Labor Planning and Forecasting Manager

gategroup; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Gate Gourmet, a gategroup company, is seeking a Labor Planning and Forecasting Manager in North America. The role focuses on labor planning, scheduling and rostering for both short and long term horizons, aligned with demand and operations leadership.

You will drive up efficiency, maintain a skill matrix, and produce regular reporting while collaborating with HR on labor rules. 10–25% travel is expected; this is a full-time exempt position based in the Chicago area.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, preferably Industrial Engineering or Business with Supply Chain focus.
• 3+ years in lean manufacturing with labor planning/rostering and KPI follow-up.
• Fluent in written and verbal English; second language is a plus.
• Excellent IT skills and experience with ERP/MIS systems.
• Solid knowledge of union rules and labor laws; able to drive process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead labor planning, scheduling, and rostering for long and short term horizons.
• Coordinate with operations leaders to assemble schedules based on demand.
• Develop and maintain a skill matrix and FTE efficiency metrics.
• Generate daily line up sheets and support weekly forecasting meetings.
• Enforce shift bidding procedures and ensure timely submissions.
• Maintain vacation tracker and provide regular labor reports.

Skills

Autonomous work

Work under pressure

Staff planning & rostering

Self-motivated & proactive

Change-minded & flexible

Education

Degree in Engineering

Tools

Advanced IT knowledge

ERP/MIS experience

Excel, Word, Outlook, Access, SharePoint

Production & labor planning

Job description

Gate Gourmet, a gategroup company, is the world's largest independent provider of catering and provisioning services for the airline industry. For the past 70 years, we have served over 250 carriers in more than 30 countries. Gate Gourmet combines culinary expertise with the highest standards of food safety and production to deliver delicious, healthy, and affordable meals to over 270 million travelers around the globe.

Job Summary

The Labor Planning and Forecasting Manager is responsible for all the local activities related to the labor planning and labor scheduling on the long and short term of the assigned unit(s).

Annual Hiring Range/Hourly Rate:

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Productivity planning
• Provide input and validation for the long term production planning and scheduling
• Provide updated information for the labor planning process short and long term
• Provide input and validation for the long-term rosters.
• Responsible for labor planning, scheduling, and rostering for long (12 weeks) and short term (1 week)
• Assist Operations leaders to assemble employee schedules based on demand. Optimization of short and long-term shift patterns and rosters.
• Work with cross-functional leaders to develop and maintain a skill matrix, including FTE efficiency
• Daily line up sheet generation per subsection using STLT
• Assist Operational leaders with the information needed to conduct daily labor meetings. Daily call-out management (logging and sourcing)
• Definition of labor rules and flexibility in collaboration with HR
• Accountable for regular shift bidding preparation and timely submission to adjust the shift bids better to volume
• Ensure shift briefing protocols are followed, including attending shift briefings according to a “random” pattern
• Ensures that weekly, monthly, and ad-hoc reports are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Daily OPRS maintenance (actuals for EMMs, flights, meals, hours; weekly forecasted hours and FTE’s per weekly schedules)
• Responsible for overtime control reduction by enforcing supervisor accountability and schedule exception control (Top overtime amounts by employee, discrepancy amount per employee)
• Responsible for training department heads and supervisors on management tools and procedures
• Participate in the weekly forecasting meeting
• Assist operational leaders in Maintaining annual vacation tracker

Qualifications

Education:

• Degree in Engineering, preferably in Industrial Engineering or Business with a focus on Supply Chain

Work Experience:

• 3+ years work experience in a lean manufacturing environment, preferably in labor planning and rostering, operational planning, operational Key Performance Indicators follow up or finance controlling

Job Skills:

• Capable of working in an autonomous way
• Capable of working under pressure with tight deadlines
• Staff planning and rostering
• Self-motivated and proactive
• Flexible and change-minded. Willing to learn and implement new processes and procedures.

Technical Skills: (Certification, Licenses, and Registration)

• APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM)
• Advanced IT knowledge (Excel, Word, Outlook, Access, and SharePoint)
• Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning Systems and Management Information Systems
• Sound knowledge of production planning, labor planning, standard costing, and daily reporting
• Very good knowledge of union rules and labor laws
• Proficient with lean manufacturing environments

Language / Communication Skills:

• Fluent in written and verbal English language. Knowledge of a second language is a plus

Job Dimensions

Geographic Responsibility:

North America

Type of Employment:

Full-time

Exemption Classification:

Exempt

Travel %:

10-25% outside of 50 miles

Work Environment / Requirements of the Job:

Normal office environment

Gategroup Competencies Required to be Successful in the Job