Supply Chain Planning Manager, Demand Planning

At Niagara, we’re looking for Team Members who want to be part of achieving our mission to provide our customers the highest quality most affordable bottled water.

Consider applying here, if you want to:   

• Work in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment with a chance to make an impact.   
• Develop lasting relationships with great people.   
• Have the opportunity to build a satisfying career.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages for our Team Members.

The Demand Planning Manager leads the monthly demand planning, CPFR/S&OP operating rhythms for an assigned portfolio and is accountable for strategic, business-aligned forecasting. This role translates data into clear business insight, aligns internal and external stakeholders around a single set of assumptions, and drives actions that improve forecast accuracy, reduce bias, strengthen the demand signal, and increase stakeholder confidence. The Manager leads through the team rather than serving as the primary day-to-day forecaster, ensuring analysts execute disciplined forecasting, system maintenance, reporting, and process standards. In addition, this role needs to oversee reporting and goal setting related to the sales forecast.

Essential Functions

Demand Planning Leadership and Forecast Governance

• Lead the monthly demand planning cycle and ensure tactical and strategic forecasts reflect the best available customer, market, statistical, sales, and operational inputs.
• Own forecast governance for the assigned portfolio, including documented assumptions, forecast changes, reasons for change, risks, opportunities, and required stakeholder decisions.
• Drive a consensus forecast by challenging inputs, reconciling conflicting views, and securing alignment across Customers, Sales, Business Execution, S&OP, Finance, FG Planning, RM Planning, and other partners.
• Maintain an unconstrained, business-aligned demand perspective while clearly identifying and escalating supply or capacity constraints through the appropriate planning process.
• Ensure forecast publication is timely, accurate, complete, and communicated to all required downstream stakeholders.

CPFR/S&OP and Stakeholder Alignment

• Lead CPFR/S&OP and demand review preparation and execution for the assigned portfolio, with clear objectives, agendas, pre-reads, decisions, and action logs.
• Ensure meeting content is concise, decision-oriented, and supported by a clear narrative.
• Use structured pre-meetings and targeted stakeholder outreach to resolve questions before formal reviews and ensure the right participants are prepared to make decisions.
• Build trusted working relationships with customer, Sales, Business Execution, Planning, Finance, and leadership partners; follow up when inputs, decisions, or actions are late or incomplete.
• Escalate material risks, unresolved decisions, missed commitments, and late or inaccurate customer inputs early enough to protect forecast publication and downstream planning.

Performance Management, Analytics, and Communication

• Own monthly and weekly performance reporting for the assigned portfolio, including forecast accuracy, bias, forecast attainment, forecast change, and other agreed demand planning KPIs.
• Identify and communicate the highest-impact forecast improvement opportunities, root causes, corrective actions, owners, and due dates.
• Provide clear explanations of forecast changes, misses, assumptions, and risks using data-backed insights tailored to customer, functional, and leadership audiences.
• Create consistent, standardized reporting and communication across customers and brands so stakeholders operate from the same data, definitions, and assumptions.
• Monitor action closure and verify that corrective actions improve performance rather than only document the issue.

Team Leadership and Accountability

• Set clear standards for analysts covering forecast quality, system maintenance, process adherence, meeting preparation, communication, and stakeholder follow-through.
• Coach analysts to convert data into actionable insight, communicate with confidence, facilitate effective demand discussions, and escalate issues with a recommendation.
• Hold the team accountable for timely execution, accurate work, documented assumptions, clean system inputs, and completion of agreed actions.
• Maintain individual development plans, conduct regular coaching, support engagement, assess capability and capacity, and build succession plans for critical responsibilities.
• Delegate daily forecasting and routine system activities to the appropriate analyst level while maintaining managerial oversight, validation, and accountability.
• Balance workload and priorities across the team and raise resource or capability risks with a clear mitigation plan.

Systems, Process Discipline, and Continuous Improvement

• Ensure Logility and connected forecasting data are maintained accurately so the demand signal flows consistently into reports and downstream planning systems.
• Validate that analysts follow statistical model, parameter, item, organization, default, and data-maintenance standards; establish recurring controls to identify anomalies and prevent rogue or misplaced forecast.
• Drive standard work across customers and brands, including recurring planning calendars, deadlines, templates, agendas, pre-reads, forecast change reporting, and action tracking.
• Identify process or system gaps, define practical countermeasures, assign ownership, and sustain improvements through measurable controls.
• Partner with technology and process teams to improve automation, self-service reporting, planning-system capability, and scalability.

Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Analytics, or a related field.
• Six years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, S&OP, supply chain planning, analytics, or a similar manufacturing environment.
• Four years of experience leading people, projects, or cross-functional planning processes.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating cross-functional planning reviews and communicating forecast risks, assumptions, and recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ten or more years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, S&OP, supply chain planning, analytics, or a similar manufacturing environment.
• Six or more years of people or project leadership experience.
• Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Analytics, or a related field.
• Lean Six Sigma or comparable continuous improvement certification.

*experience may include a combination of work experience and education

Competencies

• Demand planning expertise: Strong command of statistical forecasting, forecast accuracy and bias, forecast change analysis, consensus planning, and tactical and strategic forecast processes.
• Leadership and accountability: Sets clear expectations, delegates effectively, coaches performance, follows through on commitments, and addresses gaps directly and constructively.
• Executive communication: Writes and presents concise, audience-appropriate messages that connect data, business impact, decisions, and actions.
• Influence and consensus building: Builds relationships, challenges assumptions productively, negotiates trade-offs, and gains alignment without relying solely on authority.
• Analytical problem solving: Synthesizes complex information, identifies root causes and anomalies, separates demand from execution issues, and converts analysis into action.
• Process management: Creates repeatable standards, clarifies roles and deadlines, monitors adherence, and improves process maturity and scalability.
• Systems and data fluency: Advanced Microsoft Excel and reporting capability; working knowledge of ERP and supply chain planning platforms such as Logility, JDA, Oracle ASCP, or similar tools.
• Change leadership: Communicates a clear future state, organizes resources, manages resistance, and adjusts execution while maintaining standards and accountability.

This position embodies the values of Niagara’s LIFE competency model, focusing on the following key drivers of success:

Lead Like an Owner

• Make data-driven decisions that prioritize overall company success and long-term impact.
• Provide strategic input and oversight to departmental initiatives while maintaining clear ownership, timelines, and expected outcomes.
• Create a safe, accountable working environment and communicate issues promptly and accurately.

InnovACT

• Continuously evaluate planning processes and introduce sustainable improvements that increase efficiency, quality, and scalability.
• Create, monitor, and respond to performance metrics; verify that actions result in measurable improvement.
• Lead change with a clear vision, organized resources, disciplined follow-through, and transparent communication.

Find a Way

• Synthesize complex data and business inputs into practical recommendations and decisions.
• Delegate technical work appropriately while remaining accountable for quality and outcomes.
• Collaborate across departments, customers, and partners to resolve barriers and achieve shared business goals.

Empowered to Be Great

• Hire and develop talent against role standards, business needs, and Niagara values.
• Maintain development and succession plans and provide meaningful growth opportunities for direct reports.
• Identify and address conflict within the team and across functions in a timely, constructive manner.

Education

• Minimum Required: 
  • Bachelor's Degree in Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Supply Chain or other related field

• Preferred: 
  • Master's Degree in Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Supply Chain or other related field

Certification/License:

• Required:           N/A
• Preferred:          Six-Sigma

Foreign Language

• Required:           None Required
• Preferred:          None Required

Typical Compensation Range

Benefits

https://careers.niagarawater.com/us/en/benefits

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