Senior Demand Planner

About The Team: At HelloFresh, we are changing the way people eat forever. We are looking for a Senior Demand Planner to join our Central Planning Team , driving strategic forecasting and technical innovation across the UK and International markets while acting as the operational heartbeat of selected European markets. Seeking a data-savvy pro with strong SQL skills to unlock insights and drive smart decisions! You will play a pivotal role in our Operations, moving from fragmented local forecasting to a unified, automated, and data-driven global model. You will also own the demand signal that drives every operational decision - from how much food we buy (Procurement) to how many staff we schedule (Production) and how many trucks we book (Logistics). The Mission: The Demand Planning team is transitioning from a legacy operating model into a Predictive Intelligence function. Our vision is to evolve from reactive demand estimation to active supply chain shaping, leveraging data to anticipate market shifts, mitigate risk, and optimize operational costs. You will bridge the gap between legacy operations and predictive intelligence. This role has a critical dual objective: Strategic Architecture & Innovation: Driving the innovation required to architect the standardized forecasting tools, demand simulation frameworks, and future-state processes that will unlock scalable growth across International markets. Operational Execution & Continuity: Ensuring flawless operational continuity for Ireland forecasting, protecting service levels and optimizing costs during this transition. Ultimately, you will ensure that while we build the next generation of automated planning pipelines, our daily supply chain execution remains agile, accurate, and highly efficient. What You Will Be Doing: Strategic Improvement Drive Standardization: Establish a unified, model-driven demand planning architecture. You will manage the planning process to strictly limit manual overrides, ensure real-time communication with key stakeholders and proactively take actions to correct the forecast. Automated Ecosystem Transition: Drive the shift toward an automated pipeline. Work alongside forecast engineers to design robust solutions that support an efficient, scalable process, ensuring local nuances are handled without breaking the unified code base. Scenario Modeling & Innovation: Work with Data Science to refine our Confidence Range Forecasts and Scenario Simulations. Build "What-If" scenarios (e.g., “What if we run an aggressive promo in Ireland next week?”) to stress-test operational capacity and mitigate supply chain risk. Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management (S&OP) Lead the S&OP Rhythm: Facilitate the weekly planning cycle with local stakeholders such as Market leadership, Logistics, Production and Procurement. You will shift the focus from simple error reporting to comprehensive risk management and strategic alignment. Commercial & Marketing Alignment: Partner with Marketing to align on customer conversions and retention. You will ensure that growth campaigns are accurately reflected in the Expected Demand view before they hit the supply chain. Deep Dive Diagnostics: When deviations occur, you will move beyond surface-level metrics. Your role is to explain the key drivers of the variance to provide actionable insights that prevent recurrence. Operational Forecasting & Plan Ownership Drive the Transition to an Automated Ecosystem: Drive the shift toward an automated, robust ecosystem (using tools like Python, Databricks, and Streamlit as examples). You will not just use these tools; you will work alongside forecast engineers to design robust solutions that support an efficient, scalable process, ensuring local nuances are handled without breaking the unified code base. Own the Number: Generate and validate daily and weekly demand plans for Ireland. You are the guardian of the Decision-Time forecast, ensuring the plan is accurate at the exact moment Procurement and Production need to act, without relying on rigid timelines but rather on operational readiness. Manage Trends & Operational Agility: Monitor changes in trends and the need for quick operational adaptations. You will incorporate performance metrics, not only to track stability but to implement stakeholder discipline, ensuring that changes are communicated promptly and the organization adapts efficiently. Who You Are: You are a hybrid: part analyst and planner, part diplomat, and part strategic change agent. You know a demand plan is useless if it simply reports numbers without driving action. You ensure every plan reconciles conflicting cross-functional needs, championing structural transformation through deep insights and a proactive understanding of error and risk. Must-Haves: Experience: 4+ years in Demand Planning, Supply Planning, or Data Analytics, preferably in e-commerce, food retail, or FMCG (short shelf-life/perishable experience is a massive plus). Tech Stack: You are ready to leave spreadsheets behind. Proficiency in SQL is required. Experience with Python (pandas, forecasting libraries) and Visualization tools (Tableau/Streamlit) is strongly preferred as we transition to our automated pipelines. Analytical Rigor: You possess strong analytical skills and a problem-solving, forward-looking mindset. You understand how to evaluate performance holistically and are proficient in forecasting techniques. Young Market Mindset: You are comfortable with ambiguity. You know how to forecast in environments with limited historical data (like our newer markets) by using proxy data and trend smoothing. Project Management & Delivery: You can plan and sequence initiatives across markets, handling ambiguity and frequent reprioritisation. You have a track record of prioritising and landing a roadmap of improvements. Risk & Change Management: You proactively anticipate demand and supply risks. You are experienced in proposing mitigations (buffers, caps, swaps) and communicating complex trade-offs to senior stakeholders to protect service and cost. Project & Data Tools: Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills are essential. You are comfortable using JIRA/Confluence (or similar) for managing backlogs and requirements. Quality & Monitoring: Experience with data validation/QA frameworks, alerting systems, and SLA tracking to ensure forecast reliability. Soft Skills: Influence: You can hold your ground with Senior Stakeholders (Head of Operations, Procurement Directors) when challenging their numbers or explaining a forecast miss. Clarity: You can translate complex statistical concepts (e.g., "algorithm bias") into business impact (e.g., "we need to buy 10% more chicken"). Stakeholder Leadership: You possess strong stakeholder management skills, influencing across Marketing, Procurement, Finance, and Tech. You ensure alignment across diverse functions. What you will get in return: ● 70% off HelloFresh or Green Chef boxes ● Company pension scheme ● Gym membership ● Bupa private medical insurance (including dental & family cover options) ● Electric vehicle scheme ● Mental health first aiders and an employee assistance programme ● Dog friendly office! (London site only) ● Nursery support scheme ● Cycle to work scheme ● Group Life Assurance Location : The HelloFresh Farm, 60 Worship Street, EC2A 2EZ, London or any other international HelloFresh market To be considered for this role, you’ll need to have the independent right to work in the UK, as we're unfortunately unable to provide sponsorship at this time. Hybrid Working Policy We offer a hybrid working policy for eligible roles, allowing flexibility to work from home and in the office. For more details on eligibility and how this applies to the role you're applying for, please consult with our recruiter. Next steps: Your application will be reviewed and if successful, a member of the Talent Acquisition Team will be in touch within 2 weeks.