Director of Business Planning

Director of Business Planning page is loaded## Director of Business Planning locations:
Blackburn, Lancashire time type:
Full time posted on:
Posted Yesterday job requisition :
R-08518

Founded in 1975, with its head office in Blackburn, England, PPE operates manufacturing facilities in the UK and the US, plus sales offices and Channel Partner networks across the US, Europe and Asia.

PPE manufactures high-performance O-rings and sealing components using advanced elastomer materials and precision designs that extend equipment life.

Seals are critical to the function of industrial systems, and PPE’s solutions are trusted in the most demanding environments.

Today, PPE offers over 200 elastomer grades used globally across industries such as oil & gas, chemical processing, food and pharma manufacturing, marine and power generation, aerospace, and semiconductors.

The company’s success is built on the continual development of new elastomer materials combined with exceptional levels of customer service and technical support.
** Job Overview
** The
** Director of Business Planning
** is responsible for developing, leading, and continually improving the company’s
** Sales & Inventory Operations Planning
** process. This role ensures cross‑functional alignment between
** Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and Procurement
** to create an integrated plan that optimizes capacity, minimizes inventory risk, and supports customer service goals. The Director of SIOP will establish the governance, cadence, analytics, and tools necessary to support accurate forecasting, scenario planning, and long‑range business planning in a manufacturing environment.

This role contributes to annual and strategic planning and direction setting for the planning and purchasing teams. They will report to the PPE President.
** Key Accountabilities
**** SIOP Strategy & Leadership
*** Develop and implement a comprehensive SIOP strategy aligned with business unit goals.
* Establish a formal governance structure to ensure consistency, discipline, and accountability across all functional teams.
* Determining methods to address and correct any demand and supply planning group behaviours that adversely affect S&OP KPIs.
* Drive continuous improvement of SIOP tools, processes, and KPIs.
** Demand Planning & Forecasting
*** Oversee the demand planning function and ensure the development of an accurate, data‑driven forecast.
* Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, and Product teams to incorporate market intelligence, customer insights, and promotional activity.
* Identify forecast risks, opportunities, and assumptions for leadership review.
** Supply & Capacity Planning
*** Partner with Operations to ensure production capacity, labor planning, and material availability support the demand plan.
* Work with Procurement to assess supplier capabilities, lead times, and constraints.
* Lead scenario planning exercises to proactively manage potential disruptions.
** Inventory Optimization
*** Maintain inventory strategies that balance customer service levels with working capital objectives.
* Establish policies for safety stock, lead times, and replenishment across the network.
* Monitor KPIs such as inventory turns, slow‑moving inventory, and forecast accuracy.
** Cross‑Functional Collaboration
*** Serve as the primary facilitator ensuring alignment between Sales, Finance, and Operations.
* Partner with Finance to reconcile demand, capacity, and inventory plans with financial projections (AOP, LRP).
* Drive accountability for SIOP metrics across all functional owners.
** Data, Analytics & Systems
*** Champion the use of advanced planning tools to improve forecasting and planning accuracy.
* Lead the creation of dashboards, scorecards, and analytics to support decision making.
* Evaluate new technologies and digital tools that enhance SIOP performance.
** Skills, Knowledge & Experience
** ESSENTIAL* Excellent understanding of technology tools that enable demand and supply planning and reporting (JDE preferred)
* Ability to use technology tools that facilitate collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
* Business and commercial acumen and knowledge of finance, sales, marketing,…