Planning Manager | Al-Futtaim Automotive - BYD | KSA | Riyadh

Job Requisition ID: 178605 

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

Al-Futtaim Automotive is seeking a detail-oriented Planning Manager to lead a data-driven approach to forecasting, sales planning, and profitability for the BYD brand in Saudi Arabia. The role plays a critical part in driving consistency and accuracy across product, pricing, and inbound planning processes, while reinforcing governance and structure across the planning function. Reporting to the Senior Manager Sales Planning, the role partners closely with Sales, Marketing, Logistics, and Finance to optimise volume, mix, and stock decisions, ensuring profitable growth and disciplined execution against budget and quarterly reforecasts.

What You Will Do

Market Forecasting & Insights

• Develop and maintain accurate sales forecasts based on historical data, market trends, and competitive intelligence for BYD KSA.
• Deliver a centralised suite of reporting and intelligence to brand, product, pricing, and logistics teams, ensuring consistency in format, depth, and accuracy.
• Lead the research and analysis of vehicle markets to align forecasting with competitor actions, market shifts, and economic conditions.
• Identify risks and opportunities across the brand and recommend corrective actions to senior leadership.

Budget Planning & Quarterly Reforecasts

• Lead the BYD KSA annual budget and quarterly reforecast cycles, ensuring volume plans are agreed by model year and trim to optimise mix, profitability, and stock.
• Partner with the central planning team to align economic and market assumptions across segments and subsegments.
• Maintain governance documents and planning templates to ensure a disciplined and consistent planning structure.
• Drive forecast accuracy of less than 5% deviation versus budget and quarterly reforecasts.

Sales Planning & Inbound Process

• Execute the monthly sales, production, and stock planning cycle, identifying opportunities to improve volume, mix, and revenue.
• Manage timely delivery of all inbound shipment processes through SAP, ensuring accurate order conversion and stock arrival.
• Maintain ideal stocking levels and minimise aged stock over 180 days through robust order management and controls.
• Run sales and stock simulations to assess opportunities and risks, supporting EBIT maximisation.

Process Improvement & Data Capability

• Drive the shift to predictive, automated planning models through stronger data utilisation, analytics, and process redesign.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives across sales planning, forecasting, and inbound workflows.
• Partner with external support and internal IT/data teams to activate semi-automated forecasting models.
• Strengthen governance, controls, and audit trails across the end-to-end planning cycle.

Stakeholder Management & Reporting

• Prepare and present sales forecasts, performance reports, and insights to senior management and the Executive Board.
• Ensure pre-reads are circulated a minimum of 24 hours before review forums.
• Engage cross-functional stakeholders across Sales, Marketing, Finance, Logistics, and Operations to align planning with business priorities.
• Influence and challenge brand teams on volumes, mix, and forecast assumptions through rigorous, data-led discussions.

Required Skills to Be Successful

• Strong analytical thinking with the ability to translate complex data into clear commercial insight.
• Excellent commercial acumen and understanding of automotive market dynamics and value chains.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, with working knowledge of Power BI, SAP, and forecasting tools.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across senior leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Proven ability to build governance frameworks and drive process improvement.
• Self-starter with the ability to take ideas from concept to execution in a complex matrix organisation.
• Strong written and verbal communication, with executive-level presentation skills.
• High attention to detail with a focus on accuracy, integrity, and consistency in reporting.

What Qualifies You for the Role

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of experience in sales planning, demand planning, or commercial analytics, ideally within the automotive industry.
• Proven track record in volume planning, forecasting, and inbound order management.
• Hands-on experience with SAP and advanced reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent).
• Solid understanding of the automotive business model, dealer operations, and the GCC/KSA market.
• Prior exposure to Chinese OEM brands is highly preferred.
• Experience working with model-year, trim-level, and mix-based planning structures.
• Strong financial literacy with the ability to link planning decisions to EBIT, revenue, and profitability outcomes. 

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Before you click “apply”: Please read the job description carefully to ensure you can confidently demonstrate why this opportunity is right for you and take the time to put together a well-crafted and personalised CV to further boost your visibility. Our global Talent Acquisition team members are all assigned to specific businesses to ensure that we make the best matches between talent and opportunities. We not only consider the requisite compatibility of skills and behaviours, but also how candidates align with our Values of Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, and Excellence.

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