Head of Planning - Food | Retail | M&S | UAE

Job Requisition ID: 179671 

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…