Senior Resource Planning Specialist | Operations

We are seeking an experienced Senior Resource Planning Specialist to independently own assigned operational planning cycles and translate demand, capacity, workforce, inventory, and cost data into actionable plans. The role develops robust forecasts, evaluates operational and financial trade-offs, and recommends actions that improve efficiency, service levels, and resource allocation.

As a senior individual contributor, the role leads complex analyses and cross-functional planning workstreams, strengthens planning standards, and mentors specialists. It partners with Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams; budget approvals and people-management decisions remain with the relevant managers.

Key Responsibilities

• Own short- and long-term planning cycles for assigned operations, including assumptions, milestones, stakeholder inputs, and delivery of integrated plans.
• Develop and validate demand, workforce, inventory, and capacity forecasts; measure forecast accuracy and bias and improve models as business conditions change.
• Translate volume forecasts into staffing, scheduling, and capacity requirements using productivity, availability, and service-level assumptions; identify bottlenecks and peak-period risks.
• Lead preparation of assigned OPEX budgets and rolling forecasts; analyze volume, rate, mix, and productivity variances and recommend corrective actions.
• Build scenario and sensitivity analyses to evaluate cost, capacity, and service trade-offs; present quantified recommendations and escalation options to management.
• Monitor KPIs and investigate deviations from plans; identify root causes, agree action owners with stakeholders, and track implementation and results.
• Coordinate cross-functional planning and S&OP inputs, challenge inconsistent assumptions, and resolve planning gaps or escalate unresolved trade-offs.
• Design and maintain planning models, dashboards, and management reports; automate recurring analysis and strengthen data validation, documentation, and version control.
• Lead assigned planning improvement initiatives and quantify realized efficiency or cost benefits with Operations and Finance.
• Provide technical guidance and peer review for planning specialists, share best practices, and communicate insights clearly to operational and senior stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Supply Chain, Finance, Operations Management, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in planning, operations analytics, supply chain, or FP&A, including independent ownership of planning cycles or complex analytical workstreams.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including forecasting, scenario modeling, data transformation, and analysis of large datasets.
• Practical experience with operational forecasting, capacity and workforce planning, budgeting, variance analysis, and KPI design.
• Experience extracting and validating data from ERP or operational systems such as SAP, Oracle, WMS, or equivalent platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to turn complex data into quantified recommendations, influence stakeholders, and manage competing deadlines with limited supervision.

Preferred Skills

• Hands-on experience with Power BI, SQL, and Python for reporting, data analysis, and planning automation.
• Experience in e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing, or retail, particularly high-volume operations and seasonal demand peaks.
• Experience with statistical forecasting, S&OP, cost optimization, and evaluating the financial impact of operational improvements.
• Experience mentoring analysts or specialists and leading cross-functional improvement projects.

Example KPIs for a Senior Planning Specialist

Direct planning measures: forecast accuracy and bias; on-time completion of planning cycles; planning data quality; and delivery of agreed planning improvements.

Shared business outcomes: capacity and resource utilization; plan adherence; OPEX variance versus budget; productivity and unit cost; inventory days and stock availability; SLA achievement; and on-time delivery. Targets and accountability should reflect the assigned scope and be agreed with Operations and Finance.