Junior Demand Planner (Fixed Term Contract)

Rcl Foods; Durban; On-site; ZAR 240,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

RCL Foods is seeking a Junior Demand Planner for a 12-month fixed term contract in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal. You will deliver base forecasts with promotions uplift to enable S&OP transparency and drive unconstrained demand visibility for the business unit.

The role requires a Commerce/Economics or related degree, 2 years in demand planning or supply chain in FMCG, and solid Excel skills. Collaboration with cross-functional teams and strong attention to detail are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Commerce/Economics or related supply chain degree.
• 2 years’ experience in demand planning or supply chain; FMCG preferred.
• Intermediate Excel ability required.

Responsibilities

• Run activity and demand reviews as part of the monthly S&OP process.
• Comment on monthly sales performance and 12-month outlook with customer teams.
• Generate and maintain 12-month rolling forecast including promo uplift.
• Use historical data to improve promo uplift accuracy.
• Manage forecast bias and accuracy across SKUs and customers.
• Publish forecast and KPI reports weekly and monthly.
• Maintain product hierarchy master data and assist with master data changes.
• Support new product innovations and volume assumptions.

Skills

Critical thinking

Problem solving

S&OP awareness

Data analysis

Attention to detail

Communication

Relationship building

Excel

Education

Bachelor of Commerce/Economics

Tools

Excel

Job description

Closing Date 2026/10/03

Reference Number RCL260410-1

Company RCL Foods

Job Title Junior Demand Planner (Fixed Term Contract)

Functions Supply Chain

Job Type Classification Contract

Location - Town / City Westville

Location - Province KwaZulu-Natal

Location - Country South Africa

Job Description

At RCL Foods, we believe in growing what matters! As a leading food manufacturer, our goal is to nourish people with a portfolio of trusted brands and products. We are committed to innovation, sustainability, and the development of our employees.

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Junior Demand Planner (12-month Fixed Term Contract) to join our dynamic Supply Chain team. In this role you will be responsible to deliver a base forecast with promotional uplift to facilitate the S&OP process and enable visibility of unconstrained demand to the business unit.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor of Commerce/Economics Degree, or related Supply Chain Degree.
• 2 years’ experience in Demand Planning or Supply Chain Role and have worked in a FMCG company.
• Intermediate ability in Excel is a prerequisite.

Knowledge And Skills

• Critical thinking skills.
• Problem solving skills.
• S&OP process awareness.
• A Strong ability to analyse numbers and understand trends.
• Excellent attention to detail and able to work independently.
• Good communication skills: Strong verbal and written communication.
• Strong relationship building and Inquisitive approach with an emphasis on sound interaction and excellent relationship with the front-end team.

Duties & Responsibilities

Junior Demand Planner

• Running the Activity and Demand reviews as part of the monthly S&OP process to highlight the forward Forecasted volumes and assumptions to the Business unit.
• Work with Customer teams to understand and comment on the monthly sales performance and the impact to the category 12-month volume outlook
• Work closely with the front-end team to generate and maintain the 12-month rolling forecast including uplift for promotions (document the assumptions including promo mechanics, volume, price and regions).
• Use historical data on comparative promotional volume to improve the accuracy of the agreed promotion uplift.
• Review the promotional uplift expectations vs forecast assumption once promo has ended.
• Manage Forecast Bias and Accuracy across the SKU and customer portfolio by monitoring sales vs forecast weekly and monthly and making adjustments to the forecast where required.
• Generate and maintain statistical baseline forecasts in the system.
• Cleansing of sales history, at a weekly level, based on insights from customer teams.
• Publish the forecast and KPI’s in the agreed format, in line with the agreed timeline for weekly reports and monthly scorecards.
• Work with the cross-functional team on all new innovations, including Masterdata creation, volume assumptions, discontinuation of current products.
• Monitor and track progress of innovation vs the forecasted volumes and highlight and risks to the business regarding under/oversells.
• Maintain the product hierarchy master data in accordance with both demand planning and business requirements.
• Work with the Master Data team to ensure hierarchy changes are appropriately actioned and communicated to the business.
• Provide input into Customer Hierarchies when requested.

Ad Hoc / Other

• Maintain all weekly and monthly reports, files and documents centrally and in an organized fashion on SharePoint.