Sr. Director, Planning & Forecasting

We are seeking a Sr. Director, Planning & Forecasting to lead the Planning function within Lakeshore’s Supply Chain business unit and guide our integrated business planning. In this role, you’ll own the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process end to end, driving alignment across demand, supply, inventory and revenue plans, and you’ll be a key voice in executive decisions on inventory investment, capacity commitments and business performance. 

This is a high-visibility leadership role for someone who can turn market demand signals into a disciplined, data-driven operating plan for our multi-DC distribution network and retail stores. You’ll set the strategic direction for the Planning team while owning the department’s KPIs, leading six direct reports and a broader team of 20+ planning professionals responsible for item-level forecasting, PO creation, DC inventory positioning and safety stock strategy. 

Reporting to the SVP, Planning, you’ll continue advancing our planning capabilities in SAP S/4HANA, evaluating and implementing automation, AI-enabled forecasting tools and advanced analytics that make planning decisions faster and sharper. We’re looking for a leader who is equally strong at analyzing scenarios, developing planning talent and presenting data-driven recommendations to senior leadership. It’s meaningful work: when the plan is right, classrooms and families get what they need, when they need it. 

A day on the job looks like this: 

• Leading the monthly S&OP process, from item-level demand forecast through the executive S&OP meeting, and driving alignment between the forecast, inventory targets and revenue plan 
• Coaching and developing six direct reports and a team of 20+ while staying hands-on in daily operations, building the skills and bench strength the team needs to grow 
• Overseeing all import and domestic inventory buys within Open-to-Buy (OTB) limits, and leading the domestic expediting team to deliver every buy on time and in full 
• Managing item-level inventory availability across two distribution centers and all retail store locations to meet inventory and customer fulfillment goals, and recommending inventory investment strategy to senior leadership 
• Defining and governing the inventory segmentation framework, including ABC classification, growth velocity tiering and lifecycle-based safety stock policy 
• Driving cross-functional process improvement projects that move department and company KPIs 
• Evolving planning capabilities in SAP S/4HANA by evaluating and implementing automation, AI-enabled forecasting tools and advanced analytics