Demand Planner, NAM

Who Are We?

Zespri is more than simply the world’s single-largest marketer of kiwifruit. We like to think of ourselves as fruit on a mission and as rebels with a cause: to help people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We are proudly the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling kiwifruit in more than 50 countries. We work with around 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 international growers and post-harvest companies to source the best-quality Zespri Kiwifruit which we supply through our distribution partners to wholesale and retail customers. We are one of New Zealand’s best-known international brands, dedicated to creating sustainable long-term value for growers.

What's The Role?

We are seeking a talented Demand Planner to join our team in Newport Beach. Reporting to the North America Integrated Business Planning Lead, this role is responsible for the delivery and ongoing maintenance of the market demand plan. From co creating the demand signal with Sales, building customer assigned forecast through to monitoring demand plan, the Demand Planner will collate and review of inputs from historical data, and sales and marketing teams, ensuring in market allocations are executed to the agreed plan.   

Key Responsibilities include: 

• Seasonal Plan creation – managing long term demand and creating season market demand signal through gathering business intelligence and working cross collaboratively. 
• Seasonal Plan maintenance and execution – facilitating discussions with sales to align & agree on demand plan by customer as well as managing market demand inputs for global planning inputs for monthly planning cycles. 
• Master Data – own the market demand planning master data set up in SAP IBP ensuring that each season the planning cycle the correct customer material information records are loaded. 
• IBP Process contribution and Continuous Improvement – overseeing the demand planning reporting and performance analysis to weekly/monthly IBP forums to support decision making/gap closing discussions  

Who Are You?

We are looking for a true team player who possesses strong analytical skills and has working experience across sales forecasting and demand planning. With excellent attention to detail, the successful candidate will also have:

• 2 years of experience within a Supply Chain Planning function (with two years in the demand planning space)
• Proven knowledge of planning methodologies and understanding of their financial and operational impacts 
• Both hands-on mindset and capability to bring structure to our process and be proactive 
• FMCG or Kiwifruit industry knowledge/experience essential 
• Experience across S&OP/IBP processes and practices  
• Experience with end-to-end Planning systems and technical solutions (e.g., SAP IBP beneficial) 
• Competency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint  
• A Bachelors/Masters degree in Supply Chain/Logistics/Finance/Business Administration or equivalent by experience 
• The ability to travel domestically or internationally when required  for up to two weeks at time; this may include travel to corporate customer sites, other Zespri locations and industry events as needed (estimated 5-15% annually)
• The role is an hybrid role with 2 days minimum in our office in Newport Beach.

Why Zespri?

Our people are what makes our culture so irresistible and uniquely Zespri. We are a passionate and mighty team of 900+ employees in 23 different locations globally. Working at Zespri is an opportunity to join a fast-paced, culture-driven environment unlike any other. We want people who share our values of being personally connected, results-driven, and committed to guardianship. Join us in shaping our future and be part of a truly unique organisation.   

• The base salary for this position is between USD 83,000 - 106,000 plus a performance-based short-term incentive scheme (for employees who meet the eligibility criteria) and benefits. Please note that individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, performance and work location.
• FlexWELL work ethos; WFH & two days in the office.  
• Additional paid annual leave day per year (Zespri Day). 
• Additional paid volunteer day to volunteer within your community (Volunteer Time). 
• Global Life and Permanent Disability Insurance. 
• Group Medical Insurance benefits. 

Apply today! Applications close 1 December 2024. 

At Zespri, we understand the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences, and a fair hiring process is the first step to getting there. We want to attract a diverse range of people and encourage everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life to apply. Please let us know if you need any assistance or reasonable adjustments to take part in the recruitment and selection process. You can reach out to our Talent Acquisition team via email at careers@zespri.com to have a chat to someone directly.