On - Head of Demand and Inventory Planning, Americas - Portland

Team for Career Site

Operations

In short

As the Head of Demand & Inventory Planning, you will chart the course and set the strategic direction for regional demand planning and S&OP execution in On’s largest market. You will simplify complexity and lead complex, large-scale initiatives to ensure the accurate planning of regional demand across the entire assortment, driving a better demand-supply match for our customers and commercial partners. Reporting to the Senior Director of Operations, AMER, you will lead the Demand Planning team to deliver forecasting excellence, operational efficiency, and a premium customer experience, while continually championing the culture of innovation and high performance. You will also oversee regional Inventory Planning strategy, and lead the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process to ensure alignment across commercial, operational, and financial plans.

Your mission

– Set the strategic direction and provide clear priorities for demand planning and execution across the entire Americas region

– Lead, mentor, and develop a team of high-performing Demand and Inventory Planners, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and strong Team Spirit

– Drive the regional consensus demand plan through effective Integrated Business Planning and S&OP processes, including building monthly apparel and footwear demand review process, driving collaboration across sales, merchandising, finance, and operations

– Ensure demand forecasts are accurate and timely, aligning inventory days, lead times, liquidation plans, and inventory aging through collaborative stakeholder engagement

– Accountable to process improvements and challenge prevailing assumptions to drive forecasting accuracy and enhance inventory efficiency in a rapidly growing environment

– Support the development of strategic inventory strategies for new product introductions and product life cycle management

– Own the regional Inventory Planning framework, setting coverage targets, defining replenishment strategies, and optimizing inventory health across channels and nodes

– Partner with Supply Planning, Logistics, and Commercial teams to ensure optimal placement of inventory across the Americas

– Monitor and improve inventory KPIs (WOH, turns, aging, excess) and lead cross-functional reviews to drive proactive action

– Lead and manage the regional IBP process, ensuring clear governance, aligned inputs, and effective decision-making across Demand, Supply, Inventory, Commercial, and Finance teams

– Drive continuous improvement of IBP tools, cadence, templates, and cross-functional participation to strengthen regional alignment and accountability

Your story

– You bring 10+ years of experience in Demand Planning, Inventory Planning, IBP or Supply Chain for a premium or performance-oriented global retailer, ideally within the footwear or apparel industries

– You have 6+ years of progressive people leadership experience, leading a business unit or complex regional team of planners (including layered or multi-stream leadership) and scaling their capabilities to meet dynamic, cross-functional demands

– Demonstrated experience in operating and optimizing Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes to align commercial strategy with operational execution

– Expertly synthesize people and interests, effectively foreseeing and integrating the interests of various cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment and sound, complex decision-making

– Deep expertise in managing technical or performance-based products with a focus on size/style variation and high-velocity SKUs that require short lifecycles and deep forecasting needs

– Comfortable operating autonomously to set priorities and strategy for the most relevant work within your domain, breaking down complexity to align and bring others on board

– Advanced experience in inventory planning or inventory analytics, with a demonstrated ability to manage coverage, optimize product placement, and drive cross-functional inventory decisions

Meet the team

The Demand and Inventory Planning team drives forecasting excellence, ensuring we get the right product to our customers with exceptional quality. We are focused, data-driven, and action-oriented, actively partnering with regional commercial teams to drive a precise, consensus-based demand signal. With the inclusion of regional Inventory Planning, the team serves as the connective tissue across demand, supply, inventory, and commercial plans, enabling the Americas to grow with greater speed, precision, and operational excellence. While we build and follow processes, we also continuously challenge the status quo and industry standards to support our business’ global growth.