Requirements
The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain, Business Management, Retail, Operations Management or a related field, with an MBA or equivalent professional qualification being desirable. Must possess 10+ years of experience in Retail Planning, Supply Chain Planning, or Food Retail, with proven experience leading Planning, Forecasting, or Inventory functions, and managing regional or multi-market planning operations. Strong understanding of Demand Planning, Replenishment Planning, and Inventory Optimization is required, along with experience implementing or operating advanced planning platforms like RELEX.
Description
Job description / Role
Job Type
Full Time
Job Location
UAE
Nationality
Any Nationality
Salary
Not Specified
Gender
Not Specified
Arabic Fluency
Not Specified
Job Function
Finance, Business Analysis & Consulting
Company Industry
Retail
About Al-Futtaim Group
Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.
By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day.
Overview of the role
Lead the Food Planning function across MENA & Asia, owning the planning strategy, governance and capability required to maximize the value delivered through RELEX. The role is accountable for forecasting, replenishment and inventory planning performance across all Food categories and markets, ensuring consistent planning standards, data-driven decision making and continuous optimization of availability, waste and inventory investment.
Working closely with Buying, Supply Chain, Retail Operations, Logistics, Technology and M&S UK, the Head of Planning will establish a best-in-class Planning function that supports business growth, operational excellence and long-term planning maturity.
What you will do
Description of accountability:
Lead the Food Planning function across MENA & Asia, establishing governance, planning standards and consistent ways of working.
Own RELEX as the business owner, ensuring the platform delivers maximum business value through forecasting, replenishment and inventory optimisation.
Develop and continuously improve planning policies, planning parameters and planning governance across all Food categories.
Deliver market-leading demand forecasting and replenishment performance to maximise availability while optimising inventory investment and waste.
Lead and develop a high-performing Demand Planning and Replenishment Planning team through coaching, capability development and succession planning.
Partner with Buying, Supply Chain, Retail, Logistics, Technology and M&S UK to align planning decisions with commercial priorities and operational capability.
Drive planning innovation, automation and continuous improvement through RELEX capabilities, analytics and AI-driven planning.
Monitor planning KPIs and provide strategic recommendations to senior leadership to improve commercial and operational performance.
Required skills to be successful
Advanced demand forecasting
Replenishment & inventory planning
Forecast accuracy management
RELEX (or equivalent AI planning platform)
Planning governance
Planning policy & parameter management
Inventory optimisation
Data analytics & KPI reporting
SAP
Power BI / Excel
Stakeholder management
Leadership & coaching
Continuous improvement
Change management
Strategic planning
Strong commercial acumen and decision-making
What equips you for the role
10+ years' experience within Retail Planning, Supply Chain Planning or Food Retail.
Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain, Business Management, Retail, Operations Management or related discipline.
MBA or equivalent professional qualification desirable.
Proven experience leading Planning, Forecasting or Inventory functions.
Experience managing regional or multi-market planning operations.
Strong understanding of Demand Planning, Replenishment Planning and Inventory Optimization.
Experience implementing or operating advanced planning platforms (RELEX preferred).
Demonstrated experience leading organizational change and planning transformation.
Experience influencing senior stakeholders across Commercial, Supply Chain, Retail and Technology functions.
About Al-Futtaim Retail
Al-Futtaim Retail has established itself as one of the leaders in retail across the Middle East, Africa & Asia over the past 30 years. We have developed partnerships with some of the biggest and most respected brands in the world including IKEA, ACE and Toys R Us in the Middle East and the Inditex Group of Brands (Zara, Mango, Bershka and P&B) across Asia. We are also one of the largest global partners of Marks and Spencer’s in both regions with over 75 stores offering both fashion & food options.
Most recently we have been responsible for bringing brands to the Middle East for the first time with the exciting launches of Watsons and B&Q and we aim to continue to be agile and adaptive to our markets with new launches and further development. For this to be possible we aim to recruit the best talent from all backgrounds who will continue to challenge and develop our diverse workforce which includes over 100 nationalities across 12 countries. Join us today and make a difference.
About the Company
Established in the 1930's, the Al-Futtaim Group initially operated as a trading enterprise. Rapid development throughout the 1940's and 50's saw it establish itself regionally as an integrated commercial, industrial and services organisation, positioning itself one of the leading business houses in the lower Gulf region. Today, it operates collectively over 40 companies bearing the Al-Futtaim name, dominates many market segments in the UAE, and has expanded its sphere of operation to include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt.
The Group comprises a diverse range of strategically positioned operating subsidiaries and associate companies, structured to give the Al-Futtaim Group the flexibility and versatility to keep ahead of local competition while keeping pace with the ever-evolving global business scenario. The Groups continued investment in world-class systems technology is clear evidence of its commitment to maintain leading edge performance and service delivery.
The success of the Al-Futtaim Group can be attributed to a business approach that combines the ability to change with the traditional values of integrity, service and social responsibility that define its core business philosophy. This, linked with the Groups belief in decentralisation, gives the heads of the operating companies a high degree of functional autonomy and authority, providing the Group with essential flexibility, and individual employees a clearly defined work culture and sense of responsibility.
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