Demand Planning Lead

FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria

Lead demand planning for a growing business and shape the decisions that drive supply chain success. As a Demand Planning Lead, you will own the end-to-end forecasting process, lead the S&OP cycle, and transform commercial insights into accurate demand plans that support business growth, customer service, and operational excellence.

Job Description Header: Lead demand planning for a growing business and shape the decisions that drive supply chain success. As a Demand Planning Lead, you will own the end-to-end forecasting process, lead the S&OP cycle, and transform commercial insights into accurate demand plans that support business growth, customer service, and operational excellence.

Job Description: At FrieslandCampina, we are committed to delivering better nutrition to consumers around the world. We are looking for a Demand Planning Lead to drive forecasting excellence and lead demand planning capabilities within a fast-paced and high-growth environment.

This is a high-impact role that sits at the heart of the business, connecting Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, and Operations teams. You will own the demand forecasting process, facilitate cross-functional alignment, and provide strategic insights that enable informed business decisions.

What You'll Do

• Lead the S&OP Demand Planning Process

• Own and facilitate the monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) cycle.

• Translate commercial opportunities, market trends, and customer insights into actionable demand plans.

• Drive consensus among Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply Planning, and Operations stakeholders.

• Drive Forecasting Excellence

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve demand forecasting models.

• Analyze historical sales, market trends, promotional activities, and business drivers to improve forecast accuracy.

• Manage demand planning assumptions related to promotions, new product launches, customer events, and lifecycle management.

• Align Cross-Functional Teams

• Bridge gaps between Commercial, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain teams through effective demand consensus processes.

• Ensure customer commitments and business priorities are accurately reflected in demand plans.

• Collaborate with Supply Planning to convert demand forecasts into executable supply plans.

• Monitor Performance & Generate Insights

• Track key planning metrics such as Forecast Accuracy (FA), Weighted Absolute Percentage Error (WAPE), and bias.

• Identify risks and opportunities impacting demand and inventory performance.

• Deliver insights and recommendations to support strategic and operational decision-making.

• Lead Demand Planning Capability Development

• Manage and coach Demand Planners to build a high-performing planning organization.

• Establish best practices, standardized processes, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Drive digitalization and planning excellence through advanced analytics and planning tools.

• Partner with Key Stakeholders

• Collaborate with Commercial teams to understand customer and market developments.

• Work closely with Finance to align forecasts with budgets and business plans.

• Engage strategic customers and external partners to strengthen demand signal quality.

• What We Ask

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Economics, Engineering, Statistics, or a related field

• Minimum 5 years of experience in Demand Planning, Forecasting, S&OP, Supply Chain Planning, or related functions

• Strong knowledge of forecasting methodologies and demand planning processes

• Experience leading cross-functional planning and consensus-building activities

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to convert data into actionable insights

• Experience with ERP and planning systems (SAP, APO, IBP, Kinaxis, Oracle, or similar platforms)

• Demonstrated people leadership and stakeholder management capabilities

• Excellent communication and presentation skills

• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced business environment

• Fluent in English

What We Offer

• Unique company culture combining local entrepreneurship with global expertise
• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package
• Exposure to strategic decision-making and senior leadership stakeholders
• Opportunities to lead impactful transformation and planning initiatives
• Continuous learning, development, and career growth opportunities
• A collaborative and high-performing work environment
• The autonomy and trust to drive meaningful business impact
• The opportunity to contribute to better nutrition for consumers around the world