Director of Integrated Business Planning & Planning Excellence

Job Scope: Global Location: Hong Kong Reports To: EVP Group Development and GP Batteries Consumer Sales Role Summary: With primary focus on establishing a reliable, fact-based integrated business planning process that connects regional sales, supply, inventory, finance and operational execution. This role is accountable for the quality and governance of the consensus demand plan, the monthly S&OP/IBP cycle, inventory-planning standards and the business design of future SAP S/4HANA planning processes. The ideal candidate is a senior planning leader with strong operational credibility, hands-on S&OP/IBP experience, and the ability to standardise fragmented planning processes across regions, functions and legal entities. This role is based in Hong Kong with occasional travel. Candidates with less experience may be considered as Associate Director of Integrated Business Planning & Planning Excellence. Responsibilities: Lead the S&OP / IBP process. Own the monthly planning calendar, Demand Review, Supply and Inventory Review, pre-S&OP and Executive S&OP preparation. Ensure decisions, owners and follow-up actions are documented and escalated. Own forecasting and demand planning. Consolidate and challenge regional commercial inputs, apply appropriate statistical and judgmental forecasting methods, manage forecast bias and create a single consensus demand plan. Align demand, supply and inventory. Translate demand into clear supply, capacity and inventory requirements. Identify constraints and scenarios early and support decisions on allocation, service, working capital and risk. Build planning excellence. Define common processes, roles, planning calendars, master-data requirements, segmentation logic, KPIs and exception-management standards across regions and entities. Act as business process owner for planning. Define business requirements for SAP S/4HANA and related planning solutions, and support process design, data readiness, testing, user adoption and continuous improvement. IT retains technical solution ownership. Create performance transparency. Establish consistent reporting for forecast accuracy, bias, plan adherence, inventory, slow-moving and obsolete stock, service risk and planning actions. Lead cross-functional decision-making. Work closely with Regional Sales, Finance, Manufacturing, Procurement, Customer Service, Logistics and IT. Challenge assumptions constructively and resolve or escalate material gaps. Develop the planning capability. Build a strong planning team and improve planning discipline and capability across the wider organization. Qualifications and Experience: Education. Degree in supply chain, engineering, business, finance, analytics or a related discipline. Advanced qualifications are useful but not essential. Leadership experience. Substantial leadership experience in demand planning, supply-chain planning, S&OP or IBP within a multi-country consumer, FMCG, industrial or similarly complex product business. Functional depth. Minimum 10 years of relevant experience. Strong hands-on understanding of forecasting, demand planning, inventory planning, supply alignment, working capital and performance management. ERP transformation. Demonstrable business-process experience with SAP S/4HANA and preferably SAP IBP or comparable advanced planning solutions or major ERP transformation ; experience must go beyond being an end user. Transformation track record. Proven ability to standardise fragmented processes, improve data discipline and implement practical changes across functions and geographies. International profile. Fluent business English and experience working across cultures, time zones, legal entities and outsourced logistics networks. Asia exposure is an advantage. Required Skills & Competencies: S&OP / IBP leadership. Ability to personally operate and improve a recurring S&OP/IBP process with measurable business outcomes. Forecasting and planning capability. Strong capability in forecasting, demand planning, supply alignment, inventory management, segmentation and exception-based planning. Commercial and operational credibility. Able to challenge senior commercial, finance and operational stakeholders with facts while building trust and maintaining execution momentum. Transformation and change leadership. Pragmatic operator. Experience in integrating owned manufacturing and third-party supply is an advantage. Operating Model Excellence . Credibility with Sales, Finance, Supply Chain and senior management. Experience in designing a global template or centre of excellence Work Authorization. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in Hong Kong