strong understanding of statistical forecasting, production planning, capacity planning, and inventory optimization.
• Experience balancing competing priorities across customer service, inventory, cost, and manufacturing capacity.
• Ability to influence senior leaders and drive alignment across Sales, Finance, Operations, Procurement, and other functions.
• Experience leading and developing planning teams.
• Strong analytical and data-modeling capabilities.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with ERP, APS, or comparable demand/supply planning systems.

The organization is particularly interested in leaders who have seen both sides of the equation: mature, well-developed supply chain organizations as well as environments where processes needed to be redesigned, standardized, or built from the ground up.
Preferred Experience

• Experience within automotive, automotive components, powersports, discrete manufacturing, or another complex manufacturing environment with similar supply-and-demand challenges.
• Experience supporting a multi-site manufacturing network.
• Exposure to both internal and external/contract manufacturing.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• MBA and/or APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP certification is a plus.

Why This Opportunity? This isn't a role where you'll simply inherit a mature S&OP process and maintain it.
You’ll have the opportunity to architect the future-state planning organization — establishing the processes, systems, operating rhythms, KPIs, and governance needed to bring greater consistency across a complex manufacturing business.
For someone who enjoys fixing problems, creating structure, influencing senior leadership, and seeing the measurable impact of their work across an organization, this is an opportunity to make a significant mark on the business.
#HPIND