Associate Director, Sales & Operational Planning

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced supply chain professional to join as a Sales & Operational Planning (SOP) Lead. This role will play a critical part in the implementation, ownership and ongoing leadership of the S&OP process, ensuring alignment between demand, supply and business objectives, and supporting high-quality product delivery to customers.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Supply Chain Operations, the successful candidate will be responsible for leading and embedding the S&OP process across three regions. This will require strong cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence at all levels of the organisation.

You will work closely with stakeholders across Sales, Operations, Production, Engineering, Finance and Commercial teams to drive an effective, robust and data-driven S&OP process that supports business targets and strategic priorities.

Other responsibilities include:

• Owning and leading the end-to-end S&OP cycle across multiple regions, including demand review, supply review, scenario planning and executive alignment
• Acting as the central point of coordination between Sales, Supply Chain, Production, Engineering and Finance to ensure plans are balanced, feasible and aligned to business goals
• Partnering with the operational teams to support capacity management and the business to achieve targets
• Working with key stakeholders to develop and maintain a supply chain that is agile and responsive to changes in demand
• Leading S&OP governance, metrics and continuous improvement, embedding best practice and driving process maturity over time

You are an experienced supply chain professional with strong expertise in planning and global supply chains, ideally within a fast-paced, technology-driven environment. You may have managed teams previously, but you are equally comfortable operating as a senior individual contributor who leads through influence.

You have a proven track record of implementing or significantly improving S&OP (or IBP) processes, driving alignment across functions and delivering tangible business outcomes. You are confident engaging with senior leaders and facilitating decision-making in complex, ambiguous environments.

You bring:

• Strong experience working with ERP systems and robust end-to-end supply chain knowledge
• Deep understanding of forecasting, demand and supply planning, S&OP, inventory optimisation
• Experience operating in a global supply chain environment, including import/export and customer delivery
• A BSc in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Finance, Economics or a related discipline
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and change leadership skills

This role will suit someone who thrives in a cutting-edge, high-tech environment, enjoys working collaboratively across functions, and is resilient, pragmatic and comfortable working under pressure.

#LI-Hybrid

Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person s gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies:
Our goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing, and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecules including proteins.

The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. With a thriving culture of ambition and strong innovation goals, Oxford Nanopore is a UK headquartered company with global operations and customers in more than 125 countries.