Demand Planning Lead

Demand Planning Lead

Function: Supply Chain

Location: Hybrid/Nottingham

Contract type: Permanent.

Job Ref: 1254

Salary: £62,622 potential to rise to £73,673 over 3 years

Closing Date: Friday 9^th May 2025

We are seeking a strategic and experienced Demand Planning Lead who will be responsible for analysis and interpretation of product data, conducting research, and providing advice on external issues that impact demand and / or future forecasts.

Working cross-functionally with key stakeholders, you will support the design and implementation of a Demand Planning system for roll out across all categories within the business.

Strategically aligned communication and clear metrics-based reporting are fundamental elements of this role as the consensus forecast will be used for planning purposes (Operational & Financial) both internally and across the SCCL supplier portfolio.

Additional responsibilities will include supporting the PPE Forecasting Lead and Pandemic Preparedness Operational Lead with forward forecasting.

Every day you will …

• Operate at an advanced level to examine, clean, transform, and model data to uncover valuable insights, draw conclusions, and aid in facilitating decision-making on forward plans
• Demonstrate full competence in interpreting data by analysing patterns, trends, relationships, and implications to derive meaningful conclusions and address critical questions.
• Perform at an advanced level to produce and review reports for various audiences, ensuring clarity and effectiveness while considering the purpose of each report.
• Be skilled at leveraging systems and tools for categorising and classifying data and information.
• Engage with stakeholders across the business to gain market insights and gather data in support of accurate forward forecasting.
• Work at an advanced level to utilise systems and tools required to search for new data or retrieve existing data in a database.

What can we offer you?

We want to reward you for your passion, enthusiasm, and hard work so we offer much more than a competitive salary:

• Hybrid working opportunities, giving you the flexibility to work collaboratively in the office and remotely.  
• We recognise our employees’ hard work and contributions with annual bonus schemes, long service, and VIP colleagues awards. 
• 27 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase an additional 5 days.
• We are dedicated to your development, through in-house training, support, and access to external qualifications to maximise your potential.
• A focus on your well-being offering 1 day of paid well-being leave and free access to the 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Generous pension scheme (with us contributing 12% when you contribute 6%)
• Access to our Flexible Benefits Scheme, where you can choose from a variety of benefits such as Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Health Cash Plan, Dental Insurance, and additional pension contributions that suit you.
• 2 days of paid volunteering leave allowing you to give back to your community. 
• Access to many discounts from the Blue Light Card to NHS Discounts. 

NHS Supply Chain, who are we?

Our role is to support the NHS to save lives and improve health. We are a part of the NHS family, and our role is to source, deliver and supply healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales.

We serve every NHS Trust and operate a national network of distribution centres, managing relationships with more than a thousand suppliers and delivering more than 8,000,000 orders each year to more than 17,000 locations. Doing all of this on behalf of the NHS gives NHS staff more time to focus on their main priority of providing excellent patient care.

What skills will help you thrive in this role?

• Over 5 years of experience in Demand and Supply Planning with knowledge of forecasting at SKU level within an FMCG setting. Experience working within an S&OP environment. Proven ability to analyse data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• The ability to effectively communicate across functional stakeholders by clearly and efficiently sharing and collaborating on forecast data with individuals or teams from various departments or areas within the organisation.
• Familiarity with specialised forecasting tools and software. Advanced skills in Excel (Power Query) for data manipulation, creating complex formulas, and generating reports. Advance skills in Power BI for creating visual representations of data. Understanding of SQL for querying databases and extracting data. Have a good grasp of NHS SC database framework and the data structure. Have working knowledge of drawing data from Cognos.
• The ability to identify and clearly define problems and implement corrective actions. Committed to continuous improvement and excellence in business processes.

Want to develop your career with the NHS Supply Chain? Then apply below or reach out for an informal discussion about the role in confidence by emailing us at Careers@supplychain.nhs.uk 

Our Inclusive Commitment

At NHS Supply Chain, we are committed to building an inclusive environment where difference is not only valued, but celebrated, giving everyone the opportunity to thrive in their career. Developing our people is key to our success, so if this role sounds like the right next step in your career but your experience doesn’t match perfectly with the job advert, we encourage you to still apply.

Struggling to complete our application form, and require additional support? Reach out to our Talent Acquisition team at careers@supplychain.nhs.uk who will be happy to help you with alternative ways to apply.

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