Planning Excellence Manager – West Africa at Unilever

MAIN JOB PURPOSE:

The person executing this role will be responsible to oversee and manage planning excellence and master data to meet improve business operations by improved processes & technology. This role has the overall responsibility for landing end-to-end planning – identifying business needs and deploying plans to deliver improved service, cost, system hygiene and cash delivery.

This person will also be responsible for establishing planning parameters and maintaining governance of established processes. They also play a key role in communicating between internal departments and external parties, acting as a ‘translator’ where necessary to convey how information technology and best practices can support the organization’s needs.

This role also covers the overall governance, operations and improvement of Master Data covering pricing, customer, product, and vendor. This should all in line with the control’s framework of the business.

JOB SUMMARY / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Main Responsibility:

  • Understand and identify improvement for optimization of cash, cost, and service delivery.
  • Interface with global excellence team to identify best practices for optimization of cash, cost, and service delivery.
  • Lead and roll out end to end proposed planning optimization for operation planning teams. Use data modelling practices to analyze your findings and create suggestions for strategic and operational improvements and changes.
  • Support the SC planning team to land planning transformation project from systems, process, and people ways of working.
  • Assist to do acceptance testing for new systems, new process, and new initiatives with the planning teams L1 and L2
  • Assist with creation of training documentation for all new initiatives/process with the planning teams L1 and L2
  • Assist with execution of training and roll out with the planning teams L1 and L2
  • Assist with intensive care post go-live for new systems, new process, and new initiatives with the planning teams L1 and L2
  • Ensure relevant process documentation is updated and centrally store.
  • Upskilling, onboarding, and training L1 planners as means of continuous improvement to ensure discipline and accurate/efficient ways of working.

Cost

  • Identify cost reduction plan from global best practice and flag any reduction opportunities with the market and hub team.
  • Understand business critical pressure points and link in with global teams for best practice solution.

Service

  • Identify service improvement plan from global best practice and flag any reduction opportunities with the market and hub team.
  • Understand business critical pressure points and link in with global teams for best practice solution.

Working Capital Management

  • Identify working capital reduction plan from global best practice and flag any reduction opportunities with the market and hub team e.g.: DBNR roll out.
  • Understand business critical pressure points and link in with global teams for best practice solution.
  • Data Maintenance and house keeping
  • Perform regular scheduling data health checks. Validate planning master data and share visibility to the L1 and L2 on improvement required.
  • Drive and ensure master data housekeeping up to date in planning systems.

Master Data

  • Lead business specific Master Data management team, support process governance and maintenance for the business
  • Support establishment of, and governance activities for data management
  • Oversee KPIs/ metrics to measure and improve data.
  • Review progress reports on Master Data programs and projects
  • Maximize business outcomes by applying improved data integrity, visibility, and accuracy.
  • Promotes business practices to be inclusive of Master Data for projects, operations, and strategies.
  • Drive MDM expertise to manage and solve data issues (L1 Support).
  • Reviews and approves changes/additions to key strategic data elements to ensure application harmonization and business effectiveness.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Preferred Skills:

  • Professional experience in delivering complex integrated solutions.
  • Integrated Planning Experience: Supply and Demand Operations Basic appreciation of MDM

Essential

Technical Skills

  • Strong project management skills
  • Excellent understanding of the interactions between people, processes, and technology
  • A deep and up-to-date understanding of best practice applications design; experience of complex applications development projects and E2E systems integration
  • Familiarity with working with 3rd party or offshore suppliers to ensure the delivery of high-quality designs and code.

General Skills

  • Ability to communicate complex problems in a simple manner and be able to communicate in business language.
  • Experience being managed in a matrix environment.
  • Ability to work with imperfect information whilst still maintaining high standard, evidenced designs, and documentation.
  • Ability to work to tight deadlines.
  • Team player with the ability and tolerance to work with others.
  • Ability to cope with uncertainty and drive through change.
  • Strong analytical and numerical skills/financial

KEY STAKEHOLDERS/ INTERFACES

  • Integrated Planning Teams – Demand & Supply
  • Unilever Global Project Teams
  • Unilever Global PACE Teams
  • Uniops Teams
  • Data and Analytics Team
  • Finance Teams
  • Manufacturing Teams
  • Cap Gemini Planning Partners
  • External 3rd Party Technology Teams
  • External and Internal Audit Teams
  • External 3rd Party Consultants
How to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to Unilever on careers.unilever.com to apply

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