Senior Manager - Planning & Forecasting Lead

Job Summary

We are looking for a Senior Manager - Planning Forecasting with strong stakeholder management skills and finance acumen to lead the full monthly and annual planning and forecasting cycle for multiple markets, or a market of strategic importance, within the Planning Forecasting Hub.

You will be instrumental in guiding progress to our ambition by generating high quality, efficient, globally aligned forecasts, plans and analysis that give management confidence, support decision making and feed shareholder communication, while proactively identifying opportunities and highlighting risks.

Key responsibilities

• Own the PF promise across your markets to drive financial Plan commitments, ensuring reliability of forecast to support market guidance and smart resource allocation (PF Standard scope, agreed exceptions and analysis requests):
• Reporting: own PL and Flash Sales performance commentaries and Price-Volume analysis, ensuring variances to Plan, Last Year and forecast are clearly explained across your markets
• Forecasting: lead the market forecast update including new product launches, challenge and consolidate Risks Opportunities, and present at management review
• Planning: lead annual Plan activities, setting the plan calendar and securing submissions and signoffs
• Analysis: priorities and resolve ad hoc business requests, escalating trade-offs where capacity is constrained
• Partner senior in-market and hub stakeholders to reflect a realistic but ambitious outlook, with potential swings clearly articulated. Provide insightful intelligence on business performance drivers, anticipate risks and propose interventions to meet targets. Challenge the business to produce stretching yet achievable forecasts
• Create healthy accountability across your markets, ensuring promises are clear and delivered on time and in full. Navigate the cross-functional matrix and build the internal network, working closely with stakeholders, being both a reliable partner and an effective customer of the services you depend on
• Coach and develop Planning Forecasting analysts, building modelling and analytical capability across the team, whether or not they report to you directly
• Simplify how we work and drive globally aligned ways of working. Reduce non-standard work, and continuously improve agility and efficiency in planning, budgeting and forecasting through digital fluency and the adoption of AI in standard ways of working
• Build healthy, trustworthy relationships and role model a ONE Finance mindset

Basic qualifications / experience

• Experience of running a full planning and forecasting cycle across multiple markets, or a market of strategic importance
• 10 to 15yrs in planning and forecasting.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to turn data into clear, concise commentary for senior stakeholders
• Experience of coaching or developing others
• Understanding of digital, AI, automation and financial systems and processes.
• University degree in Finance or Business (or equivalent)
• Ability to connect with and influence senior business stakeholders
• Professional accountancy qualification or equivalent experience

Skills

• Business Forecasting
• Business Reporting Tools
• Data Analytics
• Data Visualization
• Digital Fluency
• Financial Controlling
• Financial Reporting and Analysis
• Influencing Without Authority
• Stakeholder Management