Director of Inventory & Demand Planning

Rust-Oleum; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Rust-Oleum is seeking a Director of Inventory Planning to align inventory strategy with demand and financial goals in a high-impact leadership role based in St. Louis, MO.

You will partner with Sales and cross-functional teams to turn insights into actions, optimize inventory, reduce risk, and maximize service levels. You will lead a high-performing team, drive initiatives to enhance inventory health, and ensure working capital efficiency while supporting strategic objectives and risk

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, or related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Supply Chain Planning, Inventory Management, and S&OP/IBP.
• Executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross-functional alignment.
• Proven success partnering with Sales on demand planning and inventory strategy.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated success improving inventory performance (e.g., reducing excess/obsolete stock while improving service levels).
• Strong ERP and planning systems experience (LN preferred), with proficiency in Power BI and Salesforce.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Sales leadership to proactively identify risks and opportunities.
• Support Sales in evaluating trade-offs between inventory availability, lead times, and customer commitments.
• Serve as the primary liaison between Inventory Planning and Sales to align forecasts, trends, and demand.
• Actively participate in S&OP and IBP processes, ensuring demand signals are clearly understood and incorporated.
• Drive alignment across Supply Chain, Finance, Merchandising, and Operations with clear ownership, priorities, and timelines.
• Lead initiatives to improve inventory health, reduce excess/obsolete stock, and increase inventory turns.
• Partner with Finance to align inventory strategies with financial targets, including working capital and margin goals.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing inventory planning team.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Develop talent pipelines and succession plans within the organization.
• Champion company safety and quality initiatives.
• Own inventory health across Finished Goods, Purchased Finished Goods, and raw materials.
• Develop and execute strategies that balance service levels, working capital efficiency, and risk mitigation.
• Lead long-range and annual inventory planning aligned with business objectives and sales forecasts.
• Establish frameworks for inventory segmentation, safety stock, and replenishment strategies.
• Define and track KPIs (forecast accuracy, inventory turns, service levels, inventory quality).
• Deliver insights and recommendations to executive leadership, highlighting risks and opportunities.
• Advance planning maturity through digital tools, automation, and analytics.
• Utilize analytics tools to provide real-time visibility into inventory performance.
• Standardize planning processes, metrics, and dashboards globally.
• Implement governance structures that strengthen accountability across Sales and Planning teams.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Demand planning

Inventory management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Strategic thinking

Executive presence

S&OP/IBP experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain/Business

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

Power BI

Salesforce

ERP LN

Job description

Rust-Oleum is seeking a Director of Inventory Planning to align inventory strategy with demand and financial goals in a high-impact leadership role based in St. Louis, MO.

You will partner with Sales and cross-functional teams to turn insights into actions, optimize inventory, reduce risk, and maximize service levels. You will lead a high-performing team, drive initiatives to enhance inventory health, and ensure working capital efficiency while supporting strategic objectives and risk